Portrait Of A Merchant Marine Captain V.1775 - Attributed To Lemuel Francis Abbott 1760-1803

A richly colored and highly decorative 18th century oil on canvas of a dashing gentleman sailor attributed to Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760-1803) The elegant model is depicted at the waist against a background of sea and sky leaning on a ledge Stone. He is holding a rolled up map and, body and head tilted slightly, he is looking at us with the most scholarly of expressions. In the distance, ships can be seen. The still unknown gentleman wears the traditional costume of high-ranking sailors of the time. His costume consists of a deep blue cloak which is decorated with gold bands and matching buttons formed from gold threads "arranged" around a disk of bone or ivory. Underneath he wears a white shirt with a ruffled collar and cuffs and a scarlet silk waistcoat. Dark blue was a popular color for all maritime "officers", military or civilian, as it referred to the "blue" ocean, but it was also a usable color and showed no dirt or tar stains. , pitch or grease which were commonplace on a vessel of any type at that time. Clearly, this portrait was executed by a most accomplished hand that relished the exploration of color. Note here the daring use of white lead to sublimate the costume, the well-preserved pigments, but also the very fine rendering of the models' hands. This is a sensitively rendered recording of a real character! Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760-1803) Abott was a renowned portrait painter whose picture of 1st Viscount Horatio Nelson (currently hanging in the Terracotta Room at Number 10 Downing Street) was one of his best known, together with the painting of other great literary figures and naval officers of the time. He was born in Leicestershire and studied under Francis Hayman in London and later under Joseph Wright of Derby. His career was interrupted by a madness in 1798, from which he never recovered. This work is in an excellent state of preservation and is presented ready to hang in a beautiful hand carved and gilded English Rococo frame with shell cartouches. High resolution images on request. Worldwide shipping available. Canvas: 30" x 25" / 76cm x 63cm. Frame: 36.5" x 32" / 93cm x 81cm.