RAMSAY, Allan

David Hume (1711-1776) was a Scottish empiricist philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, who conceived of philosophy as the inductive, experimental science of human nature. Taking the scientific method of the English physicist Sir Isaac Newton as his model and building on the epistemology of the English philosopher John Locke, Hume tried to describe how the mind works in acquiring what is called knowledge. He concluded that no theory of reality is possible; there can be no knowledge of anything beyond experience. Despite the enduring impact of his theory of knowledge, Hume seems to have considered himself chiefly as a moralist.

Allan Ramsay imitated the ceremonial portrait current at the time in France and Italy.

Lady Hariot Vernon (died 1786) was the third daughter of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672-1739). In 1743 she married Henry Vernon (1718-1765). This portrait dates from Ramsay’s early days in London where, following his return from Italy in 1738. By 1742 when this portrait was painted Ramsay had few rivals, famously declaring that he had put visiting French and Italian painters to flight and was himself playing ‘first fiddle’.

Ramsay executed the portrait of his wife, Margaret, during his visit to Italy, where he was a friend of Pompeo Batoni whose influence can be seen on this painting. The portrait is a renowned masterpiece of the artist.

Allan Ramsay was official painter to George III and Queen Charlotte from the date of the accession in 1760, although technically he only succeeded John Shackleton as Principal Painter in Ordinary in 1767. By this date, however, he had already painted the State Portraits for which he is justly famous. Indeed, the success of the State Portraits was such that he was required to paint numerous replicas for most of the rest of his life. Ramsay was born in Edinburgh and his artistic abilities were brought to the attention of George III, when still Prince of Wales, by the 3rd Earl of Bute who served as mentor to the future king. Ramsay’s style was influenced by two visits to Italy, the first between 1736 and 1738 in Rome and Naples and the second between 1754 and 1757 in Rome, but the compositions of his State Portraits, and above all the soft pastel colours, bespeak the influence of French painters such as Quentin La Tour, Jean-Baptiste Perroneau and Jean-Marc Nattier. It is significant that in the first instance Ramsay was appointed Principal Painter in preference to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Ramsay, like Gainsborough, established a good rapport with the Royal Family. However, he gave up painting around 1770 and devoted the rest of his life to writing essays and pamphlets on political subjects, becoming a friend of Samuel Johnson, who praised him highly for his literary merits.

Prince George of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1748-85) was the younger brother of Queen Charlotte. The portrait was probably painted when the prince was in London between November 1768 and August 1769. He is shown wearing the uniform of an officer of Cuirassiers, a unit of the 4th Regiment of Austrian-Salzburg Dragoons or ‘Serbellonis’ of which he was later Colonel from 1778 to 1786. He attained the rank of Major-General in the Austrian army.

The portrait, which was presumably painted for Queen Charlotte, is a late work by Ramsay characterised by looser brushwork combined with the gentle colouring associated with the artist. There is a certain firmness in the drawing which attests to Ramsay’s skill as a draughtsman, a facility apparent in his numerous drawings (Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland). The pale transparent flesh tones were the result of applying grey-green strokes over a red underpainting, while in the background the landscape appears to be veiled in mist. It is a romantic portrait with a mood of quiet heroism. The evenness of the paint, the muted light, the silvery tone, the attention to detail, and the quite outstanding rendering of different textures create a feeling of calm that is in contrast with Prince George’s love of soldiering. The head and shoulders have been painted on a separate piece of canvas that has been set into a larger piece, a practice much favoured by the artist.

Ramsay painted numerous portraits of distinguished personages in a style that anticipated Sir Joshua Reynolds’ grand manner, but his more lasting reputation rests on his less formal and more intimate studies. His portraits of women are especially notable for the warmth, tenderness, and bloom of their presentation, as well as for the technical facility with which lace and ruffles are reproduced. The influence of French Rococo portraiture is clear in the lightness and unpretentious elegance of these works.