A Bewigged Gentleman
circa 1720

About the Item

Enoch Seeman Oil on Canvas Canvas Size: 30 x 25" (76 x 64cm) Outside Framed Size: 37 x 32" (94 x 82cm) He was born in Danzig, now Gdansk, Poland, around 1694. His father, also Enoch was born around 1661, and the Seeman family were painters. Having been brought to London from his home of Flanders by his father in 1704, the younger Seeman's painting career as we know it began with a group portrait of the Bisset family in the style of the portraitist Godfrey Kneller, now held at Castle Forbes in Grampion Scotland, and dated by an inscription 1708. As a painter to the British royal court Seeman the Younger completed portraits of George 1, in 1730, in the robes of his coronation and of George II some years later. The first of these pictures is held at the Middle Temple in London, England, and the second is at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England, part of the royal collection. In this portrait of a gentleman the sitter has been depicted within a feigned oval wearing a scarlet coat and a white cravat. It is a daring exploration of colour. The style and type were fashionable in the 18th century London studios and the bright pigment is distinctive of Enoch Seeman's palette. The pièce de résistance is the face, and is remarkably detailed and every so finely painted. The artist records a sense of the sitter’s character, a sign of an artist very accomplished in the oil technique of painting. English aficionados were quite taken and enchanted with Seeman’s portraits and he was in high demand. Enoch Seeman (born in Danzig c.1694) was a successful and popular artist with members of the British aristocracy. His father, his three brothers, his nephew, and his son were also painters. He was trained by his father who brought him as a boy to London from their previous home in Flanders in 1704 (Seeman is often considered to be an English painter). By 1708 he was creating remarkably good portraits whilst still only a teenager and by 1717 Enoch had established a very successful portrait practice in London. He became the British Royal Court painter and painted portraits of both George I and II amongst many other members of the British aristocracy. In 1723 Vertue remarked that ''Enoch. for portrait Painting is in the greatest vogue… and his aristocratic and royal patronage makes him a rival to Charles Jervas.” He made such an impression on Society that he enjoyed a prolific career into the 1740s. It has been alledged that Seeman charged 20 guineas for a full-length portrait in 1732.

Attributed to:

Enoch Seeman (1694 - 1744, Polish)

Creation Year:

circa 1720

Dimensions:

Height: 37 in (93.98 cm)Width: 32 in (81.28 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)

Medium:

Oil

Movement & Style:

English School

Period:

Late 18th Century