King George II
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
King George II
studio of Charles Jervas
oil on canvas, circa 1727
86 1/2 in. x 50 1/2 in. (2197 mm x 1283 mm)
Purchased, 1873
Primary Collection
NPG 368
Artistback to top
- Charles Jervas (1675-1739), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 40 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Cannadine, Sir David (Introduction); Cooper, Tarnya; Stewart, Louise; MacGibbon, Rab; Cox, Paul; Peltz, Lucy; Moorhouse, Paul; Broadley, Rosie; Jascot-Gill, Sabina, Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits, 2018 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA, 7 October 2018 -3 February 2019. Bendigo Art Gallery, Australia, 16 March - 14 July 2019.), p. 149 Read entry
This is a version of the portrait commissioned by the Corporation of London after George II's coronation in 1727. The picture empoys similar conventions to those in his father's 1714 portrait. The king stands before a window through which can be seen Westminster Abbey, where he was crowned.
- Kerslake, John, Early Georgian Portraits, 1977, p. 90
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 240
Events of 1727back to top
Current affairs
George I dies on 11 January. George II is proclaimed king; the second Hanoverian on the British throne. Handel composes Zadok the Priest for his coronation which has been sung at every British coronation since.Royal Bank of Scotland is founded by Royal Charter in Edinburgh.
Janet (Jenny) Horne of Loth, Sutherland, becomes the last alleged witch to be executed in Britain when she is burned at the stake in Dornoch, Scotland.
Art and science
Artist Thomas Gainsborough is born in Sudbury, Suffolk in May.Architect William Kent publishes Some Designs of Mr Inigo Jones, including additional designs by himself and his patron Lord Burlington.German composer George Frideric Handel becomes a British subject.
Scientist Sir Isaac Newton dies.
International
Composer Johann Sebastian Bach conducts the first performance of his St Matthew Passion in St Thomas's church, Leipzig.Spain besieges Gibraltar in order to recapture the territory from the British.
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.