Frederick Hervey, Bishop of Derry and 4th Earl of Bristol (1730-1803), with his Granddaughter Lady Caroline Crichton (1779-1856), in the Gardens of the Villa Borghese, Rome

Hugh Douglas Hamilton , Irish, 1740-1808

Title

Datec.1790

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

224.4 x 199.5 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1981 (Lane Fund)

Object numberNGI.4350

DescriptionThe youngest son of a powerful family in Suffolk, Frederick Hervey, (1730-1803), became Bishop of Derry in 1768. He made five extended visits to Italy, spending eighteen years there in total. The Earl Bishop is shown with his granddaughter, Caroline Crichton (1779-1856), in the gardens of the Villa Borghese in Rome. She points out the figure of Spring on an antique altar. In the background a Temple of Aesculapius (Greek god of healing) can be glimpsed. It was designed by the architect Mario Asprucci (1764-1804), who later built Ickworth, the Earl Bishop's grand country mansion in England.
ProvenancePresumably commissioned by the Earl Bishop; by family descent to the Fosters of Glyde Court, Co. Louth; purchased, Private Collection, December 1981 Exhibition HistoryLoan Museum of Art Treasures, Industrial Exhibition Palace, Dublin, 1873

Acquisitions 1981-82, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 30 September 1982 - 2 January 1983

Grand Tour: The Lure of Italy in the Eighteenth Century, Tate Gallery, London, October 1996 - January 1997; Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, February - April 1997

Label TextBishop Hervey, a seasoned traveller, assumes the fashionable, informal swagger pose, while his granddaughter, in neoclassical attire, is depicted like a Grecian nymph. The portfolio resting against the Altar of the Twelve Gods alludes to the family’s sophisticated pursuits and learning, as does the way in which Caroline rests one hand on the bas relief while gesturing with the other to her grandfather. The altar is now in the collection of the Musée du Louvre.