.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The sitter was the eldest son of Colin Campbell of Carwhin (1704-1772), and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Alfred Campbell of Stonefield. He was educated at Winchester and following the death of his cousin, John, 3rd Earl of Breadlebane, he succeeded as the 4th Earl in 1782. Between 1782 and 1783 he was travelling on the Grand Tour in Italy where he visited Rome and Naples and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society on his return in 1784. He was created Earl of Ormelie and Marquess of Breadlebane in 1836. His wife Mary, who he married in 1793, was the daughter and co-heir of David Gavin of Langton House, Berwick, and Elizabeth, daughter of James, Earl of Lauderdale. He was succeeded by his son John, who married Eliza, daughter of George Baillie of Jerviswood.
Perhaps the sitter's greatest contribution was to create at the family seat, Taymouth Castle, the largest and most magnificent neo-gothic Castle in Scotland. To implement his plans he initially employed the Edinburgh architect John Patterson who submitted a plan to remodel the existing house in 1797 and supervised the works which commenced in 1801 until the two fell out in 1806. Subsequently he employed Archibald and James Eliot who together with the builder Alain Johnstone completely rebuilt the house. The interiors were carried out by Francis Bernasconi, who specialised in gothic interiors, and when complete the great staircase was considered the most impressive gothic interior in any Scottish house. The tremendous expense of this phase of rebuilding, some £45,000 overall, which was completed by 1810, did not deter him from embarking on further improvements later on, and in 1818 he employed James Wyatt's pupil, William Atkinson, to replace the old classical wings. Improvements were also made to the park and grounds including a family mausoleum at Finlay on an island at the head of Loch Tay, where he was eventually buried.
This portrait would appear, on stylistic grounds, to date from the late 1770s or early 1780s which concurs with the sitter's evident youth. It may be that he commissioned it shortly before his departure for Italy circa 1782, which might explain the apparent allusion to Vesuvius in the background. An alternative possibility is that it was painted in Rome while both artist and sitter were there in 1782. It is not, however, recorded in the 'Memorandum of Paintings' which Antonio Zucchi, the artist's husband, had begun to keep in 1781, and which appears quite complete for the years until 1798. There are however no entries in the memorandum between April and June 1782 when the artist was primarily concerned with setting up her studio in Rome and it is possible that it was painted then.
Perhaps the sitter's greatest contribution was to create at the family seat, Taymouth Castle, the largest and most magnificent neo-gothic Castle in Scotland. To implement his plans he initially employed the Edinburgh architect John Patterson who submitted a plan to remodel the existing house in 1797 and supervised the works which commenced in 1801 until the two fell out in 1806. Subsequently he employed Archibald and James Eliot who together with the builder Alain Johnstone completely rebuilt the house. The interiors were carried out by Francis Bernasconi, who specialised in gothic interiors, and when complete the great staircase was considered the most impressive gothic interior in any Scottish house. The tremendous expense of this phase of rebuilding, some £45,000 overall, which was completed by 1810, did not deter him from embarking on further improvements later on, and in 1818 he employed James Wyatt's pupil, William Atkinson, to replace the old classical wings. Improvements were also made to the park and grounds including a family mausoleum at Finlay on an island at the head of Loch Tay, where he was eventually buried.
This portrait would appear, on stylistic grounds, to date from the late 1770s or early 1780s which concurs with the sitter's evident youth. It may be that he commissioned it shortly before his departure for Italy circa 1782, which might explain the apparent allusion to Vesuvius in the background. An alternative possibility is that it was painted in Rome while both artist and sitter were there in 1782. It is not, however, recorded in the 'Memorandum of Paintings' which Antonio Zucchi, the artist's husband, had begun to keep in 1781, and which appears quite complete for the years until 1798. There are however no entries in the memorandum between April and June 1782 when the artist was primarily concerned with setting up her studio in Rome and it is possible that it was painted then.