This splendid early 19th-century English school portrait study depicts a gentleman wearing a brown coat, cream waistcoat, white shirt, and cravat.

He’s dressed according to the rather dapper fashions of the 1820s when men embraced their romantic sensibilities. Gone were the constraints of neo-classicism, gentlemen carried themselves with charisma and verve.

It was the time of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Lord Byron. The Industrial Revolution was tempered by sweet expressive verse. Young couples exchanged letters gushing with sentiment.

Portraits were hung in country homes across the land with both Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA (1769-1830) and Sir William Beechey RA (1753-1839) well established. A portrait spoke volumes, not only aesthetically, but also at a deeper level regarding a sitter’s character and spirit.

The artist behind this particular work is unknown but it’s confidently rendered.

Held in a modern frame.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 23½” x 28½” / 60cm x 72cm
Year of creation: c. 1820
Provenance: Private collection, England.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Cleaned. Revarnished. Canvas relined. Frame restored. Minor raised area in the hair.
Our reference: BRV1622