Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive of Plassey (1725-1774) army officer and Governor of Bengal

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Nathaniel Dance-Holland was born in London, the son of architect George Dance the elder. He trained under Francis Hayman and, from 1854, lived in Rome, forming a partnership with Pompeo Batoni. His most prestigious commission was a portrait of Edward, Duke of York (1764) for George III. He returned to London in 1766 and established himself as a portraitist, becoming a founder member of the Royal Academy. In 1783 he married Harriet Drummer of Cranbury Park, Hampshire. He resigned from the Academy in 1790, but continued to exhibit. He was elected MP for East Grinstead, Sussex (1790-1802; 1807-11), and Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire (1802-06). In 1800 he took the name Holland and was created a baronet. He died at his Wiltshire home, aged 76.
Francesco Bartolozzi was born in Italy. He became a pupil of the German painter and printmaker Joseph Wagner, then based in Venice. In 1764, he was invited to England by Frederick Augusta Barnard, King George III's Librarian. Although best known for copying Old Master drawings in the stipple technique (such as his reproductions of Guercino’s drawings in the Royal Collection), Bartolozzi also engraved plates after contemporary artists (notably Giovanni Battista Cipriani and Angelica Kauffmann). He set up a studio in London, which produced large numbers of ‘furniture prints’ (generally set within a roundel or oval and intended for framing). In 1802 he left England to become Director of the Lisbon Academy in Portugal.

People

Robert, 1st Baron Clive of Plassey Clive (1725 - 1774)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, horse, man, 18th century costume, military uniform, waistcoat, sash, wig, epaulettes, tricorn hat, coat of arms, Baron, Governor of Bengal, diplomat, cannon, sword, officer (army), unnamed land battle

Materials & Techniques

engraving, stipple engraving

Artist

Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735 - 1811)
Francesco Bartolozzi (1727 - 1815)

Title

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive of Plassey (1725-1774) army officer and Governor of Bengal

Date

1788

Medium

Engraving and stipple engraving

Acquisition

Purchased from F B Daniell & Son, September 1949

GAC number

911