John Vanderbank

Sitterback to top

• John Vanderbank (1694-1739), Portrait painter. Sitter in 1 portrait, Artist associated with 95 portraits.

Artistback to top

• John Vanderbank (1694-1739), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 95 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

This portraitback to top

His confident self-portrait is a virtuoso performance with a dip pen, cut from a reed or feather. The line swells and ebbs as the artist varied the pressure on the paper. Vanderbank's dynamic handling shows the on-going influence of renowned continental artists, such as the Dutch artist Rembrandt and the Flemish artist Van Dyck who made similar pen and ink drawings. This portrait presents Vanderbank as a worthy successor to his famous predecessors.

Linked publicationsback to top

• Kerslake, John, Early Georgian Portraits, 1977, p. 283
• 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. 39
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 630

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

• The Art of Drawing: Portraits from the Collection, 1670-1780 (19 October 2012 - 19 May 2013)

Subject/Themeback to top

• Self-portraits