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Lot Essay
This magnificent and remarkably well-preserved portrait was executed in the years after Gainsborough's move from Bath to London in 1774, the period in which he established his reputation as one of the most sophisticated painters of his generation. It shows Gainsborough's increasingly confident and experimental approach to painting; his spontaneous brushwork and light touch achieving a natural compositional flow and sensitivity, whilst exhibiting a newfound freedom in conception as well as execution.
Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield (1755-1815) was the only surviving son of Arthur Charles Stanhope (d. 1770) of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Charles Headlam of Kirby Hall, Yorkshire. He inherited the title from his third cousin once removed and godfather, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773), the politician, diplomat, and author of the famous letters to his illegitimate son, Philip (Letters written by the late Right Honourable Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield, to his son Philip Stanhope, Esq..., London, 1774). The 4th Earl, who was also painted by Gainsborough in 1769 (Chevening, Earl Stanhope; fig. 1), directed his godson's education from the age of four, appointing a series of tutors that included Dr. William Dodd, the fashionable preacher and Chaplain to King George III, who was later hanged for forging a bond in the name of his former pupil. Lord Chesterfield was determined that his heir should be a courtly, accomplished man of the world and wrote to him frequently, insisting that all his actions must be carried out under the influence of 'Les Graces', and that he should avoid becoming 'one of those youths who brought English manners at home and abroad into disrepute' (Carnarvon, op. cit., p. lxvii). These dogmatic instructions were even found in the 4th Earl's will, in which he states that his successor shall forfeit £5,000 if he frequents Newmarket; 'that seminary of iniquity and ill manners' (Carnarvon, op. cit., p. lxx), and that the forfeit should be left to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. Philip was studying in Leipzig when his godfather died in 1773 and he inherited the earldom and late Earl's fortune. On 16 September 1777, the 5th Earl married Anne Thistlethwaite, daughter of the Revd. Robert Thistlethwaite of Norman Court, Hampshire. After Anne's death in October 1798, he married secondly, Lady Henrietta Thynne, third daughter of Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath on 2 May 1799. Lord Chesterfield survived his second wife by two years and died at the family seat at Bretby Hall, Derbyshire (fig. 2) in August 1815, aged 59.
At court he attracted the favourable notice of King George III and was 'constantly with the homely sovereign in his morning rides, his quiet whist parties, on board the royal yacht at Weymouth' (Carnarvon, op. cit., p. lxxiii). Through this intimacy with the King, the 4th Earl's great ambition for his heir to hold political office was fulfilled. In 1784 he was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Madrid, a post he held until 1787, although he never went to Spain. He held office under William Pitt the Younger as Master of the Mint (1789-1790), joint Postmaster-General (1790-1794), and Master of the Horse (1798-1804). In 1805 he was made a Knight of the Garter.
Chesterfield's heart, however, was in the country. He was an enthusiast for hunting and delighted in superintending the operation of his estates. This enthusiasm is recorded in Thomas Weaver's picture of 1810 (previously Bretby Park, present location unknown), showing the Earl standing in a farmyard with his young son from his second marriage, George (afterwards the 6th Earl of Chesterfield), his agent and 'a prize heifer'.
In 1777, to commemorate his marriage, Chesterfield commissioned Gainsborough to paint full-length portraits of himself and his new wife, Anne Thistlethwaite. The companion portrait (Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum; fig. 3) shows the Countess seated on a terrace, her shimmering blue satin gown and gold-trimmed shawl set off by the enveloping foliage that opens onto undulating hills, alluding to the landscape around Bretby. With her powdered hair worn high, and dainty white slippers emerging beneath the low-cut satin gown, the Countess is portrayed as a paragon of contemporary fashion. In deliberate contrast, Chesterfield is depicted informally, dressed in hunting attire and leaning against a bank, as though he were resting for a moment in the course of a walk, his dog still panting from the run to join his master.
Gainsborough's well documented affection for animals is beautifully portrayed in this depiction of Chesterfield and his dog. There is an unquestionable intimacy in the crossing of legs as the dog arrives at his master's feet. The highlights in the animal's eye, the part-open mouth and instinctive hand resting on its head, convey a tangible sense of respect and affection. The artist's devotion to dogs is further evinced in the picture of his own pets; Tristram and Fox (circa 1770, London, Tate), which is recorded as having hung over the chimneypiece in his London house.
