ENGLISH SCHOOL (early 18th century)

This work belongs to the English school, though its style is similar to known works by Christian Richter (1678-1732), a Swedish born miniaturist who moved to London at the age of 24. Richter was largely known for his work produced on vellum or enamel. Painting in oil on copper, the unknown artist has been able to attain highly saturated and luscious colours, especially in the sitter’s clothing, which is caused by the lack of absorbency of a material like copper.

Aside from his name, little is known about the identity of the sitter. Historically, he has been identified through a label on the reverse of the miniature’s frame, which seems to have been misread as ‘Baurdon’, though upon closer inspection, it is more likely that the label on the reverse reads ‘Rawdon’. This suggests that the sitter is in fact John Rawdon, 3rd Baronet, who was alive when Richter was active. He married Dorothea Levinge, who would go on to marry Charles Cobbe, Archbishop of Dublin (d.1765), after Rawdon’s death. His son, also John Rawdon, became 1st Earl Moira and an Irish Peer.