Katherine Read, 1723–1778, BritishFormerly unknown artist, eighteenth centuryFormerly attributed to James Russel, 1720–1763, BritishFormerly attributed to David Allan, 1744–1796, British, born in ScotlandFormerly attributed to Nathaniel Dance, 1735–1811, British
Title:
British Gentlemen in Rome
Date:
ca. 1750
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
37 1/4 × 53 inches (94.6 × 134.6 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.272
Gallery Label:
Read staged this group portrait in what is unmistakably Rome, with the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine in the background. The setting indicates that these young men are on the Grand Tour, a journey through Europe that exposed the sons of the British elite to the art of antiquity and the Renaissance. The Tour was considered a rite of passage, one that concluded their education and cultivated their artistic taste. --- Although not necessarily from families of means, young artists such as Read also went to Rome to study classical art and establish their reputations. Among the Grand Tourists Read met there was the young politician-to-be Sir Charles Turner, who commissioned this work and is depicted, hand on hip, at the center of the painting. It was rare in this period for a woman artist to paint men, which is one reason that this work was not attributed to Read until 2006. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2025
