Portrait of Colonel Charles Heathcote

c. 1771–72

Joseph Wright of Derby

(British, 1734–1797)

Culture

England

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

127 x 100 cm (50 x 39 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 2017.100

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Location

203A British Painting and Decorative Arts

Did You Know?

The handful of small-scale, full-length portraits Wright painted early in his career include his earliest experiments in landscape painting.

Description

Assuming a relaxed but commanding pose, Colonel Charles Heathcote (1734–1797) stands beside a large oak tree in the foreground of an expansive landscape. He wears military dress, the single epaulette on his right shoulder designating his rank as colonel. Wright’s composition demonstrates his new-found fascination with landscape: while the figure is relatively smoothly painted, the landscape is painted far more energetically, using thickly applied daubs of color.