George Stubbs

Commandé en 1781 par Anthony Preston, 11e vicomte Gormanston (1736 – 1786), Gormanston Castle, Ireland (livré en 1785) ;
Collection des vicomtes Gormanston jusqu’en 1944 ;
Collection C. Marshall Spink ;
Collection Walter Hutchinson, Londres, 1948 ;
Sa vente, Londres, Christie’s, 20 juillet 1951, n° 128 (Carlyle) ;
Collection Max Aitken, 1er Lord Beaverbrook (1879-1964) ;
Vente anonyme, Londres, Sotheby’s, 8 décembre 2010, n° 43, reproduit en couleur.

Londres, Hutchinson House, National Gallery of British Sports and Pastimes, 1948, n° 125.

Archives de la famille Gormanston, collection particulière en dépôt à la National Library d’Irlande, Dublin ;
T. Borenius, English Paintings in the Eighteenth Century, Londres, 1938, reproduit planche 42 ;
R. Fountain et A.Gates, Stubbs’s Dogs, Londres, 1984, n° 24 ;
J. Egerton, George Stubbs, Yale, 2007, n° 227, reproduit en couleur.

The following condition report was provided by Sarah Walden, an independant restorer and not an employee of Sotheby's in 2010. The painting still appears now in the same condition. Paint surface: This painting is on a large panel composed of four pieces of oak. The central joint appears never to have moved. The other two joints have been reglued and have butterfly supports regularly spaced behind. Another faint old crack can be seen just above the upper joint. Overall there is only the faintest curve at the upper left side and the carefully selected quite thick panels seem to have remained generally unmoved and stable. The minimalist technique of the artist using quite fine washes with little impasto tends to show the grain of the wood as the paint grows naturally more transparent with age. It can also be vulnerable to radical restoration. The present restoration, probably from the sixties or seventies of the last century, has touched out the grain in the sky quite extensively, with long strokes of retouching which is now darkening slightly. In some worn patches in the foreground other darkened retouching can be seen, especially around the paws and below the dog's belly. The two reglued joints (one of which crosses the eye of the dog) also have broad bands of retouching. The forepaws are beautifully intact with all the careful modelling of the sinews, as is the near hind paw, while the far hind paw has been strengthened. The distant landscape is quite faint and blurred, as are some of the discreet grasses and rare touches of detail in the immediate foreground, however the foliage at upper left is still fairly strong, although beneath the stomach of the dog the foliage is quite heavily retouched. There is retouching along the full length of the dog's back, but the lovely minimalist suggestive touches of fur brushed along the centre of the body and chest are finely preserved. Much of the head is also in rather good condition, apart from the line of the joint crossing the eye. The signature is fine and crisp. This report was not done under laboratory conditions. Frame: Held in a twentieth century Carlo Marratta style frame, with white gold or silver leaf gilding.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Ce tableau est un véritable portrait. Un portrait animalier, de l’un des chiens préférés de Lord Gormanston. Cette œuvre fut commandée en 1781 par le 11e Vicomte Gormanston du Château Gormanston (voir fig.1), comté de Meath, près de Dublin, l’un des deux seuls clients irlandais de l’artiste. Le Château Gormanston était jusqu’à environ 1950 le siège de la famille Preston – détentrice du plus vieux titre de vicomte à la fois en Grande Bretagne et en Irlande. Gormanston chérit énormément ce tableau et l’attendit si impatiemment, que son agent Michael Hornsby envoya non seulement des instructions spécifiques pour son transport de Londres à l’Irlande, mais il informa également très précisément Gormanston de sa livraison aux douanes de Dublin. Deux portraits par John Opie firent apparemment le même voyage. L’un d’entre eux montrait le 11e Vicomte Gormanston caressant la tête de son chien, considéré comme étant le même chien que dans le présent portrait. Clairement, le soin avec lequel Gormanston souhaitait que ce portrait soit traité, l’apparence du même animal dans le portrait par Opie pareillement daté, et le fait qu’il y existe une autre version de ce portrait (sur toile, qui fut très certainement peint lui aussi pour Gormanston, et qui appartient aujourd’hui à une collection particulière) démontrent l'attachement particulier du propiétaire à son chien. 
De manière inhabituelle, la race de l’animal n’est pas précisée dans les références contemporaines du tableau, à l’inverse du « setter » qui est mentionné comme étant représenté dans un autre portrait que Gormanston commanda à Stubbs. On considère généralement que ce chien est un pointer, mais à l’inverse du Pointer espagnol de 1766 par Stubbs (Neue Pinakothek, Munich), ou du Portrait de Sir John Nelthorpe avec son chien, 1766 (collection particulière), le présent animal n’est pas représenté dans la pose ou le rôle de tels animaux d’assistance. Cependant ce n’est pas non plus un animal domestique lorsqu’on considère la frivolité de la pose du chien domestique dans, par exemple, le Portrait de l’épagneul brun et blanc de Mr Muster, assis dans un massif de primevères de 1778 (collection particulière). Au contraire, ce chien est représenté comme un animal soigné, élancé, athlétique et alerte, un spécimen observé avec attention, peint à l’échelle la plus large possible et placé au premier plan de l’image.
George Stubbs fut et demeure le meilleur portraitiste animalier au monde. Ses portraits de chiens révèlent son exceptionnelle aptitude à représenter les animaux préférés de leurs maîtres. George Stubbs peignit cette œuvre en 1781, durant une période très importante de sa vie, puisqu’il venait d’être fait membre de la Royal Academy (bien qu’il n’ait jamais reçu son diplôme). Les premières recherches anatomiques de Stubbs étaient centrées sur les chevaux, mais même ses premières œuvres révèlent une fine compréhension des chiens et de leurs caractéristiques individuelles ainsi que de leurs personnalités. On peut citer, à cet égard, la première grande commande passée à Stubbs, trois grandes peintures réalisées pour le duc de Richmond en 1759-60 (Goodwood House, voir fig.2). Dans ces œuvres, on peut déjà voir que les compositions sont fortement animées par la présence des chiens, où chaque animal est traité de manière individuelle, chacun avec ses propres attitudes. A l'égal des plus grands exemples du genre du portrait, George Stubbs revendique la noblesse du modèle en l'installant sur un large fond de paysage comme aurait pu l'envisager Sir Anthony van Dyck. 


