(Bath 1715–1745 London)
Portrait of a boy dressed ‘à la Van Dyck’ and his greyhound,
signed and dated lower right: Jn. Robinson fecit 1738,
oil on canvas, 126 x 102 cm, framed

This painting is an interesting example of English portraiture from the Georgian period. The boy’s attire differs from contemporary portraits of children, while it nevertheless simultaneously complies with current tendencies of early 18th century portraiture. The sitter wears a historical costume that refers back to the 17th century. The boy embraces the head of his dog in the same manner as the Prince of Wales shown with his favourite dog in the group portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck of the children of Charles I (Royal Collection, inv. no. 267). For such historical costumes and quotes, the term ‘Van Dyck costume’ had become established in England. This pictorial tradition was continued until the late 18th century and was frequently relied on by such painters as Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds. At the time when the present painting was created, John Robinson was still a young man, and his untimely death at the age of barely 30 years old explains why the artist’s known oeuvre is extremely small. Thanks to a financially favourable early marriage, he was able to purchase the workshop of the society painter Charles Jervas as soon as he had completed his training under the court painter John Vanderbank. He started a promising career as a portraitist of the beau monde, which came to an abrupt end through his premature death. The small number of surviving paintings by Robinson, including the present composition, are comparable in quality to the works produced by the English school at the time, as also attests the portrait of Lady Charlotte Finch in the National Portrait Gallery, London (inv. no. NPG 6205; published by John Faber Junior as a mezzotint engraving under the title Amorous Beauty).