• Old Master & British Paintings auction at Christies

    Sale 7981

    Old Master & British Paintings - Day Sale

    London

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    6 July 2011

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    • Peter Corner (active England e
    Lot 150

    Peter Corner (active England early 18th Century)

    Portrait of a huntsman, full-length, in a red and gold embroidered cloak in a wooded landscape

    Price realised

    GBP 12,500

    Estimate

    GBP 8,000 - GBP 12,000

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    Peter Corner (active England early 18th Century)
    Portrait of a huntsman, full-length, in a red and gold embroidered cloak in a wooded landscape
    signed 'P. Körner Pinxit.' (lower left)
    oil on canvas
    71 x 58½ in. (180.4 x 148.5 cm.)

    Provenance

    The Collection of the Electors of Hanover, and by descent in the Electoral and subsequently Royal Collection, to Ernst August, Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover, and by descent at Schloss Herrenhausen, subsequently transferred to Schloss Marienburg and by descent.

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    Lot Essay

    Although the young sitter in the present work is currently unidentified, given its provenance he is likely to be a member of the House of Hanover and a young King George III (1683-1760) has been suggested. He wears a theatrical version of a Hungarian hussar's uniform. The English awareness of Central European customs, history and dress developed strongly from the mid-seventeenth century on, due in large part to Elisabeth, Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia (the so-called 'Winter Queen'), sister of King Charles I. She was a Romantic symbol of the Stuart cause during the Commonwealth, and the only claim of the Hanoverian dynasty to the British throne was based on their descent from her. If the sitter in this portrait is a Hanover, the Hungarian dress would be extremely significant, as it would recall their descent from a Stuart princess who became Queen of Bohemia, reminding the viewer of the legitimacy of their claim to the British throne.
    The hussars originated in the late seventeenth century as a regiment devoted to defending the Hungarian border against Turkish marauders. Their uniform borrowed elements from Eastern dress, and was in turn adopted by the British as a particularly popular masquerade costume. The pointed, fur-trimmed cap, tunic and jacket fastened with loops of gold braid, and wide sash, evidently all made of brightly-coloured satin, suggest that the sitter is a fashionable gentleman. Numerous portraits of men in hussar masquerade are known, among them Arthur Devis' famous double-portrait of Mr. and Mrs. William Ricketts in the grounds at Ranelagh (formerly R. St. Vincent Parker-Jervis; present location unknown).

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