Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) natural philosopher and mathematician

Start Zooming
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Downing Street


    This painting may have been intended to decorate a public building such as a library. The numbers, seen to the lower left and lower right of the painting, suggest it was part of a series of similar portraits, which were hung in sequence around a room.

    To the left of the painting, the allegorical figure holding a stone tablet represents Philosophy and the figure to the right, with a pair of dividers, represents Geometry. The significance of the eagle to the left of the painting is not known. The depiction of Newton himself as a bust is based on a portrait bust by the sculptor Louis Francois Roubiliac (1702-1761) of 1751. However, Newton’s features, in particular his eyes, have been painted to appear life-like.

  • Explore
  • Details
    Title
    Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) natural philosopher and mathematician
    Date
    c.1750
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    height: 75.50 cm, width: 137.00 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Frank T Sabin, May 1971
    Inscription
    bl: 6 ; br: 7 ; bc: ISAAC NEWTON / EQUES.
    GAC number
    9267