Portrait of a gentleman, identified as John Francis Vigani, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Cambridge, a fellow at Trinity

An old label on the reverse asserts that this is a portrait of John Francis Vigani. Vigani (c.1650-1712), who was born in Verona, came to England in 1682. By 1683 he was living in Cambridge where he gave private tuition in chemistry and pharmacy, independently of any of the colleges, and soon acquired a considerable reputation. In 1703 he was appointed the first Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. No other portraits of Vigani nor any descriptions of his appearance are known with which to compare the present portrait.