Oil painting, 'Lord Stuart de Rothesay', Baron François Gérard, 1828-1831

Half-length portrait of young man with brown hair and blue eyes looking at the beholder and wearing a blue military topcoat - a painted inscription on the bottom left.

The Bettine, Lady Abingdon Collection. Bequeathed by Mrs T. R. P. Hole

The Lady Bettine Abingdon Collection. Bequeathed by Mrs T. R. P. Hole, 1987

Historical significance: This painting is a good example of 18th century Neo-classical portrait, of which Gérard became the most fashionable exponent. He was praised for the naturalism and elegance of his pictures, a fame that culminates with the portrait of Napoleon in his Imperial Robes, Château de Versailles. These qualities can be observed in the present painting, which conveys a sense of grandeur and sobriety in contrast with the preceding Rococo extravagances.
The sitter, Charles Stuart, Lord of Rothesay (1779-1845) probably commissioned the painting to Baron Gérard, while appointed ambassador in Paris. He resided at the Hôtel Charôst from 1816-24 and for a second term from 1828-31. The portrait was probably painted there in 1828 to celebrate his elevation to Baron Stuart de Rothesay of the Isle of Bute. He was an important collector whose taste tended towards the Gothic, known in France as style troubadour, as witnessed by his house, Highcliff estate, near Christchurch, Hampshire (now Dorset) built in the 1830s with the involvement of A.W.N. Pugin (1812-1852).
This portrait entered the museum's collection as part of the Lady Abingdon's bequest, which included part of Lord Stuart's own collection together with those of the Hole and the Abingdon family.

In his encyclopaedic work, Historia Naturalis, the ancient Roman author Pliny the Elder described the origins of painting in the outlining of a man's projected shadow in profile. In the ancient period, profile portraits were found primarily in imperial coins. With the rediscovery and the increasing interest in the Antique during the early Renaissance, artists and craftsmen looked back to this ancient tradition and created medals with profile portraits on the obverse and personal devise on the reverse in order to commemorate and celebrate the sitter. Over time these profile portraits were also depicted on panels and canvas, and progressively evolved towards three-quarter and eventually frontal portraits.
These portraits differ in many ways from the notion of portraiture commonly held today as they especially aimed to represent an idealised image of the sitter and reflect therefore a different conception of identity. The sitter's likeness was more or less recognisable but his particular status and familiar role were represented in his garments and attributes referring to his character. The 16th century especially developed the ideal of metaphorical and visual attributes through the elaboration of highly complex portrait paintings in many formats including at the end of the century full-length portraiture. Along with other devices specific to the Italian Renaissance such as birth trays (deschi da parto) and wedding chests' decorated panels (cassoni or forzieri), portrait paintings participated to the emphasis on the individual.
Portrait paintings were still fashionable during the following centuries and extended to the rising bourgeoisie and eventually to common people, especially during the social and political transformations of the 19th century. At the end of the 19th century and during the 20th century, painted portraits were challenged and eventually supplanted by the development of new media such as photography.

Baron François Gérard (1770-1837) was born in Rome but his family returned to Paris. He first trained with the sculptor Augustin Pajou (1730-1809) and the painter Nicolas-Guy Brenet (1728-1792) before becoming a pupil of David (1748-1825) in 1786. He enjoyed a great success as a portrait and history painter. He was ennobled by Louis XVIII.

This painting is a fine example of Neo-classical French portraits, which combines grandeur with sobriety. Baron Gérard’s portrait paintings were highly praised and he became the painter of the high Parisian society of which the sitter belongs. Charles Stuart, Lord of Rothesay, was an important British diplomat and an ambassador in Paris in the 1820s, where he probably had his portrait painted.

P.27-1987