Portrait of Joseph Henry of Straffan

Description Batoni was the most sought after portrait painter in 18th-century Rome. Visitors, especially young British men on their Grand Tour of the Continent, wanted to have him paint their portraits. In this example, the young Irishman from County Kildare is leaning on the base of a pillar (suggestive of palatial surroundings), which in its simplicity is characteristic of the neoclassical taste of the period. His relaxed pose, open velvet jacket, and book suggest the casual elegance of a well-read gentleman. For more information on this portrait, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 416, pp. 527-528.

Exhibitions

• A Family Reunion: The Milltowns. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. 1997.

Provenance Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [1897 catalogue: no. 771, as school of Charles Le Brun]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902