Joseph Porter
Artist: William Hogarth (English | British, 1697-1764)
Date: about 1740-1745
Dimensions:
35 11/16 x 27 13/16 in. (90.6 x 70.6 cm)
Medium: oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1926.54
Label Text:A London merchant who traded with Hamburg, Germany, Joseph Porter (died 1749) was a good friend of artist William Hogarth. Hogarth shows Porter seated at a desk, folding a letter that he is about to seal with the stick of sealing wax and the taper burning near his hand. The letter is no doubt related to his profession, rather than one of personal correspondence. The seascape seen through an arch in the background presumably also refers to his international trade with Germany.
Although best known for his moralizing social satires Marriage à la Mode, A Rake’s Progress, and A Harlot’s Progress, Hogarth was a gifted and original portraitist. The warm greens, dull yellows, faded rose, and browns of this painting harmonize with Hogarth’s feeling for texture and material and the easy handling of the paint. This forthright image is an example of his insistence on the individuality of the portrait subject, rather than upon stylistic convention.
Although best known for his moralizing social satires Marriage à la Mode, A Rake’s Progress, and A Harlot’s Progress, Hogarth was a gifted and original portraitist. The warm greens, dull yellows, faded rose, and browns of this painting harmonize with Hogarth’s feeling for texture and material and the easy handling of the paint. This forthright image is an example of his insistence on the individuality of the portrait subject, rather than upon stylistic convention.
On view
In Collection(s)