L'un des portraitistes les plus célèbres de son époque, George Romney s'est forgé une réputation grâce à ses représentations gracieuses et expressives de la haute société britannique à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Né en 1734 à Dalton-in-Furness, dans le Lancashire, Romney est devenu l'apprenti de l'artiste local Christopher Steele en 1755. En 1757, il a quitté son apprentissage pour ouvrir son propre atelier à Kendal.
George Romney commença à se faire un nom grâce à ses portraits de la petite noblesse locale. Cependant, son cœur était tourné vers Londres, où il s’installa en 1762. À Londres, Romney gagna le patronage de l’élite britannique, et fut particulièrement apprécié des femmes de la haute société. Sa réputation rivalisait avec celle de Sir Joshua Reynolds et de Thomas Gainsborough. Le style de Romney se caractérisait par une observation fine des traits de caractère, qu’il combinait à une élégance raffinée dans la composition et la couleur.
En 1782, George Romney rencontra Emma Hamilton, qui allait devenir l’une des plus grandes muses de l’artiste. Romney fut séduit par sa beauté unique, qui alliait les traits sculpturaux de la Grèce antique à la volupté rubénienne de sa chevelure châtain. Entre 1782 et 1786, Hamilton posa pour Romney plus de 100 fois, et plus de 60 tableaux eurent Hamilton pour source d’inspiration ou élément central tout au long de leur relation. Romney a peint Hamilton dans quatre catégories principales : des compositions inspirées de la vie réelle, des allégories personnifiées à figure unique, ainsi que des sujets mythologiques ou religieux.
L'œuvre de Romney comprend également de nombreux dessins, dont beaucoup ont servi d'études pour ses œuvres de plus grand format. Ces dessins de George Romney révèlent son approche méticuleuse de la composition et son exploration de différentes poses et expressions, offrant un aperçu de son processus créatif. Ses dessins sont remarquables par leur fluidité et la capacité de l’artiste à rendre la ressemblance avec un minimum de traits.
En 1799, Romney retourna à Kendal auprès de la famille qu’il avait quittée pour poursuivre une carrière à Londres jusqu’à sa mort en 1802. Son impressionnante œuvre comprend quelque 2 000 peintures et 5 000 dessins, conservés dans des collections privées et publiques à travers le monde, notamment à la National Portrait Gallery de Londres.
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Group portrait of Dorothy Stables (1753-1832), with her daughters, Harriet (1774-1827) and Maria (1775-1821), in a wooded landscape
George Romney, R.A. (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Elizabeth Ramus (1751-1848), daughter of Nicholas Ramus and subsequently wife of Baron de Nougal, half-length, in a pink dress with gold trim and a green shawl, her hair tied with a gold-embroidered white muslin scarf
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Portrait of Mrs Deborah Jemima Maxwell (1755-1789), full-length, in a pale pink dress with a blue sash and a yellow wrap, in a wooded landscape
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Portrait of Dorothy Stables (1753-1832), seated, with her two daughters, Harriet (1774-1827) and Maria (1775-1821), in a wooded landscape
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Richard Newman Harding (1756-1808), full length, in a pink coat and breeches, with a dog in a wooded landscape
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734 - Kendal, Cumbria 1802)
Portrait of Mrs Moody (c.1767-1820), second wife of Samuel Moody, three-quarter-length, in a white dress trimmed with pink bows and a pink sash, holding a dog in her lap, in a landscape
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of Elizabeth, Lady Bentinck, née Cumberland (1760-1837), half-length, in a white dress and hat with a blue ribbon
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Portrait of Mary Lowther, née Forsyth (c.1760-1830), half-length in a black gown and ribboned hat
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of Henrietta, Lady Smith, née Dodsworth (1736-1795), three-quarter length, playing a lute
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
Portrait of a lady and a child, traditionally identified as Mrs Cumberland and her son, Charles, half-length, in a white dress and bonnet
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Lady Emma Hamilton, as Cassandra, half length, in a white robe, a laurel wreath crowning her head
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Double portrait of two siblings, three-quarter-length, in white dresses and a red and pink sash, in a landscape
George Romney (near Dalton-in-Furness, Lancs. 1734-Kendal, Cumbria 1802)
Portrait of Mrs Agnes Ainslie (1761-1796) and her son Henry (1786-1814), three-quarter-length, she in a white dress and mob-cap tied with a pink ribbon, holding a fob watch, the child in a white dress with a pink sash and white cap
GEORGE ROMNEY, R.A. (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of a lady, seated, three-quarter-length, in a landscape, traditionally identified as Anne, Countess of Clare (1766-1844)
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancs 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of General Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsay (1744-1818), half-length, in the uniform of the Grenadier guards
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal)
The Dream of Atossa
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
