Prince James Francis Edward Stuart (“The Old Pretender”) (1688-1766) Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection
  • About the artist
    Alexis-Simon Belle was born in Paris; the son of portrait painter Jean Belle. He trained with his father and then with François de Troy, a painter at the exiled court of James VII and II at St Germain-en-Laye. After the death of the exiled King, he continued to work for his son, James Stuart. In 1700 he won the Prix de Rome but remained in France to continue with Jacobite commissions. In 1703 he was elected a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture. Demand for portraits of Stuart was so great that by 1706 he was running his own atelier. In 1714, he joined the new Jacobite court in Bar-le-Duc, north-eastern France. He also completed commissions for the French court and examples of his work are in the collection at Versailles.
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  • Details
    Title
    Prince James Francis Edward Stuart (“The Old Pretender”) (1688-1766) Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland
    Date
    Medium
    Engraving
    Dimensions
    height: 37.50 cm, width: 27.50 cm
    Acquisition
    Presented by Colnaghi, September 1952
    Inscription
    on panel below portrait: [pencil inscription]: The Old Chevalier ; A Paris chez le S.r Belle rue du Four Faubourg S. Germain attenant la porte de la Foure ; [bottom right, in ink] 46
    GAC number
    1879