A look at life down below

Long before Marie Antoinette indulged her girlish fancy by frolicking in the gardens of Versailles dressed as a milkmaid, the Duchess of Queensbury had set something of a trend among society portraitists in England by commissioning a portrait for which she had also invaded the dressing down box.

Though the Queensbury portrait, painted by Charles Jervas in 1725, is the only one here of an aristocrat in the guise of a servant, you'll find many similarly idealised depictions of actual servants in this thorough survey - just the way, in fact, their employers wished them to be seen.

Apart from a modest demeanour, there appears little at first to distinguish Tom Derry from his social superiors. Painted by Marcus Gheeraerts in 1614, it is one of the first, and finest, examples of the genre and shows Derry, a jester to Queen Anne of Denmark, handsomely clad in a goldembroidered doublet.

While the 18th century offers us a paternalistic view of the relationship between master and servant, the 19th gives two opposing views of those below stairs: servants were bone-idle and troublesome, or else faultless in virtue and often grossly ill-treated by their employers.

Though most of the paintings in this exhibition depict real individuals, needless to say one doesn't often - apart from some notable exceptions - get a sense of the individuality of the sitters. We do, however, get a thoroughly absorbing social history. Fisun G¸ner

Until Jan 11, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place WC2, daily 10am to 6pm (Thu and Fri to 9pm), £6, £4 concs. Tel: 020 7306 0055.