Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
Its purpose was to suggest the Classical world of Ancient Rome, so fashionable at the time. This was known as "elevating the sitter" and was thought to confer a timeless quality upon the portrait.
The young woman is clearly not much more than a girl, this would be her first 'adult' portrait and probably signified her entrance into the marriage market; 13 to 14 years old was the age this usually occurred in upmarket circles. She appears confident and poised, yet there is a hint of thoughtfulness behind that look.
JOHN MICHAEL WRIGHT (1617-1694) was one of the most successful native English artists of the seventeenth century. With earlier contemporaries such as Robert Walker and William Dobson, he was one of only a few English painters to find favour amongst the top echelons of society. At the height of his fame, he styled himself ‘Pictor Regius’ [The King’s Painter]
His career was all the more remarkable in an era when patrons continued their traditional preference for foreign artists, as they had done from Holbein to Van Dyck.
Wright’s success lay in his uniquely diverse artistic background and training. Although born in London, he first trained in Scotland under George Jamesone. He then left for Italy and stayed in Rome for a decade from 1642, working amongst contemporaries such as Poussin and Velazquez. In 1648 he became a member of the Academy of St Luke. He returned to London in 1656, after having spent time in France and Flanders.
No other English artist before Wright had travelled and studied so extensively on the Continent.
Wright is currently rated as one of the leading indigenous British painters of his generation, largely for the distinctive realism in his portraiture.
SIZE: canvas 30 x 25 inches.
frame 35.25 x 30.5 inches.
PROVENANCE:
Collection of Murray T. Foster (Historian in Cullompton, Devon).
Christie's, May 9th 1913, lot 281, 6gns.
Private Collection.
With Roy Precious Fine Art.
Private Collection, Kent.
With Roy Precious Fine Art.
Private Collection, Sussex.
Verso: "Beneficiaries of ... Bateman."
Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art Profile Page
Portrait of a Young Lady C.1675; Circle of John Michael Wright.
