Description
English painter (18th-19th century) – Portrait of a Gentleman with a Pug.
Oil on canvas, in a period carved and gilded wooden frame.
The painting depicts a gentleman seated outdoors, dressed in a dark coat and red waistcoat with powdered hair. On the table beside him lie a flute and a sheet of music, details alluding to the sitter’s musical inclinations. At his feet sits a pug with a gold collar. The garden background, with trees and, on the left, a balustrade with two decorative vases, completes a composition firmly rooted in the British bourgeois portrait tradition of the late 18th century, in the orbit of provincial painters active between 1785 and 1805.
Condition report: Relined canvas. Good overall condition of the painted surface, with minor signs of ageing and wear. The painting retains its original period frame.
