(Ústí nad Labem 1728–1779 Rome)
Portrait of Henry Willoughby, later 5th Baron Middleton (1726–1800),
oil on canvas, 64 x 49 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, Denmark;
sale, Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen, 27 November 2018, lot 121 (as Peder Als);
where acquired by the present owner

Literature:
A. M. Clark, Five Roman Masters of the Settecento, in: Bulletin of Rhode Island School of Design, vol. 45, May 1959, mentioned on p. 8, note 6;
S. Roettgen, Anton Raphael Mengs 1728–1779, Das malerische und zeichnerische Werk, Munich 1999, vol. 1, p. 303, cat. no. 235 WK 1 (as Peder Als?);
S. Roettgen, Digitales Werkverzeichnis Anton Raphael Mengs, online publication ed. by the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, updated 2020, no. DW_352 (as Anton Raphael Mengs)

The present portrait relates to a signed, three-quarter-length version, conserved in the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence (inv. no. 57.281). Roettgen identified the sitter on the basis of similarities with a portrait of Henry Willoughby painted by Pompeo Batoni in 1754 (see E. Peters Bowron, Pompeo Batoni, New Haven/London 2016, cat. no. 176).

Willoughby was evidently ambitious and wealthy as he sat not only for Mengs and Batoni, but also for Louis-Gabriel Blanchet. Little is known about the sitter’s Grand Tour other than the fact that he interrupted his stay in Rome to travel further south; he is documented in Capua on 2 June 1753, where he sojourned together with ‘Mr. Digby’ (see J. Ingamells, A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy, 1701–1800, compiled by the Brinsley Ford Archive, New Haven/London 1997, p. 1006). ‘Mr. Digby’ may probably be identified as Sir Digby Legard, whose sister Willoughby married in 1756. After his return to England and his marriage, he lived at Wollaton Park, Nottinghamshire. In 1781 he succeeded his cousin Thomas Willoughby as 5th Lord Middleton. In 1791 he was appointed ‘Fellow’ of the renowned Royal Society and in 1791 he was admitted to the equally distinguished Society of Antiquarians.

According to Steffi Roettgen, a number of travellers not only had their portraits done by several painters during the Grand Tour, but they also ordered second versions (see op. cit. Roettgen, 1999, cat. nos. 202 and 203).

When compared to the Providence version, the present painting shows a number of differences illustrating how the composition was adapted to the smaller format with only a few, but highly effective alterations. For example, the part of the chest between the sitter’s collar and the left hand were compressed to such an extent that it was possible to omit the elbow of the right arm, which would have remained visible if the model had been reproduced exactly. According to Roettgen, these alterations reveal that the work was realised with considerable contribution from the artist himself. However, it is noticeable that not all of the passages show the same degree of finish. Whereas the copper brown coat, the dark brown neck scarf, and the greyish white shirtfront visible underneath, as well as the area of the shoulders and the cuffs, are rendered in a swifter and almost sketchy manner, the sitter’s complexion and hand, as well as the background with the fluted pilaster near the left margin, are executed with precision. For these parts and the area around the eyes, which seems smooth and compact when compared to the Providence painting, the participation of the workshop seems likely. During this time, Anton von Maron (Vienna 1733–1808 Rome) and Giovanni Casanova (Venice 1728/30–1795 Dresden) were members of the artist’s workshop.