.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This portrait closely relates to, and appears to be by the same hand as, a portrait of King George II in the Royal Collection (see O. Millar, Tudor, Stuart and early Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, 1963, p.196, no.620, pl.190). The facial type, scale, and handling of the two pictures appear almost identical, while the Royal Collection picture shows the King in armour, with the ribbon of the Garter and holding a baton in his left hand. In the present version the King's upper body is turned in the opposite direction to that in the Royal Collection picture, while the inclination of his head remains the same.
It has not yet been established who painted the Royal Collection picture. The type is close to a portrait of King George II by Gottfried Boy, signed and dated 1747 (Sotheby's, 21 June 1967, lot 36), as well as to an engraving by J.J. Kleinschmidt after Franz Lippoldt. There is also a related portrait by Edmund Ford at All Souls College, Oxford, as well as a miniature, whose design is similar, attributed to William Prewett, also in the Royal Collection. However, stylistic comparison based on photographs does not immediately suggest that any of these artists is the author of either the present, or the Royal Collection, picture.
The Royal Collection version is the source of Reynolds's portrait of the King, probably painted postumously, circa 1763 (Bishopsthorpe Palace, York; see D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, London and New Haven, 2000, pp. 213-14, fig. 703).
It has not yet been established who painted the Royal Collection picture. The type is close to a portrait of King George II by Gottfried Boy, signed and dated 1747 (Sotheby's, 21 June 1967, lot 36), as well as to an engraving by J.J. Kleinschmidt after Franz Lippoldt. There is also a related portrait by Edmund Ford at All Souls College, Oxford, as well as a miniature, whose design is similar, attributed to William Prewett, also in the Royal Collection. However, stylistic comparison based on photographs does not immediately suggest that any of these artists is the author of either the present, or the Royal Collection, picture.
The Royal Collection version is the source of Reynolds's portrait of the King, probably painted postumously, circa 1763 (Bishopsthorpe Palace, York; see D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, London and New Haven, 2000, pp. 213-14, fig. 703).