After Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt. John Churchill, 1st Duke of...

The Property of the Marquess of Anglesey from the Private Apartment at Plas Newydd

After Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough on horseback in Hussars uniform (1650–1722)

oil on panel
unframed: 43.5 x 47 cm.; 17⅛ x 18½ in.
framed: 65 x 58.5 cm.; 25⅝ x 23 in.

Condition Report:
The panel is flat and even. The surface is slightly dirty and the varnish appears to have yellowed somewhat. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals retouching to and around the armour and background, retouching across the horse's hind legs, and around them and the tail. Small touches to the extremities of the panel. The varnish is even and opaque. Overall the work presents well.

Catalogue Note:
This equestrian portrait is after a composition by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt, held in the collection of the Earl of Yarborough of Brocklesbury Park (a copy is also in the collection of the Marquis of Lothian).1 The portrait was copied on a number of occasions with variation usually in who was depicted on horseback. Multiple prints after the original portrait were made, portraying important figures of the period, including James Francis Edward Keith2 and Frederick Herman de Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg.3

1 J.D. Stewart, Sir Godfrey Kneller, London 1971, p. 66.

2 After Sir Godfrey Kneller, His Excellency Field Marshal Keith Commander in Chief of His Prussian Majesty's Forces, in Germany, mezzotint, The British Museum, no. 1902,1011.4814.

3 After Sir Godfrey Kneller, Frederick Herman de Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg and an unknown boy, mezzotint, National Portrait Gallery, no. D11563.