Portrait of George Pitt, First Baron Rivers
Thomas Gainsborough·1769
Historical Context
Portrait of George Pitt, First Baron Rivers, painted in 1769 and held at the Cleveland Museum of Art, dates from Gainsborough’s Bath period when he was painting the fashionable society that gathered at the spa town. George Pitt (1721–1803) was a diplomat and politician who served as ambassador to several European courts. Gainsborough portrays him with the aristocratic ease and elegant pose that made the artist the rival of Reynolds in the competition for elite patronage. The full-length format and landscape background demonstrate Gainsborough’s signature integration of figure and natural setting, treating the landscape not merely as backdrop but as an extension of the sitter’s personality.
Technical Analysis
The full-length format allows Gainsborough to display his skill with costume painting, the satin suit rendered in long, fluid strokes. The landscape background is painted with characteristic freedom, complementing rather than competing with the figure.
Look Closer
- ◆Look at the full-length format — Gainsborough displays the sitter's entire figure, allowing him to render the satin suit from shoulder to buckled shoe with the fluid brushwork that made such commissions his specialty.
- ◆Notice the landscape background — the countryside visible behind Lord Rivers, with the atmospheric trees and soft sky that Gainsborough used to create depth and place his portraits in the natural world.
- ◆Observe the satin rendering — Gainsborough uses long, flowing strokes to create the sheen of fine fabric, the highlights and reflections of the material captured with minimal but precisely placed paint.
- ◆Find the relaxed pose — Gainsborough's ability to make full-length formal portraits appear natural rather than stiff, the sitter's weight shifted slightly, his bearing confident without appearing rigid.
Provenance
George Pitt, First Lord Rivers [1721-1803], Stratfield Saye House, Hampshire, by descent to his grandson, William Horace Pitt-Rivers, 3rd Lord Rivers; William Horace Pitt-Rivers, 3rd Lord Rivers [1777-1831], Rushmore, Dorset, by descent to Horace, 6th Lord Rivers; Horace, 6th Lord Rivers [1814-1880], by descent to his cousin, Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt; Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt [1827-1900], by descent to his grandson George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers; George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers [1890-1966], Hinton St. Mary, Dorset, passed to his common-law wife Stella; Stella Pitt-Rivers, sold to E.V. Thaw; (E. V. Thaw, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
_MET_DP162180.jpg&width=600)
