Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne (1845-1927) Viceroy of India & Foreign Secretary
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About the work
- Location
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Country: France
City: Paris
Place: British Embassy
As Foreign Secretary, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice was responsible for negotiating the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France in 1904. Talks between Lansdowne and his French counterpart, Théophile Delcassé, had begun at Lansdowne House in July 1903, and the formal agreement was signed by Lansdowne and the French Ambassador in London, Paul Cambon, on 8 April 1904. The Entente Cordiale led to greater diplomatic cooperation between France and Britain and also resolved differences between the two countries over territorial influence, particularly in Egypt and Morocco.Lansdowne was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1900 to 1905 and, as such, was also responsible for negotiating the Anglo-Japanese alliance of January 1902. He held many political and diplomatic positions over the course of his career, including Governor General of Canada (1883–1888); Viceroy of India (1888–1894); and, in the final years of Queen Victoria’s reign, Secretary of State for War (1895–1900). He was also chairman of the joint committee that dealt with proposals for a channel tunnel, a project that dates back to the nineteenth century.This portrait was copied by Kendrick in 1927 from Philip de Laszlo’s painting of 1920 in Bowood House, the Lansdowne family seat in Wiltshire. Kendrick has focussed primarily on the face of the sitter, while the background is sketched in with thin paint. Lansdowne looks out calmly and confidently at the viewer, and is shown wearing the accoutrements of the Order of the Garter. -
About the artist
Philip Alexius De László, portrait painter, was born in Budapest, where he studied at the School of Arts and Crafts from 1884 and at the National Academy of Arts from 1885. He later studied at the Royal Bavarian Academy of Art, Munich, before enrolling at the Academie Julian in Paris in 1890. De Laszlo exhibited widely in Europe, including at the Paris Salon. He received many international honours and commissions from royalty. He settled in England in 1907, the year his first one-man show was held at the Fine Art Society, and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1911. In 1914, he became a naturalised British subject, but was interned in 1917. In 1930, he became President of the Royal Society of British Artists. He died in London in 1937.
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Explore
- Places
- Subjects
- male portrait, moustache, man, 19th century costume, ceremonial costume, robe, riband, ribbon (as Subject - costume accessory), livery collar, Order of the Garter, Marquess, Viceroy of India, Foreign Secretary, Secretary of State for War, sword
- Materials & Techniques
- canvas, oil, oil painting
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Details
- Title
- Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne (1845-1927) Viceroy of India & Foreign Secretary
- Date
- 1927
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- height: 81.50 cm, width: 55.50 cm
- Acquisition
- Purchased 1927
- Inscription
- bl: AFTER / DE LASZLO / By / S.P.Kendrick. 1927.
- GAC number
- 0/93