The Marquess

This fine portrait shows a distinguished-looking gentleman in a powdered wig worn en queue with side buckles (rolled curls). He wears a navy blue coat with a deep collar and brass buttons over a striped waistcoat, frilled chemise and white stock.

The portrait is signed on the obverse ‘P.J. / 1787’ and is presented in an attractive gold frame with a blue enamel and paste stone surround.

The sitter has traditionally been identified as The Marquess of Granby, a subsidiary title of the Dukedom of Rutland. It’s possible therefore that this portrait depicts Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland (1754-1787), a politician and nobleman. He was an avid collector of objets d’art though his budget was constrained by his equally avid passion for gambling. He married Lady Mary Isabella Somerset, a society beauty and with her had six children. Manners died in October 1787, the year of this portrait.

The artist Philip (Philippe) Jean was born in St Ouen, Jersey in 1755 and took up painting in his mid-twenties following a brief career as a seaman. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy (a frame with five miniatures) in 1787. Jean married a local girl, Anne Madeleine Noël, in 1781 and with her had a daughter who only lived a few months and a son. Following the untimely death of Anne, Jean married another Jersey-born lady, Sarah Marie De Ste Croix. The family moved to London where three daughters and a son were born.