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Giuseppe Macpherson (1726-c. 1780)

Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) c.1772-80

7.0 x 5.5 cm (sight) | RCIN 421335

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  • Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) was born at Lübeck, Germany. He studied under Rembrandt and Ferdinand Bol. In 1672, he travelled to Rome and Venice and studied works by Bernini, Raphael and Titian, developing a particular interest in portraiture. In 1675, he moved to England and by the mid-1680s, Kneller was the most important portrait painter here. He had 'a pleasant conversation finely entertaining when a Painting', according to his contemporary, George Vertue. An anonymous account of 1693 says that he received up to 14 sitters a day and he painted virtually everyone of importance from the time of King Charles II to George I. In 1715, he was made a baronet by George I.Kneller became a wealthy property owner and financial speculator but, according to Vertue, he 'lost 20 thousand pounds in the South Sea [Company]'. Kneller died on 26 October 1723 and had a very grand funeral. He was buried in St Mary's Church, Twickenham. His intense, virtually religious, dedication to his art is attested to by the poet Alexander Pope, a neighbour in Twickenham, in a letter of 1731: 'Sir Godfrey Kneller call'd imploying the pencil [paint-brush], the prayer of the painter, and affirm'd it to be his proper way of serving God, by the talent he gave him' . The Royal Collection contains many portraits by Kneller.

    This miniature is one of the collection of copies of 224 self-portraits by artists in the Uffizi Palace, Florence, that Lord Cowper, the art collector and patron, commissioned Giuseppe Macpherson (1726-1780) to paint. He presented the miniatures to King George III in two batches, in 1773 and 1786. Macpherson followed the original self-portraits quite closely, but copied only the head and shoulders. He inscribed the artists' names on the backs of the miniatures – several differ from those in the modern Uffizi catalogue, notably: Bazzi, Bellini, Campi, Annibale Carracci, Gabbiani, Masaccio, Metsys, Moroni, Pencz, Licinio, Schiavone and Spada. None of the miniatures is signed, apart from Macpherson's own self-portrait, which is inscribed: Giuseppe Macpherson / Autore della serie (Giuseppe Macpherson / Author of the series).Macpherson was born in Florence, the son of Donald Macpherson, a footman in the service of Alexander, 2nd Duke of Gordon. He was a pupil of Pompeo Batoni and painted miniatures and enamel portraits in Italy, France and Germany, finally settling in Florence. A James Macpherson is recorded in London and Paris in 1754 but it is not certain that this is the same person. He was described in 1776 as having a special talent for painting on enamel and as being 'almost the only painter in Europe who possesses this art to perfection'. He had a distinguished client list which included some of the crowned heads and dignitaries of Europe. In 1778, he was invited to add his own self-portrait to the famous painters in the grand duke's collection as it 'would do honour to Florence to enrich the collection with a work which shows that we still have some men of true merit' according to Giuseppe Pelli, director of the Uffizi at the time.
    Provenance

    Presented to George III by Lord Cowper

  • Medium and techniques
    Measurements

    7.0 x 5.5 cm (sight)