Colonel John Blathwayt (1690-1754)
Edward Gouge (d. c.1735)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1707
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
730 x 622 mm (28 3/4 x 24 1/2 in)
Order this imageCollection
Dyrham, Gloucestershire
NT 453746
Caption
John Blathwayt was the youngest son of William I Blathwayt (?1649–1717) and his wife Mary Wynter (1650–1691). He travelled to Rome with his elder brother William (1688–1742), where this portrait was painted in 1707 by the little-known English artist Edward Gouge (almost certainly the son of the celebrated plasterer of the same name). Together with the portrait of his brother, painted by Gouge at the same time, this is one of the earliest ‘Grand Tour’ portraits of an English sitter. John is known to have been a talented musician, and moved in musical circles during his time in Italy. On his return to England, he entered into a military career, becoming a colonel and fighting at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, John Blathwayt (1690-1754) by Edward Gouge (fl.1690 - d.1735), 1707. A half-length portrait of a young man, turned to the left, facing the viewer, in a blue coat with buff colllar, white stock, and a long wig.
Provenance
Painted in Rome in 1707 for the sitter's father; thence by inheritance and descent at Dyrham Park; Indigenous purchased by the Ministry of Works in 1956 and given to Dyrham Park in 1961
Credit line
Dyrham Park, The Blathwayt Collection (acquired by the Ministry of Works via the National Land Fund in 1956, and transferred to the National Trust)
Makers and roles
Edward Gouge (d. c.1735), artist
References
Brinsley Ford, 'The Blathwayt Brothers of Dyrham in Italy on the Grand Tour', The National Trust Year Book, 1975-76, pp.19-31 M. de Blainville, 'Compte de la Dépense que Messrs Blathwayt on fait à Rome du 20 Avril 1707', unpaginated, but reference under 25 September 1707