Philippe Mercier, 'Portrait of a Man', 1740
About the work
Overview
The man in this portrait has not yet been identified, but he is probably from the Yorkshire gentry. With his body positioned at a slight angle to us, in a three-quarter view, he leans against a stone column with his right hand tucked into his waistcoat – a pose that was often adopted by English sitters in the mid-eighteenth century. X-ray photography reveals that the position of his left hand has been changed and that it may originally have been holding a cane with a silver or ivory handle. Although it is difficult to see beneath the covering of dark yellow varnish, there is a landscape with trees in the background.
The artist, Philippe Mercier, was born in Berlin in 1689 to French Huguenot parents, but eventually settled in England. He lived in York from 1739, working extensively as a portrait painter for the local gentry. This was perhaps his most productive period, during which this picture was painted.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Portrait of a Man
- Artist
- Philippe Mercier
- Artist dates
- 1689 - 1760
- Date made
- 1740
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 81.3 × 65.4 cm
- Inscription summary
- Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Sir Claude Phillips Bequest, 1924
- Inventory number
- NG4036
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Humphrey Wine, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century French Paintings’, London 2018; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1946Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, London 1946
-
1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2018Wine, Humphrey, National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century French Paintings, London 2018
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.