Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, seated at a table, in a black frock coat and embroidered scarf, holding a copy of Samuel Rogers' Italy in his left hand

Samuel Rogers, author of the book in the sitter's hand, was a poet and banker whose house in St. James's Place was a centre of literary and cultural life in London. The first part of Italy originally appeared anonymously in 1822. A revised edition, with illustrations by Turner and Stothard, met with huge success when published in 1830.