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Portraits of a Lady & Gentleman

Artist

Circle of Francis Alleyne, circa 1775

product

Portraits of a Lady & Gentleman

Artist

Circle of Francis Alleyne, circa 1775

Guide Price:

SOLD

Oil on metal; original frames; entire 14.5 by 12ins; 37 x 30.5cm

Provenance: Private collection, England

Stylistically these portraits show a debt to Francis Alleyne, a peripatetic artist who travelled around the country houses of the south-east of England in the latter part of the 18th century executing small paintings of the owners and tenants. He tended to work on canvas and wood, whereas the artist here has favoured the less common metal support, probably tin. Metal would often give a smoothness of finish that some artists preferred, copper being used more commonly in the 17th and 16th centuries.

These portraits probably depict a brother and sister given the facial resemblance and the fact they both face the same way; if married they would usually be facing each other.