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Descriptif du lot
This very late work by Gawen Hamilton, who died in 1737, offers an intimate glimpse into the world of the great composer George Frederick Handel. On the right hangs Philip Mercier’s portrait of Handel, which the composer gave to the lawyer and eventual co-executor of his will, Thomas Harris (1711-1785). The arms above the chimney piece are those of the writer and librettist Newburgh Hamilton (1691-1761). Below these stands a bust identified by an inscription as of the poet, John Dryden, whose ode, Alexander’s Feast, was adapted by Hamilton for Handel, whose musical setting was first performed on 19 February 1736. Balancing the portrait of Handel is that of Henry Purcell on the left, probably enlarged from a picture of smaller format.
It seems unlikely that Hamilton had a room of comparable scale in his Old Bond Street residence; nevertheless, the inclusion of his arms strongly suggests that Hamilton commissioned the picture to commemorate his adaptation of Dryden’s poem for Handel. He would subsequently supply the composer with two further librettos, both based on poems by John Milton: Samson of 1743 and the Occasional Oratorio of 1746. In the first codicil to his will, dated 6 August 1756, Handel left Hamilton a legacy of a hundred pounds in gratitude for having ‘assisted me in adjusting words for some of my Compositions’.
As these have the character of portraits, the identification of the figures should clearly be sought in Handel’s immediate milieu. The standing man behind the seated group is presumably Newburgh Hamilton himself. Of the trio seated at the card table, the man on the left bears a resemblance to Mercier’s portrait of James Harris (1707-1792), author of Hermes and a long-term admirer of Handel, like his younger brother Thomas, from whom he inherited the picture of the composer. The other male figure might be Thomas, although the identity of their female companion remains unknown. On the left is a man playing the harpsichord and near him a musician tuning his violin.
It seems unlikely that Hamilton had a room of comparable scale in his Old Bond Street residence; nevertheless, the inclusion of his arms strongly suggests that Hamilton commissioned the picture to commemorate his adaptation of Dryden’s poem for Handel. He would subsequently supply the composer with two further librettos, both based on poems by John Milton: Samson of 1743 and the Occasional Oratorio of 1746. In the first codicil to his will, dated 6 August 1756, Handel left Hamilton a legacy of a hundred pounds in gratitude for having ‘assisted me in adjusting words for some of my Compositions’.
As these have the character of portraits, the identification of the figures should clearly be sought in Handel’s immediate milieu. The standing man behind the seated group is presumably Newburgh Hamilton himself. Of the trio seated at the card table, the man on the left bears a resemblance to Mercier’s portrait of James Harris (1707-1792), author of Hermes and a long-term admirer of Handel, like his younger brother Thomas, from whom he inherited the picture of the composer. The other male figure might be Thomas, although the identity of their female companion remains unknown. On the left is a man playing the harpsichord and near him a musician tuning his violin.