JOHN HOPPNER (BRITISH 1759-1810), INFANT VANITY

JOHN HOPPNER (BRITISH 1759-1810) INFANT VANITY Oil on panel 58 x 66.5cm (22¾ x 26in.) Painted in 1789. Exhibited: Royal Academy, London, 1789 (no. 176) Literature: W. McKay and W. Roberts, John Hoppner, R.A., London, 1909, p.301, where listed erroneously as 'Infant Variety' H. P. K. Skipton, John Hoppner, London: Methuen & Co., 1905, p. XII, p. 168 The Royal Academy, The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, M.DCC.LXXXIX, The Twenty First, London: T. Cadell, 1789, p. 7, no. 176 Engraved: John Young, After John Hoppner, Infant Vanity (1789) (BM 2010,7081.3587) This engaging work entitled Infant Vanity was exhibited by John Hoppner at the Royal Academy in 1789, the year he was appointed portrait painter to the Prince of Wales, later King George IV. The subject and free handling display Hoppner’s well documented debt to Sir Joshua Reynolds, particularly in the latter’s ‘fancy pictures’ such as The Infant Academy (1781-2; London, Kenwood House, Iveagh Bequest) and A Child with Guardian Angels (1786; private collection), both of which were exhibited at the Academy, in 1782 and 1786 respectively. That Hoppner chose to execute the present work on panel is arguably further evidence of Reynolds’ pervasive influence. In his Dictionary of British 18th Century Painters (1981, p. 181), the ever incisive Ellis Waterhouse noted that Hoppner’s most successful work was his group portraits of children, including that of his own, now at Washington (1791; National Gallery of Art). According to Horace Pitt Kennedy Skipton’s 1905 text, the present painting was probably modelled on the Washington picture. Condition Report: The panel has been cradled (see online images). Craquelure and surface scratches, together with some areas of paint shrinkage throughout. Rubbing and abrasions throughout. Inspection under UV light reveals a horizontal line of retouching running through the central width of the panel, together with a shorter, but similar area of over-paint, running diagonally from the girl's hand to the edge of the panel. Both presumably areas where the panel has previously started to crack. Lighter retouching and in-filling scattered throughout. With traces of a light green varnish. Condition Report Disclaimer, JOHN HOPPNER (BRITISH 1759-1810), INFANT VANITY, JOHN HOPPNER (BRITISH 1759-1810) INFANT VANITY Oil on panel 58 x 66.5cm (22¾ x 26in.) Painted in 1789. Exhibited: Royal Academy, London, 1789 (no. 176) Literature: W. McKay and W. Roberts, John Hoppner, R.A., London, 1909, p.301, where listed erroneously as 'Infant Variety' H. P. K. Skipton, John Hoppner, London: Methuen & Co., 1905, p. XII, p. 168 The Royal Academy, The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, M.DCC.LXXXIX, The Twenty First, London: T. Cadell, 1789, p. 7, no. 176 Engraved: John Young, After John Hoppner, Infant Vanity (1789) (BM 2010,7081.3587) This engaging work entitled Infant Vanity was exhibited by John Hoppner at the Royal Academy in 1789, the year he was appointed portrait painter to the Prince of Wales, later King George IV. The subject and free handling display Hoppner’s well documented debt to Sir Joshua Reynolds, particularly in the latter’s ‘fancy pictures’ such as The Infant Academy (1781-2; London, Kenwood House, Iveagh Bequest) and A Child with Guardian Angels (1786; private collection), both of which were exhibited at the Academy, in 1782 and 1786 respectively. That Hoppner chose to execute the present work on panel is arguably further evidence of Reynolds’ pervasive influence. In his Dictionary of British 18th Century Painters (1981, p. 181), the ever incisive Ellis Waterhouse noted that Hoppner’s most successful work was his group portraits of children, including that of his own, now at Washington (1791; National Gallery of Art). According to Horace Pitt Kennedy Skipton’s 1905 text, the present painting was probably modelled on the Washington picture. Exhibited:, Literature:, John Hoppner, he Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, M.DCC.LXXXIX, The Twenty First, Engraved:, Infant Vanity, Infant Vanity, The Infant Academy, A Child with Guardian Angels, Condition Report:, The panel has been cradled (see online images). Craquelure and surface scratches, together with some areas of paint shrinkage throughout. Rubbing and abrasions throughout. Inspection under UV light reveals a horizontal line of retouching running through the central width of the panel, together with a shorter, but similar area of over-paint, running diagonally from the girl's hand to the edge of the panel. Both presumably areas where the panel has previously started to crack. Lighter retouching and in-filling scattered throughout. With traces of a light green varnish. Condition Report Disclaimer

Estimate:£3,000

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