Philip Mercier

Born the son of French Huguenots in Germany, Philip Mercier was one of the most significant foreign-born artists to establish himself as a painter in Georgian England. His talents for portraiture saw him receive significant commissions, including serving as Painter and Librarian to Frederick, Prince of Wales, from 1728 until 1738. As a devoted follower of Watteau's style, Mercier helped to import French fashions into the visual arts of Britain. This not only included frivolous Rococo idioms, such as the famous Belton Conversation Piece, but more informal subject matter too. This Portrait of a girl sewing is typical of the artist's paintings of women undertaking domestic chores. Scenes identified as Knitting, Washing and Sewing have survived in print format, along with depictions of dairy maids and girls carrying tea-trays, suggesting that these too were popular compositions in the artist's œuvre.¹ Ultimately, these subjects are likely to have been inspired by Dutch Golden Age genre paintings, which experienced a resurgence in popularity in eighteenth-century France and beyond.

¹ J. Ingamells and R. Raines, 'A Catalogue of the Paintings, Drawings and Etchings of Philip Mercier', in The Walpole Society, 1976, vol. 46, pp. 41 and 44.