Painted the year after his return to the Royal Academy, the Chesterfield portrait represents a significant moment in the portraiture of Gainsborough's full artistic maturity. Executed on a grand scale, Gainsborough returns to the theme of the smaller informal portraits of the 1750s; arguably the finest example of which shows John Plampin (c.1753-54, London, National Gallery; fig. 4) seated on a bank beside his dog. Plampin's informal pose is traditionally thought to be an interpretation of Watteau's Portrait of Antoine de la Rocque (c. 1719, private collection), which Gainsborough would have known through Lépicié's engraving of 1734 (Waterhouse, loc. cit, p. 17). In the Chesterfield portrait, Gainsborough achieves a natural compositional flow through the informal pose adopted by the Earl, the placement of the dog at his feet, and the overhanging foliage. He clearly considered this gentle arc-shaped pose a satisfactory approach to full-length portraiture when painting his sitters in landscapes and developed the type in later works, most famously in the portrait of Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (c.1785-7; Washington, National Gallery of Art; fig. 5). The tradition of the informal portrait was to remain in vogue throughout the course of the 18th Century, culminating with Wright of Derby's reclining portrait of Sir Brooke Boothby (1780-81, London, Tate).
This portrait and its companion were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1778 (nos. 112 & 113) alongside eleven other works by the artist which included portraits of his neighbour, James Christie (Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum), and of the French painter Philip-Jacques de Loutherbourg (London, Dulwich Picture Gallery). The previous year marked Gainsborough's return to the Academy after an absence of four years, announcing with the exhibition of his portraits of The Duke and Duchess of Cumberland (The Royal Collection) that royal patronage had been secured. This success and the resulting work he received enabled the artist to employ a more experimental approach to portraiture. He developed a highly instinctive and impressionistic technique, ensuring his portraits were best viewed from a considerable distance. With his palette swimming in turpentine, Gainsborough uses vigorous, sweeping brushstrokes to describe the sitter's hunting dress, the dog and surrounding landscape. The remarkable freedom and fluency of the handling is allied with moments of subtle observation, notably in the virtuoso rendering of the scarlet reflection from the sitter's coat. This technique was later praised by Reynolds when he honoured Gainsborough on 10 December 1778 with a valedictory Discourse; 'all those odd scratches and marks... which even to experienced painters appear rather the effect of accident than design... this shapeless appearance, by a kind of magik (sic.), at a certain distance assumes form, and all the parts seem to drop into their proper places' (J. Reynolds, Discourse on Art, XIV, London, 1788, ed. R.R. Wark, London, 1966, p. 226).
We are grateful to Hugh Belsey, who is currently compiling a catalogue of Gainsborough's portraits for Yale University Press, for his assistance with this catalogue entry.
Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield (1755-1815) was the only surviving son of Arthur Charles Stanhope (d. 1770) of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Charles Headlam of Kirby Hall, Yorkshire. He inherited the title from his third cousin once removed and godfather, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773), the politician, diplomat, and author of the famous letters to his illegitimate son, Philip (Letters written by the late Right Honourable Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield, to his son Philip Stanhope, Esq..., London, 1774). The 4th Earl, who was also painted by Gainsborough in 1769 (Chevening, Earl Stanhope; fig. 1), directed his godson's education from the age of four, appointing a series of tutors that included Dr. William Dodd, the fashionable preacher and Chaplain to King George III, who was later hanged for forging a bond in the name of his former pupil. Lord Chesterfield was determined that his heir should be a courtly, accomplished man of the world and wrote to him frequently, insisting that all his actions must be carried out under the influence of 'Les Graces', and that he should avoid becoming 'one of those youths who brought English manners at home and abroad into disrepute' (Carnarvon, op. cit., p. lxvii). These dogmatic instructions were even found in the 4th Earl's will, in which he states that his successor shall forfeit £5,000 if he frequents Newmarket; 'that seminary of iniquity and ill manners' (Carnarvon, op. cit., p. lxx), and that the forfeit should be left to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. Philip was studying in Leipzig when his godfather died in 1773 and he inherited the earldom and late Earl's fortune. On 16 September 1777, the 5th Earl married Anne Thistlethwaite, daughter of the Revd. Robert Thistlethwaite of Norman Court, Hampshire. After Anne's death in October 1798, he married secondly, Lady Henrietta Thynne, third daughter of Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath on 2 May 1799. Lord Chesterfield survived his second wife by two years and died at the family seat at Bretby Hall, Derbyshire (fig. 2) in August 1815, aged 59.
