Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertfordc. 1822/1823
Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, third Marquess of Hertford, is shown half-length in a dark double-breasted coat, a decoration on his chest, gazing calmly into the distance against a plain brown background. More about this work
About this work
Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, third Marquess of Hertford, is shown half-length in a dark double-breasted coat, a decoration on his chest, gazing calmly into the distance against a plain brown background. A wealthy collector and close friend of the Prince Regent, Hertford was notorious for his dissolute life and is said to have inspired the character of Lord Steyne in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. Thomas Lawrence, by then president of the Royal Academy and the leading portraitist in Europe, gives him an air of polished assurance.
Written by Ochre Editions.
What you’re looking at
The image displays a man in a portrait from the waist up, in a three-quarter view. He is facing slightly to the right and looking into the distance with a calm expression. The man has fair skin, light reddish-brown hair, sideburns, a defined nose, and a slightly upturned chin. He is wearing a black double-breasted coat with a high collar, a dark waistcoat, a white shirt, and a medal on his chest with an insignia and ribbon. The background is plain and deep brown.
Description from the National Gallery of Art.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Thomas Lawrence
English, 1769–1830 · Born in Bristol; died in London.
Lawrence was a child prodigy in pastel portraiture and largely self-taught. He moved to London as a teenager, exhibited a full-length of Queen Charlotte at the Royal Academy at twenty-one, and succeeded Joshua Reynolds as Painter in Ordinary to George III. After 1815 the Prince Regent commissioned him to paint the leaders of the alliance against Napoleon for the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle. He became President of the Royal Academy in 1820 and was the leading portraitist of his day.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The National Gallery of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1968.6.2
- Credit
- Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Type
- Painting
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
