Jean-Étienne Liotard (Swiss, 1702–1789) Lord Bute, who commissioned this portrait as a memento of his son's
Grand Tour, was so pleased with it that he paid the artist twice the agreed-upon price. Exuding the self-possessed confidence of a young aristocrat, nineteen-year-old Lord Mountstuart leans against a mantel displaying the utmost in sumptuous French attire: a fur-lined winter suit of turquoise silk, lace collar and cuffs, white silk stockings, and diamond-buckle shoes.
Jean-Étienne Liotard depicted the charismatic English nobleman in an elegant setting--a re-creation of a
salon in Geneva appointed with
Rococo furnishings such as
firedogs ornamented with cherubs and a Chinese folding screen used to stop cold drafts. Above the mantel, Liotard depicted Mountstuart's handsome profile and dignified posture in a
gilded mirror.
Lord Mountstuart, and to a lesser extent his reflection, are sharply depicted and project forward from the surrounding objects, which are blurred to create this optical illusion. This portrait is one of the largest pastels Liotard ever painted and the only one to show a full-length subject in a meticulously described interior. His skillful effects of scale, format, and illusion challenged the conventional medium of oil painting, and Liotard himself considered the work a masterpiece.
High Quality Wood Framed Print using museum quality paper and archival inks with a white border or with cut mat for a contemporary look. Comes with Acrylite glazing and hanging hardware. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.
Stretched Canvas is stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed on heavy cotton poly matte finish canvas. Comes with mounting brackets. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.
Giclee Prints are printed on 260gsm satin finish using the finest archival inks. Each print carries a white border around the perimeter. The listed size refers to the overall paper dimensions. The image is printed proportionally within this paper size and includes a small white border. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.
All of our images are digitized from the original or negative.
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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea.
