Karl Friedrich Abel

Sitterback to top

• Karl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), Composer and concert impresario. Sitter in 5 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), Portrait and landscape painter. Artist associated with 262 portraits, Sitter in 8 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Drawings enabled artists to refine compositions before committing paint to canvas. This lively drawing by Gainsborough of his friend Karl Abel, a musician, is a preliminary study for an oil painting. The bold, impressionistic handling shows that Gainsborough's draftsmanship had much in common with his painting style. Abel's clothes are, however, different in the final portrait and he holds a different musical instrument. This image therefore probably dates from an early sitting, representing Gainsborough's initial thoughts for the composition.

Related worksback to top

• NPG 5947: Karl Friedrich Abel (finished portrait)

Linked publicationsback to top

• Rogers, Malcolm, Master Drawings from the National Portrait Gallery, 1993 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 August to 23 October 1994), p. 47
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 2

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

• The Art of Drawing: Portraits from the Collection, 1670-1780 (19 October 2012 - 19 May 2013)
• Late Eighteenth Century Prints and Drawings (17 April 2004 - 5 September 2004)