John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol (1665-1751)
Jean-Baptiste van Loo (Aix-en-Provence 1684 - Aix-en-Provence 1745)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1742
Materials
Oil on canvas (oval)
Measurements
781 x 641 mm (30 ¾ x 25 ¼ in)
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 851779
Caption
An inscription on the back of this picture tells us that the portrait was “drawn when he was 76 years of age by Mons. J.B. Van Loo on the earnest request of his eldest son, John, Lord Hervey, Ld. Privy Seal 1742”. J-B Vanloo came to England from October 1737 to December 1742, and enjoyed considerable success, painting the highest in the land, from Sir Robert Walpole to the Prince and Princess of Wales. He painted relatively little in his last years here because of ill-health, which finally forced him to leave the country. A portrait of his son, the 2nd Baron, hangs as its pendant.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas (oval), John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol (1665-1751) by Jean-Baptiste van Loo (Aix-en-Provence 1684 - Aix-en-Provence 1745), 1742. An oval half-length portrait of an elderly man, turned to the left, gazing at the spectator, holding an open leather-bound book in his right hand, and wearing a grey velvet cloak, yellow coat and white stock. Long powdered wig, with centre parting. Darkish background. An inscription on back states that it was 'drawn when he was 76 years of age by Mons. J.B. Van Loo on the earnest request of eldest son, John Lord Hervey, Ld. Privy Seal 1742'. Entry in diary records payment of 15 gns, probably for this picture.
Provenance
Commissioned by the sitter at the request of his eldest son, and thence by descent to the 4th Marquess (1863-1951), on whose death valued for probate; after which, accepted in lieu of tax by HM Treasury, and transferred to the National Trust in 1956
Credit line
Ickworth, The Bristol Collection (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1956)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: drawn when he was 76 years of age by Mons. J.B. Van Loo on the earnest request of his eldest son, John, Lord Hervey, Ld. Privy Seal 1742.
Makers and roles
Jean-Baptiste van Loo (Aix-en-Provence 1684 - Aix-en-Provence 1745) , artist
References
Farrer 1908 Edmund Farrer, Portraits in Suffolk Houses (West), 1908, no. 87