Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot of Hensol (1685-1737) Lord Chancellor

  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand
  • About the artist
    John Vanderbank, portraitist, history painter and illustrator, was born in London, the son of a tapestry weaver of the same name. From 1711, he studied at Kneller's Academy and, in 1720, established an academy of his own with French painter Louis Cheron, in St. Martin's Lane. The academy closed after May 1724, when Vanderbank fled to France to avoid imprisonment for debts. He studiously copied the work of Rubens and Van Dyck and was considered a gifted portraitist. However, he ruined a promising career through intemperate living. From 1724 to 1729 he was repeatedly in debt and detained in Fleet prison. His chief book illustrations were 68 plates for ‘Don Quixote’ (1738). He died of at his home in Holles Street aged 45, leaving a wife, Anne.
    Jacobus Houbraken was born in Dordrecht, the son of Dutch artist and art historian Arnold Houbraken. Jacobus studied under his father, before making his name engraving portraits after both Old Master and contemporary artists, producing works for several countries. He engraved the plates for the third edition of Paul de Rapin’s ‘History of England’ (1743–47) and also for Thomas Birch’s ‘The Heads of Illustrious Lives and Characters of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain’ (1743–52). Hubert-François Gravelot produced the ornamental designs for both works. Houbraken’s pupils included Dutch printmaker and draftsman, Pierre Tanje. Houbraken died in Amsterdam at about the age of 82.
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  • Details
    Title
    Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot of Hensol (1685-1737) Lord Chancellor
    Date
    1739
    Medium
    Engraving
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Mrs Dorothy Lane, February 1958
    GAC number
    3997