Has a 'lost' portrait of the polymath Robert Hooke (1635-1703) been in London's National Portrait Gallery since 1872?

Abstract

No uncontested portrait of the polymath scientist Robert Hooke MA, MD, FRS (1635-1703) has been identified. However, new evidence is presented here that a painting in London’s National Portrait Gallery of an unknown man, formerly known as Isaac Barrow (NPG338) may be a ‘lost’ portrait of Hooke. The work has been hiding in plain sight since it was bought by the Gallery’s Trustees in 1872 from the estate of the ‘father of computing’ Charles Babbage KH, FRS (1791-1871). Robert Hooke had very distinctive features and NPG338 closely resembles highly detailed descriptions of him from two close associates, John Aubrey FRS, and Richard Waller FRS.Further analysis will be presented in a future publication arguing that the artist could have been Mary Beale (1633-1699), who may have painted the portrait at Allbrook, Hampshire, between October 1665 and January 1666. This paper is a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed, so findings are provisional and may be subject to change