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Lot Essay
The sitter was the sixth son of Sir Nicholas Bacon (1509-1579), Keeper of the Great Seal for Queen Elizabeth I. He studied to become a lawyer at Gray's Inn from 1579 to 1582 and was recognised as a brilliant legal mind. Circa 1584 he wrote his Letter of Advice to Queen Elizabeth urging strong measures against Catholics. Although Bacon played a critical role in the trial and conviction of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, following Essex's revolt, he only gained royal favour under King James I. He was knighted and nominated King's Counsel in 1603, the year of the King's accession, and was then appointed to a succession of important posts which, like his father culminated in his appointment as Keeper of the Great Seal. He was made Lord Chancellor and raised to the peerage as Baron Verulam in 1618. He was created Viscount St. Albans in 1621 but shortly afterwards fell from grace following accusations of corruption and neglect and the House of Lords fined him and banished him from court. Although he was later pardoned by the King his public career never revived and he retired to his house at Gorhambury to concentrate on his writing. His most important published works - the Essays (1597), De Sapientia Veterum (1609) and Apophthegms New and Old (1624) - developed theories on the search for scientific truth through evidence and controlled experiment (at that time contrary to the Tudor emphasis on Aristotelian idea that scientific truth could be reached by way of authoratative argument). He died in April 1626 at Lord Arundel's house in Highgate, London.
The diarist, George Vertue, noted in 1731 that 'At Gorhambury - the Picture of Lord Bacon the whole length original taken down for to be coppyd by Mr. J. Vanderbank who now has made 6 coppys half length' (G. Vertue, Notebooks, Walpole Society, Vol. II, 1930-2, pp. 41-42). The original portrait of Bacon at Gorhambury, which Vanderbank copied, is thought to be a posthumous version after the portrait in the Royal Society which is usually attributed to Abraham van Blyenberch (fl.1617-1622). When Vanderbank made his copies in 1731, the Gorhambury portrait was thought to be the prime. A number of these copies are recorded: Badminton House (Duke of Beaufort); National Portrait Gallery (presented to the British Musuem in 1758 by Dr A. Gifford); with Duits, 1943; and recorded by Vertue in Speaker Onslow's collection.
Vanderbank, son of the well-known tapestry weaver of the same name, was born in London and studied at the Kneller Academy from 1711 until he founded his own academy in 1720 in St. Martin's Lane. His lively draughtsmanship won him a large clientele for portraits and George Vertue considered that were it not for his intemperance he could have succeeded Sir Godfrey Kneller as the most successful portraitist of his generation.
The diarist, George Vertue, noted in 1731 that 'At Gorhambury - the Picture of Lord Bacon the whole length original taken down for to be coppyd by Mr. J. Vanderbank who now has made 6 coppys half length' (G. Vertue, Notebooks, Walpole Society, Vol. II, 1930-2, pp. 41-42). The original portrait of Bacon at Gorhambury, which Vanderbank copied, is thought to be a posthumous version after the portrait in the Royal Society which is usually attributed to Abraham van Blyenberch (fl.1617-1622). When Vanderbank made his copies in 1731, the Gorhambury portrait was thought to be the prime. A number of these copies are recorded: Badminton House (Duke of Beaufort); National Portrait Gallery (presented to the British Musuem in 1758 by Dr A. Gifford); with Duits, 1943; and recorded by Vertue in Speaker Onslow's collection.
Vanderbank, son of the well-known tapestry weaver of the same name, was born in London and studied at the Kneller Academy from 1711 until he founded his own academy in 1720 in St. Martin's Lane. His lively draughtsmanship won him a large clientele for portraits and George Vertue considered that were it not for his intemperance he could have succeeded Sir Godfrey Kneller as the most successful portraitist of his generation.