Portrait of Sylvester Douglas, Lord Glenbervie
Signed, inscribed, and dated in graphite at lower left, Ingres Del / a Rome / 1816.
Bequest of Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan, 1998
Lord Glenbervie was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1743 and was trained in both medicine and law before settling upon a career in politics. He arrived in Rome in November 1816, on a grand tour with his wife and son. His published memoirs make reference to visiting "all the principal palaces and villas ... with their galleries of pictures and marbles." While he does not mention meeting the famous portrait artist, it is known that Lord Glenbervie was one of the first British sitters Ingres portrayed during his initial Roman period. Here he self- consciously sits with his left arm resting stiffly upon the chair. Particularly striking are his soft, fleshy jowls created by the fine cross-hatching of graphite, juxtaposed with the dark, angular lines of his frilled jabot.