Object Literature
The look that the sitter has is piercing and he has rather the air of a genius or at least a man of real distinction; it makes for a great conversation starter, he almost appears ahead of his time and was clearly idiosyncratic.
As with the ‘selfie’ today, portraits were also a chance for more self-conscious sitters to be depicted in the latest fashions. In the eighteenth century, the upper classes entered a new era of prosperity. No longer the preserve of royalty, commissioned portraits, of oneself or one’s ancestors, became a coveted symbol of wealth and status which continued even more so in the nineteenth century. The portraits took pride of place in the home or were given to others as gifts.
This chap has got to have been an intriguing character; whether its evil genius, entrepreneur extraordinaire or simply the man about town.