John Willoughby Cole, 2nd Earl of Enniskillen, later 1st Baron Grinstead (1768-1840)
British School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1792
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
748 x 622 mm (29 1/2 x 24 1/2 in)
Place of origin
Rome
Order this imageCollection
Florence Court, County Fermanagh
NT 631045
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, John Willoughby Cole, Viscount Cole, later 2nd Earl of Enniskillen (1768-1840). A half-length portrait, as a young man, in profile to right, his head facing, wearing a pale blue cloak into which his hand is inserted.
Full description
Viscount Cole, later the 2nd Earl of Enniskillen, is depicted in 'Vandyke dress', a popular trend in eighteenth-century portraiture. Van Dyke's artistic talents were much admired at the time, and many wealthy patrons chose to have themselves represented as seventeenth-century courtiers from the time of Charles I. Cole's pose, with his arm enveloped in his cloak, makes explicit reference to Van Dyke's own practice -- the artist often portrayed his male sitters wrapped in voluminous cloaks. Cole sat for this portrait while in Rome on the Grand Tour, a key element in the cultural, social and political education of young men of the aristocracy and landed gentry. Having set off from Dover in July 1791, he arrived in Rome in December 1791 or January 1792. He left Rome for Naples in April of that year, and proceeded onwards to Sicily. Cole visited Rome again for a few days in June 1792, on his way towards the sights of central and northern Italy. Viscount Cole gave this portrait to his sister, Lady Sarah Wynne. It remained with the Wynnes of Hazelwood for nearly 150 years, when the last remaining representative of the family sold it to the Earl of Enniskillen.
Provenance
Given to the National Trust by Nancy, Dowager Countess of Enniskillen (1917 – 1998) before her death, August 1997
Credit line
Florence Court, The Enniskillen Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: 2nd Earl of Enniskillen painted in Rome while on Grand Tour. Given to his sister Lady Sarah Wynn, repurchased from Miss Percival the last representative alive of the Wynns of Hazelwood 1933.
Makers and roles
British School , artist previously catalogued as attributed to Thomas Robinson (Windermere before 1770 – Dublin 1810), artist