Lady Cockburn and her Three Eldest Sons

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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This painting of Lady Cockburn (1749–1837) with her three energetic infant boys combines a portrait of an individual with the personification of a virtue. It is based on traditional pictures of Charity, one of the three theological virtues, often shown as a mother selflessly caring for her children. Reynolds largely based his composition on Van Dyck’s Charity of 1627–8, and James, the child kneeling on Lady Cockburn’s lap, is an almost direct copy of Cupid in Velázquez’s The Toilet of Venus. Both paintings are now also in the National Gallery’s collection. Reynolds frequently ‘invented’ new pictures from a variety of artistic sources.

The brightly coloured macaw, painted from life, is probably Reynolds’s own bird, hated by his housemaid but reportedly tame enough to perch on the wrist of his friend, Dr Johnson.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Lady Cockburn and her Three Eldest Sons

Date

1773

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 141.5 x W 113 cm

Accession number

NG2077

Acquisition method

Bequeathed by Alfred Beit, 1906

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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