On May 1, 1633, Lady Venetia Digby, the wife of Sir Kenelm Digby, died. Before her body was prepared for burial, however, Digby called upon his good friend, Anthony Van Dyck, the renowned Dutch painter of the Caroline court, and asked him to come to his home immediately and paint a portrait of Venetia as she lay in her deathbed. Van Dyck had already painted her portrait twice before, once sitting alone and again in a family portrait with Digby and their two children. Van Dyck agreed immediately to undertake a final painting of Digby's beloved wife.

Serenity dominates the result of his efforts, titled Venetia Stanley, Lady Digby, on Her Deathbed (Figure 5.1). In the portrait we view Venetia through parted bed curtains and, if we did not know better, we might think she was merely falling asleep. Her head is propped up and resting delicately on the open palm of her hand right hand. She is dressed in a white gown and cap, a pearl necklace gracing her neck, reclining in luxurious comfort, supported by numerous pillows and enveloped in sumptuous, velvety bedding. Yet it is the moment that captivates us: her left eye is almost but not quite closed, as if we are forever witnessing Venetia's last moments on earth. Drifting into an eternal slumber, her portrait conveys to us not only serenity but the immediacy of the moment as well.