Portrait of John Campbell, 4th Earl and 1st Marquess of Breadalbane (1762-1834), three-quarter-length, in a yellow jacket with lace collar and cuffs, his right arm resting on a book, a mountainous landscape beyond

The sitter was the eldest son of Colin Campbell of Carwhin (1704-1772), and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Alfred Campbell of Stonefield. He was educated at Winchester and following the death of his cousin, John, 3rd Earl of Breadalbane, he succeeded as 4th Earl, in 1782. Between 1782 and 1783, he made his Grand Tour to Italy, where he visited Rome and Naples, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society on his return to London in 1784. He was created Earl of Ormelie and Marquess of Breadalbane in 1836. His wife Mary, who he married in 1793, was the daughter and co-heir of David Gavin of Langton House, Berwick, and Elizabeth, daughter of James, Earl of Lauderdale. He was succeeded by his son John.
This portrait would appear, on stylistic grounds, to date from the late 1770s or early 1780s, which concurs with the sitter's evident youth. It may be that it was commissioned shortly before Campbell's departure for Italy in circa 1782, which might explain the apparent allusion to Vesuvius in the background. An alternative possibility is that it was painted in Rome in 1782. It is not, however, recorded in the 'Memorandum of Paintings' which Antonio Zucchi, the artist's husband, had begun to keep in 1781, and which appears quite complete for the years until 1798. There are however no entries in the 'Memorandum' between April and June 1782, when the artist was primarily concerned with setting up her studio in Rome and it is possible that it was painted then.