Private, 16th Light Dragoons c. 1759-61
Oil on canvas | 51.3 x 41.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 406820
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Morier was a Swiss military and sporting painter who started working for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-65) in 1747, when he painted a series of pictures of troops under his command. From 1752 until 1764 he was employed as ‘limner’ (painter) to the Duke on an annual salary of £100; his name also appears regularly in royal accounts from 1764 to 1767. A private in the 16th Light Dragoons, full-length, mounted on a rearing bay charger, riding to the right in an extensive hilly landscape; he turns half to the left and, looking back over his right shoulder, fires a pistol.
Provenance
Probably painted for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, and one of the 114 'Pictures of Miltary Costume' of these dimensions (1ft 4in x 1ft 8in) recorded in the Upper Library at Buckingham Palace in 1819 (no 984)
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
51.3 x 41.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
64.4 x 54.4 x 5.1 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)