At court he attracted the favourable notice of King George III and was 'constantly with the homely sovereign in his morning rides, his quiet whist parties, on board the royal yacht at Weymouth' (Carnarvon, op. cit., p. lxxiii). Through this intimacy with the King, the 4th Earl's great ambition for his heir to hold political office was fulfilled. In 1784 he was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Madrid, a post he held until 1787, although he never went to Spain. He held office under William Pitt the Younger as Master of the Mint (1789-1790), joint Postmaster-General (1790-1794), and Master of the Horse (1798-1804). In 1805 he was made a Knight of the Garter.
Chesterfield's heart, however, was in the country. He was an enthusiast for hunting and delighted in superintending the operation of his estates. This enthusiasm is recorded in Thomas Weaver's picture of 1810 (previously Bretby Park, present location unknown), showing the Earl standing in a farmyard with his young son from his second marriage, George (afterwards the 6th Earl of Chesterfield), his agent and 'a prize heifer'.
In 1777, to commemorate his marriage, Chesterfield commissioned Gainsborough to paint full-length portraits of himself and his new wife, Anne Thistlethwaite. The companion portrait (Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum; fig. 3) shows the Countess seated on a terrace, her shimmering blue satin gown and gold-trimmed shawl set off by the enveloping foliage that opens onto undulating hills, alluding to the landscape around Bretby. With her powdered hair worn high, and dainty white slippers emerging beneath the low-cut satin gown, the Countess is portrayed as a paragon of contemporary fashion. In deliberate contrast, Chesterfield is depicted informally, dressed in hunting attire and leaning against a bank, as though he were resting for a moment in the course of a walk, his dog still panting from the run to join his master.
Gainsborough's well documented affection for animals is beautifully portrayed in this depiction of Chesterfield and his dog. There is an unquestionable intimacy in the crossing of legs as the dog arrives at his master's feet. The highlights in the animal's eye, the part-open mouth and instinctive hand resting on its head, convey a tangible sense of respect and affection. The artist's devotion to dogs is further evinced in the picture of his own pets; Tristram and Fox (circa 1770, London, Tate), which is recorded as having hung over the chimneypiece in his London house.
Painted the year after his return to the Royal Academy, the Chesterfield portrait represents a significant moment in the portraiture of Gainsborough's full artistic maturity. Executed on a grand scale, Gainsborough returns to the theme of the smaller informal portraits of the 1750s; arguably the finest example of which shows John Plampin (c.1753-54, London, National Gallery; fig. 4) seated on a bank beside his dog. Plampin's informal pose is traditionally thought to be an interpretation of Watteau's Portrait of Antoine de la Rocque (c. 1719, private collection), which Gainsborough would have known through Lépicié's engraving of 1734 (Waterhouse, loc. cit, p. 17). In the Chesterfield portrait, Gainsborough achieves a natural compositional flow through the informal pose adopted by the Earl, the placement of the dog at his feet, and the overhanging foliage. He clearly considered this gentle arc-shaped pose a satisfactory approach to full-length portraiture when painting his sitters in landscapes and developed the type in later works, most famously in the portrait of Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (c.1785-7; Washington, National Gallery of Art; fig. 5). The tradition of the informal portrait was to remain in vogue throughout the course of the 18th Century, culminating with Wright of Derby's reclining portrait of Sir Brooke Boothby (1780-81, London, Tate).
This portrait and its companion were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1778 (nos. 112 & 113) alongside eleven other works by the artist which included portraits of his neighbour, James Christie (Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum), and of the French painter Philip-Jacques de Loutherbourg (London, Dulwich Picture Gallery). The previous year marked Gainsborough's return to the Academy after an absence of four years, announcing with the exhibition of his portraits of The Duke and Duchess of Cumberland (The Royal Collection) that royal patronage had been secured. This success and the resulting work he received enabled the artist to employ a more experimental approach to portraiture. He developed a highly instinctive and impressionistic technique, ensuring his portraits were best viewed from a considerable distance. With his palette swimming in turpentine, Gainsborough uses vigorous, sweeping brushstrokes to describe the sitter's hunting dress, the dog and surrounding landscape. The remarkable freedom and fluency of the handling is allied with moments of subtle observation, notably in the virtuoso rendering of the scarlet reflection from the sitter's coat. This technique was later praised by Reynolds when he honoured Gainsborough on 10 December 1778 with a valedictory Discourse; 'all those odd scratches and marks... which even to experienced painters appear rather the effect of accident than design... this shapeless appearance, by a kind of magik (sic.), at a certain distance assumes form, and all the parts seem to drop into their proper places' (J. Reynolds, Discourse on Art, XIV, London, 1788, ed. R.R. Wark, London, 1966, p. 226).
We are grateful to Hugh Belsey, who is currently compiling a catalogue of Gainsborough's portraits for Yale University Press, for his assistance with this catalogue entry.