Artwork
Robert Monckton
Robert Monckton is an oil painting. It dates from 1765 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A man in a red coat sits stiffly against a dark ground, his powdered wig and grave expression placing him squarely in 1765. The work is painted on the back of glass rather than canvas, so the oil colors glow from behind, a method rarely seen in portraits of the period.
Subject & Meaning
As a portrait, the artwork's primary meaning and representation lie in commemorating and visually documenting the likeness and identity of Robert Monckton.
This 1765 oil-on-glass painting is a portrait whose main subject is Robert Monckton. The work depicts him as a man, conforming to the portrait genre. As a portrait, the artwork's primary meaning and representation lie in commemorating and visually documenting the likeness and identity of Robert Monckton.
The choice of oil on glass as a medium for this traditional genre highlights a specific technical approach to capturing the sitter's visage, though the work itself fundamentally serves the representational purpose of affirming the subject's presence and status through his depicted image.
Technique & Style
The portrait of Robert Monckton is executed in oil on glass, an unconventional support that distinguishes it from typical panel or canvas portraits of the period. Classified within the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, the work dates to 1765 and takes the form of a small-format portrait of a man. Its modest dimensions, 17.1 cm in height by 10.5 cm in width, indicate an intimate, miniature scale consistent with portable glass portraits intended for close viewing. The painting is attributed to an anonymous artist, and its genre is firmly established as portraiture.
History & Provenance
Created in 1765, this oil-on-glass portrait depicts Robert Monckton. The work was executed by an unknown or anonymous artist, with no specific commission details or earlier ownership records surviving in the available documentation. Since its inception, the painting has entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently housed and classified within the institution's American Wing.
The object measures 17.1 by 10.5 units and serves as a primary visual record of the subject from the mid-eighteenth century.
Robert Monckton, an oil on glass portrait dated 1765, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, classified under The American Wing. According to the Wikidata entry for the work, the painting is located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and forms part of its holdings as a portrait. No specific accession number, accession year, or prior exhibition history is recorded in the available sources for this object.
Overview
This portrait depicts Robert Monckton, a figure from 1765, rendered with a formal bearing. The subject, dressed in a red coat and powdered wig, sits against a dark backdrop, his expression serious. Unusually, the artwork is executed in oil on glass, a distinctive medium that contributes to its visual character and is housed within the American Wing collection.
Artist & collection
- H Beard Print Collection
Louis XV, King of France
Louis XV (1710–1774), King of France
H Beard Print Collection
H Beard Print Collection
Louis Cesar de La Baume-le-Blanc
Portrait of Augustus III (1696–1763), King of Poland
Kurfürst Karl Theodor von der Pfalz
Portrait of Frederik Wilhelm of Prussia
Portrait of Stanisław August Poniatowski in the uniform of the head of the Corps of Cadets
Louis XV
Skuespilleren Frederik Schwarz
