John Philip Kemble ('We serve a King whom we love - a God whom we adore')

1 portrait of John Philip Kemble

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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John Philip Kemble ('We serve a King whom we love - a God whom we adore')

by and published by Robert Dighton
hand-coloured etching, published June 1799
8 3/4 in. x 6 7/8 in. (223 mm x 175 mm) plate size; 11 1/4 in. x 8 1/8 in. (286 mm x 206 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D10686

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Robert Dighton (1751-1814), Portrait painter, caricaturist and actor. Artist or producer associated with 320 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.

This portraitback to top

John Philip Kemble appears as Rolla in Pizarro, a tragedy adapted by Richard Brinsley Sheridan after a work by the German dramatist Kotzebue. William Pitt declared Kemble in the role of Rolla as "the noblest Actor he had ever seen".

Related worksback to top

  • NPG D6837: Sarah Siddons (née Kemble) ('Hold! - Pizarro - hear me! - if not always justly, at least act always greatly') (companion portrait)
  • NPG D10687: Sarah Siddons (née Kemble) ('Hold! - Pizarro - hear me! - if not always justly, at least act always greatly') (companion portrait)

Placesback to top

Events of 1799back to top

Current affairs

The Prince of Wales is reconciled with his secret wife Maria Fitzherbert.
Corresponding Societies Act is passed prohibiting certain named political groups including the radical London Corresponding Society and the United Irishmen.

Art and science

The Swiss artist Henry Fuseli, resident in England since 1778, is appointed Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy.
The conservative educator Hannah More publishes her Strictures on Female Education which criticised demands for women's rights while proposing an active role for them within religious and moral movements.

International

Successful defence of Acre in the Levant is led by William Sidney Smith.
British expedition to Holland, led by General Ralph Abercromby, ends in evacuation after allies defeated at Battle of Bergen-op-Zoom.
Fall of the ruling Directory in France. Napoleon seizes power.
The Rosetta Stone is discovered in Egypt.

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