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Portrait of a Man, Seated in Front of a Writing Desk

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts | CC0 1.0

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Date

1795-1800

Artist

Henry Edridge (1769-1821)

Collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Image Link

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/363579

Description

In the 1790s Edridge was a proponent of a new type of small-scale full-length portrait drawn in graphite and finished using ink and watercolor washes. This striking example depicts a country gentleman at work in his study; the artist emphasized his bookcase by adding a strip of paper at the top. A small vase near the sitter’s shoulder suggests his love of the outdoors, a rough caricature on the wall introduces a note of humor, and a collapsed hanging scale at upper left hints at the practicalities of running a country estate. An old inscription on the verso of the sheet identifies the sitter as Henry Duncombe (1728–1818), a Yorkshire gentleman who entered Parliament in 1780, voted with the Opposition, and supported the reform efforts of William Pitt the younger. Medium: watercolor over graphite with touches of gouache.

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts

Location

Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England

Country

Medium

Tags

Historical Figures
People
Portraits

Category

People & Society

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform