Portrait of Richard Aldworth Neville, later Second Baron Braybrooke

Batoni settled in Rome in 1727 and established himself as a leading history painter and one of Europe’s most popular portrait painters. With its learned classicism, excellent draughtsmanship, and refined elegance, Batoni’s style would influence later artists who lived in Rome, most notably Jacques-Louis David, Anton Raphael Mengs, and William Hamilton. Batoni specialized in painting high ranking churchmen and distinguished visitors. This portrait of Richard Aldworth Neville (1750–1825) is typical of the less expensive and less complex portraits Batoni produced for visiting Englishmen. Educated at Eton and Oxford, Neville became the second Lord Braybrooke in 1797.