Henry Hoare of Mitcham Grove, Surrey (1750 - 1828)

My name is Isabella, and I will be your guide today through one of our most impressive paintings! Look at this amazing portrait! It's of a man named Henry Hoare. He lived a long, long time ago, between 1750 and 1828. That's over 200 years ago! Can anyone guess what year it is now? Wow, that's a lot of years! nn
nn This picture was painted by a very famous artist named George Romney. He painted it a long time ago too, between 1780 and 1784. Imagine how long it took him to paint this! It's quite big, about as tall as [gesture to indicate height] and almost as wide as [gesture to indicate width]. It's like a really big photograph of Henry! What do you think he looks like? nn
nn Look closely at Henry's face. See his hair? It's all powdered and styled in a fancy wig. That was fashionable back then! And look at his clothes! He's wearing a dark brown coat and a crisp white shirt. What do you think his coat is made of? Do you think he was a rich man or a poor man? Why do you think that? The artist made his coat a very dark brown, and the shirt very white. It makes Henry stand out! nn
nn The background is blurry and soft. It's not very detailed, right? That's because the artist wanted us to focus all our attention on Henry. He wanted to show us how important Henry was. What do you think makes Henry look important? Is it his clothes? His expression? nn
nn George Romney was a really clever painter. He used light and shadow to make Henry's face look very real. See how the light shines on his face? It makes his eyes and nose stand out. It's like magic! This painting shows us not just what Henry looked like, but maybe a little bit about his personality too. What kind of person do you think Henry was? Was he kind? Serious? nn
nn This painting is a window into the past. It helps us see what life was like hundreds of years ago. It's amazing to think that we can see this man, Henry Hoare, even though he lived so long ago! Isn't that cool? Now, let's go look at some other amazing paintings! Do you have any questions about Henry or the painting?