Lavinia (Bingham), Countess Spencer, and John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp, later Earl Spencer

Images(2)

Lavinia (Bingham), Countess Spencer, and John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp, later Earl Spencer

Maker Joshua Reynolds (British, 1723-1792)

SitterSitter: Lavinia (Bingham), Countess Spencer (British, 1762 - 1831)

SitterSitter: John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp, later Earl Spencer (British, 1782 - 1845)

Collections

British Painting Highlights

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca.1783-84

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 58 × 43 1/4 in. (147.3 × 109.9 cm.) frame: 70 1/4 × 56 × 6 1/2 in. (178.4 × 142.2 × 16.5 cm.)

DescriptionShe kneels to the left, on her right knee, profile right, embracing the boy with both arms. He stands full-length, full-face, behind her left knee, his left hand touching ('scratching') the crown of his head. The Countess' dark hair is powdered, with curls tied back, covering the ears and lying on the shoulders; her eyes are dark. She wears a wide, green-blue felt hat, a white muslin dress and fichu, and a black velvet belt. A rose petticoat glows through the transparent skirt; a black silk, lace-trimmed mantle falls over her right arm and encircles her. Her son wears a white muslin frock and vieux rose sash. He has fair hair and dark eyes. In the right foreground a black-and-white toy spaniel sits looking up to left. Background of trees, with glimpses of deep-blue sky; lighter sky and water low down in right middle distance.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextCountess Spencer commissioned this portrait to commemorate her new status as a mother following the birth of her first child. The painting captures a spontaneous act of maternal affection as she comforts her son, who has evidently taken a fall. The imagery reflects the growing idealization and prestige of maternity in late 18th-century England as upper-class women began to take a more active role in raising their children.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number24.33