Portrait of a Captain Sir John Munden (C.1645-1719) C.1692; John Closterman (1660-1711)

The sitter in this portrait is shown with the grandiloquence characteristic of Closterman’s portraits. The subject has been elegantly portrayed wearing scarlet, the colour of distinction; the flamboyance and penetrating sense of character seems almost eclipsed by the skilful handling of paint through the face and the full-bottomed periwig. It is a portrait instinct with life, an effect enhanced by the alert expression of the head and the lively glance out of and beyond the picture space, the sitter’s strong sense of character almost lending an air of noble expectancy to the composition.

The sitter is said to be Captain Sir John Munden (c.1645-1719) who was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy. In the right background his ship the ‘Lennox’ is shown engaged at the battle of Barfleur in 1692. The portrait was painted in the 1690’s and was most likely intended to mark this occasion.

Sir John was born around 1645, the younger son of Richard Munden (1602–1672), a ferryman of Chelsea, and his wife Elizabeth (1608–1694). He was appointed second lieutenant aboard the St David on 30 November 1677, and served aboard her in the Mediterranean until 1680, under the command of his older brother Sir Richard Munden. Afterwards, he transferred on the Constant Warwick on 16 July 1681, the Mary Rose on 17 June 1685, and the Charles Galley on 31 July 1686. On 23 July 1688 he was made commander of the Half Moon fire ship.

He achieved post rank on 14 December 1688 and commanded the Edgar. At the battle of Beachy Head he commanded the Coronation. He fought at the battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692, commanding the Lenox in the van of the red squadron. He was appointed to command the St Michael in 1693, the Monmouth in 1695, the Albemarle in 1696, and the London in 1697. In May 1699 he was given command of the Ranelagh, only to be moved to the Winchester two months later and sent to the Mediterranean in command of a small squadron. Here, he negotiated a treaty with the dey of Algiers for the regulation of ships' passes, and obtained the release of English slaves. He returned to England in November 1700.

His service in the Mediterranean led to his promotion of rear admiral of the blue on 14 April 1701. On 30 June he was further promoted to rear admiral of the white, and given command of a squadron charged with escorting the king to Holland. On the following day he was knighted by King William III on board the yacht William and Mary.

This portrait illustrates the artist's virtuosic handling of material and his consummate skill in capturing a sense of character and a likeness. A feature of this portrait is its unique and exquisitely carved and gilded antique frame, with presentation label; the frame being a fine work of art in itself.

John Closterman (1660-c.1711) was a portrait-painter who was born in Osnabrück (now in Lower Saxony). He was the son of an artist who taught him the rudiments of design. In 1679 Closterman went to Paris and worked there under François de Troy. In 1681 he came to England and painted draperies for John Riley and later Closterman finished several of his works after Riley’s death. In 1696 Closterman was invited to the court of Spain, where he executed the portraits of the king and queen. On returning to England he was highly sought after.

The hauteur and entitlement that Closterman captures was a perfect fit between aristocratic sitter and artist. This portrait represents a high-water mark for the painter as Closterman was a leader in the race to be London’s leading society portraitist and the sitter would have been acquainted with his talent.

By the 1690’s Closterman had fully emerged from the chrysalis of his partnership with John Riley. He was rediscovering earlier influences, especially the extravagant, textural French manner he learned in Paris under Francois de Troy. Closterman’s sense of theatre and his mastery of colour – the brilliance of the wig and the sheen of scarlet dra

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