Edward, Duke of York (1739-1767)
Artist: Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (Italian, 1708-Rome)
Date: Signed and dated 1764
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Royal Collection Trust, United Kingdom
Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany
Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany (Edward Augustus;[1] 25 March 1739 – 17 September 1767) was a younger brother of George III of the United Kingdom and the second son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.
Portrait Description
Edward Augustus, Duke of York, is shown in three-quarter-length, in the undress uniform of a flag officer, wearing the Garter. His right forearm rests on a chair and with his left hand he indicates the Colosseum, visible in the background. On the table behind him lie his hat and sword. In 1763-64 the Duke visited Italy on a Grand Tour.
Italian portraiture at this date was dominated by Pompeo Batoni and while in Rome (15 April - 28 April 1764) the Duke sat to Batoni for this portrait. The portrait exists in several versions. The surprisingly modest composition may be explained by the short period that the Duke was in Rome, or may be because the portrait was conceived with the intention of making several replicas from it.
Reference to these was made in James Martin’s ‘Grand Tour Journal MS.’, where an entry dated 20 July 1764 reads: ‘Went to Pompeia Batoni’s saw there several portraits. He has made a copy from that of the Duke of Yorke & rec’d orders for One or Two more.’ Comparison of the three portraits in the Royal Collection shows minor variations in the outlines of the lace at the sitter’s throat and wrists.