PORTRAITS

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Gianfrancesco Sagredo teachers' notes

Background information about Leandro Bassanoi's painting, ‘Gianfrancesco Sagredo’.

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Gilbert Cannan and his Mill teachers' notes

Background information about Mark Gertler’s painting, ‘Gilbert Cannan and his Mill’.

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Miss Orovida Pissarro teachers' notes

Background information about Carel Weight's painting, ‘Orovida Pissarro’.

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Portrait of a Young Man teachers' notes

Background information about Allesandro Allovi's painting, ‘Portrait of a Young Man’.

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Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus teachers' notes

Background information about Manet's painting, ‘Portrait of Mlle Claus’. Includes ideas for creative planning across the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 curriculum.

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Take One Picture: Ashmole teachers' notes

Background information about Peter Riley’s painting, ‘Elias Ashmole’. Includes ideas for creative planning across the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 curriculum.

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10 Things To Do With a Portrait

Try out these creative challenges. Find a portrait that looks like someone you know, imagine a conversation between people in a painting and more...

Elias Ashmole

Painted by John Riley (1646-1691)

Elias Ashmole (1617-1692), whose gift to the University of Oxford in 1683 formed the basis of the Ashmolean Museum in Broad Street is portrayed with objects reflecting his scholarly interests as an antiquary and herald.

Faces in the Fire

Painted by Francis Montague Holl (1845 - 1888)

George Drummond

Painted by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)

George Drummond (1758-1789) of Stanmore, second son of Robert Hay Drummond, Archbishop of York, was a senior partner in Drummonds Bank. He married (secondly) Martha, the eldest daughter and heiress of Rt Hon. Thomas Harley on 30 November 1779. This portrait and its companion of Mrs Drummond (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) were probably commissioned for Harley's new house, Berrington Hall, Herefordshire.

Gianfrancesco Sagredo

Painted by Leandro Bassano (1557-1622)

While the sitter wears the official robes of a Procurator of San Marco, these were also worn by noblemen holding other offices of state. The harbour in the background cannot be definitively located. The costume and the style of the hair and beard suggest a date in the later 1590s. Trained by his father Jacopo, Leandro settled in Venice in 1588 where he worked on religious and historical paintings and became famous as a portraitist.

Gilbert Cannan and his Mill

Painted by Mark Gertler (1891 - 1939)

Gilbert Cannan (1884-1955) was a writer and dramatic critic and he lived in a converted windmill at Cholesbury in Hertfordshire. This painting by Mark Gertler is a full length portrait of Gilbert Cannan standing in front of his mill with his two dogs. This is a traditional subject but here it is also an ironic comment on traditional 18th century portraits of English gentlemen with their faithful hounds.

Portrait of a Man playing the Bagpipes

Painted by Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588?-1629)

The model in this painting seems to be the same as the bagpiper in a painting of the same year in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne. Both belong to a group of similar half-length musicians which the artist started in 1621. The subject was popular among the followers of Caravaggio in Utrecht where ter Brugghen settled c. 1615 on his return from Rome.

Portrait of a Young Man

Painted by Allesandro Allovi (1535-1607)

The young collector holds a medal showing a profile head of a woman in classical costume. His arm rests on an ornate chair with carved and inlaid decoration. A replica of the antique statue of Apollo Citharoedos stands on the elaborate table; the original was in the della Valle collection in Rome in 1561.

Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus

Painted by Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

This portrait's subject is Fanny Claus (1846-77), the closest friend of Manet's wife Suzanne Leenhoff. Fanny was a concert violinist and a member of the first all-woman string quartet. She was one of Manet's favourite sitters and a member of a close-knit group of friends who also provided the artist with models. She married the artist Pierre Prins (1838-1913), another friend of Manet's, in 1869, but died of tuberculosis just eight years later at the age of 30.