Fig.1
John Riley
Portrait of James Sotheby c.1690
Oil paint on canvas
1270 x 1027 mm
T00057
This painting is in oil paint on canvas measuring 1270 x 1027 mm (fig.1). The support is a single piece of linen twill canvas, with a weave count of 11 vertical and 12 horizontal threads per square centimetre. There is marked cusping at the upright edges but none at the top and bottom (fig.2), indicating that the piece was cut from a long length of pre-primed canvas.1
The ground is tan brown colour and was applied in two or three coats (figs.3–4).
The infrared reflectogram (fig.5) reveals several alterations by the artist in the costume.
Fig.2
X-radiograph of Portrait of James Sotheby c.1690
Fig.3
Cross-section from the dark blue sky at the right edge, 290 mm from the top edge. Photographed at x260 magnification. From the bottom upwards: tan coloured ground; dark brown paint; dark blue paint; varnish
Fig.4
The same cross-section as in Fig.3, photographed in ultraviolet light at x260 magnification. From the bottom up: tan coloured ground, possibly applied in three coats; dark brown paint; dark blue paint; accumulation of varnish layers
Fig.5
Infrared reflectogram of Portrait of James Sotheby c.1690
June 2022