Endymion PorterVilijam Dobson · 1643

Identification of Endymion Porter by William Dobson

The oil painting titled Endymion Porter was executed by the artist William Dobson. This portrait depicts Endymion Porter, who was a favourite courtier of King Charles I. The work was produced at the exiled court of King Charles in Oxford.

The creation of this portrait dates to c.1642–5. It remains a significant record of the subject's presence within the royalist circle during a period of political transition. The sitter's status is indicated by his proximity to the courtly environment in which the painting was realized.

Composition and Visual Details

The composition features a boy positioned against a dark foreground. His attire consists of a robe, a buff cloak, and a mustard yellow jerkin. The robe and the cloak are rendered in shades of mulberry brown and brick red. Beneath the mustard yellow jerkin, the artist applied opaque grey tones alongside mulberry brown. The ribbons on the jerkin and the lining of the sleeves are detailed with mixtures of white and indigo.

The subject's face and hands are modeled using opaque dark beige tones. Deep shadows in these areas are achieved through the application of plum colour. The lighting emphasizes the textural qualities of the clothing and the physical features of the figure. The dark background recedes, placing the central figure in a controlled, shadowed environment.

Technical Details and Canvas Support

The painting measures 1499 x 1270 mm. The canvas support is composed of two pieces of identical, plain woven linen joined together at a stitched, vertical seam that passes through the cheek of the boy. This seam divides the work into two unequal sections: the right-hand section is 1020 mm wide, while the left-hand section measures 233 mm wide. The weave of the linen contains 10 threads per sq cm in each direction, and the texture is an open weave with threads of uneven thickness.

A thin, mid-grey ground has been applied to the canvas. This layer contains calcium carbonate, lead white, and charcoal black. The ground sits in the hollows of the canvas weave, with only a thin skim on top of the threads. During the relining process in 1970, it was observed that the pressure from the application of this ground caused it to be pushed through the canvas weave, resulting in drips on the reverse side of the support.

Scientific Studies and Conservation

Technical examination of the canvas reveals a complex history of construction and preparation. The support consists of two pieces of identical, plain woven linen joined at a stitched, vertical seam that passes through the cheek of the subject. The ground is a mid-grey composition containing calcium carbonate, lead white, and charcoal black. During the initial application of this ground, the pressure caused the material to be pushed through the open weave of the canvas, resulting in drips of the ground on the reverse side. The painting underwent cleaning and relining in 1970, and the current surface is protected by a modern synthetic resin varnish.

Detailed imaging provides insight into the artist's specific application methods. X-ray analysis shows a zig-zag application of X-ray-dense paint located underneath the collar and the jerkin on the left-hand side. This suggests that the grey tones used in these areas constitute a deliberate layer of underpaint. Furthermore, infra-red reflectography has been employed to examine the composition's development. These scans did not reveal any pentimenti, indicating that the primary arrangement of the figure and background remained consistent throughout the painting process.