John Horne Tooke
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- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
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John Horne Tooke
by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey
ink and pencil, circa 1810
14 1/2 in. x 10 7/8 in. (368 mm x 276 mm)
Given by Mrs George Jones, 1871
Primary Collection
NPG 316a(122)
Sitterback to top
- John Horne Tooke (1736-1812), Radical politician; MP and philologist. Sitter associated with 49 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (1781-1841), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 267 portraits, Sitter in 11 portraits.
This portraitback to top
'one of the wisest and most judicious friends [I] ever encountered' Sir Francis Chantrey on John Horne Tooke, quoted in Fraser's Magazine, 1850
Chantrey was one of the first artists to experiment with the camera lucida. In this early drawn example he concentrates on the outlines of his subject's profile, and has annotated dimensions of his sitter's head. The marble bust related to this drawing (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art and was Chantrey's first great success, securing commissions worth £12,000.
The radical politician Horne Tooke was introduced to Chantrey by the artist John Raphael Smith. This drawing was made soon after Horne Tooke was released from prison, after being wrongly accused of planning an uprising.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Ingamells, John, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, 2004, p. 460
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 619
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- From Pencil to Chisel: Sir Francis Chantrey's Portrait Drawings (2 April 2011 - 20 November 2011)
Portrait setback to top
Events of 1810back to top
Current affairs
Serious 'Burdett and Liberty' riots break out in London in support of radical MP Sir Francis Burdett who had been arrested for denouncing the House of Common's decision to bar journalists from some debates.Princess Amelia dies triggering renewed bout of illness in her father, George III.
Art and science
Sir Walter Scott publishes his chivalrous, medieval ballad, The Lady of the Lake, set on Loch Katrine in Perthshire.Kennett and Avon Trunk Canal is completed.
First Savings Bank is set up by financier Henry Duncan.
International
Madame De Stael writes De l'Allemagne which portrays Germany as a model of Romantic nationalism for emerging revolutionary nations. It was banned by Napoleon but published in London to great acclaim.Lisbon besieged. Wellington takes shelter behind the fortified lines of the Torres Vedras and the French army are forced to retreat.
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