This painting is a bona fide portrait. It is an animal portrait of one of Lord Gormanston’s favourite dogs. This work was commissioned in 1781 by the 11th Viscount Gormanston at Gormanston Castle (consult fig. 1), County Meath, near Dublin. The Viscount was one of only two Irish clients for the artist. Gormanston Castle was until around 1950 the seat of the Preston family, holder of the oldest title of viscount both in Britain and Ireland. Gormanston cherished this large painting and waited so impatiently. His dealer Michael Hornsby sent not only specific shipping instructions from London to Ireland, but he informed precisely Gormanston its delivery to Dublin customs. Two portraits by John Opie apparently made the same journey. One of them showed the 11th Viscount Gormanston petting his dog’s head, considered to be the same canine in this portrait. The careful handling taken by Gormanston for this portrait, the appearance of the same animal in Opie’s work with the identical date, and the fact that there is another version of this picture (on canvas, which was also painted certainly for Gormanston, and now is part of a private collection) evidently demonstrate the owner’s special dedication to his dog.
Unusually, the breed of the animal is not specified in the contemporary references of the painting, in contrast to the "setter" that is mentioned in another portrait by Stubbs commissioned by Gormanston. It is generally considered that this dog is a pointer, but unlike the Spanish Pointer dated 1766 by Stubbs (Neue Pinakothek, Munich), or Sir Portrait of John Nelthorpe with His Dogs 1766 (private collection), this animal is not depicted with the pose or the role of such service animals. Furthermore, it is not regarded as a pet when considering the frivolity of the dog’s pose with One of Mrs. Muster’s Brown and White Spaniels, Sitting by a Clump of Primroses 1778 (private collection) for example. Rather, this dog is depicted as a well-kept, slender, athletic and alert animal, a specimen observed carefully and painted with the widest possible scale and placed in the foreground.
George Stubbs was and remains the best animal portrait artist in the world. His canine portraits reveal his exceptional ability to depict the favourite pets of owners. George Stubbs painted this work during a very important period of his life. For in 1781, he had just been made a member of the Royal Academy, although he never received his diploma. The first anatomical research conducted by Stubbs concentrated on horses, but even his early works reveal a detailed understanding of dogs and their sole characteristics and personalities. In regards to this chosen subject, the first major commission given to Stubbs was three large paintings for the Duke of Richmond in 1759-60 (Goodwood House, consult fig. 2). In these artworks, we can already see that the compositions are greatly enlivened by the presence of the dogs, where each animal is rendered individually and with its own attitudes. Considered one of the greatest examples of this type of portrait, George Stubbs promotes the nobility of the model placed against a wide landscape background as possibly envisaged by Sir Anthony van Dyck.