PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG GENTLEMAN, FULL-LENGTH, IN A BLUE COAT AND WHITE WAISTCOAT, WITH A BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK ON A TERRACE, BY AN ANTIQUE BAS-RELIEF OF AN ANCIENT SACRIFICE

Details

ENGLISH SCHOOL, CIRCA 1740
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG GENTLEMAN, FULL-LENGTH, IN A BLUE COAT AND WHITE WAISTCOAT, WITH A BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK ON A TERRACE, BY AN ANTIQUE BAS-RELIEF OF AN ANCIENT SACRIFICE
OIL ON CANVAS
58 X 40 IN. (147.3 X 101.6 CM.)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Sale room notice

WE ARE GRATEFUL TO DESMOND FITZGERALD, KNIGHT OF GLYN, FOR SUGGESTING THIS PICTURE IS PROBABLY BY NICHOLAS BLAKEY (FL. 1747-1778).

LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT BLAKEY EXCEPT THAT HE WORKED IN ENGLAND ILLUSTRATING BOOKS, INCLUDING ONE WITH FRANCIS HAYMAN. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT BLAKEY WAS EDUCATED IN ENGLAND, HOWEVER, ON THE BASIS OF STYLISTIC SIMILARITIES WITH THE IRISH ARTIST, PHILIP HUSSEY (1713-1783), DESMOND FITZGERALD SUGGESTS THAT AN EARLY IRISH EDUCATION IS QUITE POSSIBLE. AS EARLY AS 1748, HE IS DESCRIBED AS 'AN EMINENT PAINTER' IN THE UNIVERSAL MAGAZINE. BY THIS DATE, HE HAD RECENTLY RETURNED TO ENGLAND FROM FRANCE, WHERE HE SPENT MUCH OF HIS LIFE. MOST OF HIS SURVIVING PORTRAITS WERE EXECUTED IN FRANCE, SUCH AS THE SCOTTISH FIELD MARSHAL LORD KEITH (1759), WHICH IS AN ACCOMPLISHED LARGILLIERE-TYPE BAROQUE PORTRAIT. ENGRAVINGS OF A PORTRAIT OF KING LOUIS XV AND OF THE ABBE PLUCHE EXIST, AS WELL AS A FINE EARLY WORK OF A YOUNG ENGLISH BOY, JAMES THOMAS BENEDICTUS MARWOOD OF ABISHAYS, SOMERSET (SIGNED AND DATED 1755) AND ANOTHER CHILD PORTRAIT OF MASTER BLACKER (1740-1826) OF A PROMINENT NORTHERN IRISH FAMILY.

Lot Essay

THE GAME 'BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK', SO-NAMED IN 1719, WAS PLAYED BY TWO PEOPLE WITH WOODEN BATS OR 'BATTLEDORES' AND A SHUTTLECOCK. IT WAS A HIGHLY FASHIONABLE SPORT DURING THE LATE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES, BECOMING THE FORERUNNER OF THE MODERN GAME OF BADMINTON.

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