ANTOINE VESTIER (1740-1824) Eugene Joseph Stanislas Foullon d'Ecotier (1785) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Oil on canvas (80 x 64 cm) (To enlarge the picture, right click on it and chose "Open in a new tab") Antoine Vestier was born in Avallon, Burgundy. Very little is known about his early years. By 1760 he …
Tag: Portraits
A dashing Guards officer
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) Captain George K. H. Coussmaker (1782) Oil on canvas (238 x 145 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Painted in 1782, this is one of Reynolds' finest works. He devoted an exceptionally large number of sittings …
A handsome gentleman
SIR PETER LELY (1618-1680) Sir Henry Capel Oil on canvas (126 x 103 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" The artist was the son of a captain of infantry in the service of the Elector of Brandenburg. Born Pieter …
Rubens’ Self-Portrait
PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577-1640) Self-Portrait (1622) Oil on canvas (80 x 60 cm) Australian National Gallery, Canberra To enlarge the picture, right-click on it, then "Open in a new tab" This self-portrait was painted by Rubens in 1622 as a present for his friend, the lawyer and collector Nicolas Claude Fabri de Peiresec (1580-1637). Rubens did …
Prince Henry Benedict Stuart
LOUIS GABRIEL BLANCHET (1705-1772) Prince Henry Benedict Stuart (c.1739) Oil on canvas (98 x 73 cm) Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Royal Collection To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "open in a new tab" This beautiful portrait and its pair, the one of his older brother Prince Charles Edward Stuart, are arguably Blanchet's most …
Prince Charles Edward Stuart
LOUIS GABRIEL BLANCHET (1705-1772) Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1737-38) Oil on canvas (98 x 75.5 cm) Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Royal Collection To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Very little is known about Louis Gabriel Blanchet, a gifted portraitist who spent his professional career in Rome. He was …
Portrait of Jean-Sylvain Bailly
AUGUSTIN PAJOU (1730-1809) Portrait of Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1791) Patinated plaster (75 x 49 x 28 cm) Los Angeles County Museum of Art To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1736-93), whose literary career was surpassed by his studies in astronomy and its history, was elected to the …
Portrait of Pieter Tjarck
FRANS HALS (1581/85-1666) Portrait of a Man / Portrait of Pieter Tjarck (1635-38) Oil on canvas (85 x 70 cm) Los Angeles County Museum of Art To enlarge the images, right-click on them and "Open in a new tab" The identity of the sitter in this magnificent portrait has sometimes been questioned, but there seems …
Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria
ANTHONIS MOR / ANTON VAN DASHORST MOR (1518-1576) Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria (c.1558) Oil on canvas (95 x 76 cm) Museo del Prado, Madrid To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Anthonis Mor (as he is most widely known) is not a name familiar to many Old Masters lovers …
A young Gentleman
HUGH DOUGLAS HAMILTON (1740-1808) Portrait of a young gentleman Pastel on paper (23.5 x 20 cm) Location unknown To enlarge the image, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Hamilton was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1740, the son of a wig-maker. Unfortunately, there is not much documented evidence about his early years. …
Old Masters 