Louis François Roubiliac
Andrea Soldi1751
Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom
"Soldi, who made his name painting portraits of English residents in the Holy Land, came to London c.1735. His lifestyle was so extravagant that he was imprisoned in the Fleet for debt eight years later. His contemporary, George Vertue, recorded that Soldi ""was willing to be thought a Count or Marquis, rather than an excellent painter - such idle vanitys has done him no good."" His works are now rare.
Roubiliac (1702?-1762) was one of the finest sculptors working in England in the first half of the eighteenth century. He is shown working on the model of a figure of Charity, part of the monument to the Duke of Montagu in the church of Warkton, Northamptonshire."
- Title: Louis François Roubiliac
- Creator Lifespan: 1703 - 1771
- Date: 1751
- Physical Dimensions: w830 x h975 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil
- null: Another portrait by Soldi of Roubiliac, shown working on a bust of Garrick and dated 1758, is now in the Garrick Club, London.Ê Lot 0009 from Sale Catalog Br-14183Artist Name SOLDI, ANDREA (Italian)Lot Title A Portrait of Roubiliac the SculptorObject Notes on canvas, 2' 5 1/2"" h x 2' 1"" wTransaction Sold, £4.0 Auction House Foster (Edward)Sale Location London, EnglandSale Date 25 July 1835Seller Taylor, J.Buyer FieldinLugt Number 14070See Also Sale Description Transcription Artist: Andrea Soldi Seller: J Taylor Esq Buyer: Fieldin
- Work Nationality: Italian
- Support: Canvas
- Provenance: One of the two versions known of this subject was (with the companion rysbrack) sold at London, Christie's, Sir Henry Gott sale, 24 Feb. 1810, lot 26; Brimingham, Matthews, 1854; Charles Fairfax Murray; Fairfax Murray Gift, 1911.
- Inscriptions: A. Soldi / Pinx. Ao. 1751
- Further Information: "A Florentine, Andrea Soldi (c.1703-1771) came to England c.1736, when British portraiture still owed much to the tradition of artists like Sir Godfrey Kneller and Sir Peter Lely. The arrival of Soldi's European style led to a fresher and more informal portrayal of sitters, and Soldi work was in high demand amongst such important personages as the Dukes of Beaufort and Manchester. However, Soldi's success amongst such aristocratic patrons was soon to decline, when in 1744 his extravagant spending landed him in debtors' prison. Thereafter Soldi began to paint largely for the aspiring middle classes, including the sculptor Louis François Roubiliac, one of the finest working in England in the first half of the eighteenth century, and the subject of the Dulwich portrait. Painted in 1751, Soldi's portrait captures the sculptor at work on a preparatory model of a figure of Charity for a monument to the Duke of Montagu in the church of Warkton, Northamptonshire."
- Artist: Soldi, Andrea
- Acquisition Method: Fairfax Murray, Charles (Gift, 1917)
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
