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1 of 253523 objects
Saint Michael the Archangel Slaying the Dragon 1750
Oil on canvas | 290.0 x 192.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 405712
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92)
Saint Michael the Archangel Slaying the Dragon 1750
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When George III was asked by Lord Eglinton to sit for the most fashionable portrait painter of the day, Joshua Reynolds, he replied: ‘Mr Ramsay is my painter, my Lord.’ Reynolds tried to gain royal notice with two speculative ventures – a portrait of George III as Prince of Wales (OM 1011, 401034) and an oil sketch for a depiction of his marriage to Queen Charlotte (OM 1012, 404353) – both of which remained on his hands. Reynolds was knighted by George III, made first president of the Royal Academy and Principal Painter to the King upon Ramsay’s death in 1784, but never asked to paint anything. That the Royal Collection has a fine group of Reynolds is entirely thanks to George IV, who commissioned portraits at the end of the artist’s life and acquired many examples of his earlier work. This is one of a group of highly personal works (OM 1008, 400699, OM 1011, 401034, OM 1029-31, 404695-6 and 405712) obtained by him at various times from Reynolds’s niece and heiress, Mary Palmer, Marchioness of Thomond (1750-1820). This is a copy of Guido Reni's famous painting in S. Maria della Concezione, Rome, which Reynolds executed in 1750 during his years of study in Italy. The archangel appears wearing classical armour and a red cloak, his left foot upon the head of the dragon which is in the form of a man with wings and a tail, lying face on rocks; he holds the dragons chains in his left hand, a sword raised in his right.
Provenance
Acquired by George IV in 1818 from Reynolds's niece, Lady Thomond; added to the inventory of Carlton House dated 1816 (no 550); recorded on the Staircase there in 1819 (no 526); taken to Hampton Court in September 1833
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Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
290.0 x 192.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
311.1 x 213.4 x 10.8 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
The Archangel Michael overcoming Satan, previously entitled