A sketchbook of 1791-2 including: Sketches for Macbeth: The cavern Scene; Macbeth: The Banquet Scene ; John Howard visiting a Lazaretto ; Newton and the Prism ; Landscape Studies; Studies for portraits; Studies of the head of an older man (possibly a self-portrait); Studies of a standing child; Studies of a reclining woman, possibly Iphigenia and her attendant spied on by Cymon ; Studies of a standing female figure with arm raised, possibly a study for Lady Hamilton as Cassandra or as Joan of Arc ; Studies of an initiation scene; Studies of couples meeting by a cottage; Studies of a dancing group; Studies of a male figure reaching down to embrace his infant child; A seated female figure with an attendant embracing a corpse, possibly related to the lost painting Susan when the seas are roaring ; and Sketches of an exotic figure in a robe
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Francis Lind (1752/3-1840), three-quarter-length, seated at a window, a one-keyed Simpson ivory flute in his right hand
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Portrait of Mrs Susannah Whatman (1756-1828), née Bosanquet, half-length, in a painted oval
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Portrait of Pamela, later Lady Edward Fitzgerald (?1773-1831), bust-length
GEORGE ROMNEY, R.A. (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of Sir Thomas Frankland, 6th Bt. (1750-1831), half-length, in profile
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of Captain John Stables (1743⁄4-1795), three-quarter length, in East India Company uniform holding a talwar sword
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal)
Prometheus Bound
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancs 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Mrs John Gathorne, half-length, in a silver gown, her left elbow resting on a table
George Romney, R.A. (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Mrs Mary Moody ( c . 1767-1820), wife of Samuel Moody, three-quarter-length, in a landscape
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of George Morewood (1720-1792) of Alfreton Park, Derbyshire, full-length, in a green suit with a walking stick
George Romney, R.A. (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of a lady, half-length, in a white dress, unfinished
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
Portrait of a gentleman seated, full-length, a table beside him
George Romney, R.A. (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Alicia Dundas, Lady Wedderburn (1754-1831), half-length
GEORGE ROMNEY, R.A. (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of Miss Williams, bust-length, in a painted oval
George Romney, R.A. (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of a girl, traditionally identified as Lady Charlotte Stanley (1776-1805); and Portrait of Edward (1775-1851), Lord Stanley, later 13th Earl of Derby, both bust-length
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
Portrait of John Mills, half-length
Attributed to George Romney, R.A. (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
Portrait of Edward Wortley, Lord Montagu
George Romney (near Dalton-in-Furness, Lancs. 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria )
Portrait of Emma, Lady Hamilton (1765-1815), bust-length
George Romney (near Dalton-in-Furness, Lancs. 1734-Kendal, Cumbria 1802)
Portrait of Hester, Countess of Clanricarde (d. 1803), half-length, in a red dress and a black, lace-trimmed wrap
CIRCLE OF GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Head of Miranda
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Lady Laetitia à Court, half-length, in a white muslin dress with satin bows
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Portrait of a lady, traditionally identified as Miss Mildred Stewart Wright, three-quarter length, leaning on a balustrade, pointing to a sundial
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of James Cross of Clifton, Bristol (?1739-1791), three-quarter-length, at a table with a landscape beyond
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
Portrait of Colin Dunlop of Carmyle, Provost of Glasgow, seated, three-quarter-length
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria)
Portrait of Emma, Lady Hamilton, bust-length
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of Lady Alicia Wedderburn, née Dundas (1754-1831), half-length
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Study for Milton and his daughters – en brunaille
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
Portrait of Mrs William Maguire, seated, half-length, in a white dress and fichu, a landscape beyond
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS 1734-1802 KENDAL)
A sketchbook of 12 sheets, rebound in a modern marbled paper binding, with new additional sheets at each end, including studies for: Portrait of Mrs Jackson; Melancholy; Portrait of Mrs Yeats; The Warren Family
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
A seated woman and other studies
GEORGE ROMNEY (DALTON-IN-FURNESS, LANCASHIRE 1734-1802 KENDAL, CUMBRIA)
Portrait of George Henry Fitzroy (1760-1844), Earl of Euston, later 4th Duke of Grafton, three-quarter-length, in a black coat, with a landscape beyond
George Romney (near Dalton-in-Furness, Lancs. 1734-1802 Kendal, Cumbria )
Portrait of a young girl, bust-length, in a white dress
George Romney (Dalton-in-Furness 1734-1802 Kendal)
Portrait study of the Rev. William Atkinson, half-length, wearing a broad-brimmed hat
George Romney (1718-1792)
The infant Shakespeare nursed by Tragedy and Comedy