Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A. 1734-1797

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A.
Portrait of Dr John Berkenhout (c.1726-1791)
indistinctly signed l.l. and inscribed on an old label attached to the reverse: Dr John Berkenhout, as a / young man, was an officer in / the Prufsian Service, & afterwards / became a celebrated physician / His extraordinary life may be found / in the Encyclopedia
oil on canvas
76 by 63.5 cm., 30 by 25 in.

half length, wearing the uniform of a Captain in the Regiment of 24th Foot

Literature

Roderick Howell, 'John Berkenhout, A Portrait of an Eighteenth Century Physician', The Practitioner, January 1978, pp.162-165;

Benedict Nicolson, 'Wright of Derby: Addenda and Corrigenda', Burlington Magazine, October 1988, p.74

Catalogue Note

John Berkenhout was a man of wide and varied interests. Born in Leeds, the son of a Dutch merchant, he spent his early years in Germany, where he acquired knowledge of a number of languages. He joined the army and served first with a Prussian regiment and later with a British regiment (the 24th Foot). He studied medicine in Edinburgh, obtained a doctorate in Physics from Leyden, and was author of significant works on medicine, natural science and literature. He was also a talented painter and musician. In 1778 he was sent out to America as part of a mission to induce public opinion there to accept peace. In Philadelphia he made contact with Richard Henry Lee and other members of Congress, but fell foul of the authorities and was arrested. His journal describing his exploits is in the William L. Clements Library, Anne Arbor, Michigan. He was painted by Wright c.1760, when his regiment was quartered near Derby.