Portrait of John Milton (1608-1674)

Although John Milton, the poet and writer best-known for Paradise Lost, died when Richardson was a child, his extraordinary popularity meant that images of him were in demand throughout the 18th Century. The present drawing is after a pastel attributed to William Faithorne. Another version is in the British Museum (Gg,1.503), as is another drawing by Richardson of Milton, after a terracotta bust by Edward Pierce II (Gg,1.503). Richardson adored Paradise Lost and, partly in response to Richard Bentley's 1732 edition, published Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Milton's Paradise Lost in 1734, written with his son, Jonathan Richardson the younger.

We are grateful to Susan Owens for her help in preparing this catalogue entry.