But it would be nice if it was. The 'Rice portrait' is a delightful piece of work, and it did come down through one branch of Jane Austen's family. However, the evidence against it being a portrait of her in childhood is pretty strong...The artist who painted it was the splendidly named Ozias Humphry, born on this day in 1742. Humphry - a close friend of Romney and a patron of Blake - was an accomplished painter of portrait miniatures until his failing sight forced him to work in larger formats. The poor man finally went blind in his mid-50s.
Interesting stuff, though sobriety of debate not necessarily Mr Sewell's forte!
ReplyDeleteYes indeed David - even to my untrained eye, this looks too late to be JA in her teens (or, probably, to be by Ozias H. A very nice picture though...
ReplyDeleteAlso..I wonder if Jane punched Cassandra after that sketch?
ReplyDeleteShe'd surely have been within her rights!
ReplyDeleteQuite helpful data, lots of thanks for your article.
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