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Paintings

Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Winchester

Type
Paintings(Opens in new tab)
Date
1742
Accession number
56.17
Maker
William Hogarth(Opens in new tab) (British, 1697–1764)
Sitter
Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Winchester(Opens in new tab) (British, 1676–1761)
Dimensions
23 5/8 x 18 5/8 in. (60 x 47.3 cm.)
Medium
oil on canvas
Description
Seated full-length in an interior. Shown sitting in red velvet covered armchair at an elaborately carved and gilded desk. Proper left hand rests on the arm of the chair, proper right hand rests on desk and holds black bishop's hat. Dressed in black and white full robes. Long powdered wig. Open window to left of painting shows city with flag on top of buliding in distance. Large vertical columns rise in center of composition behind figure. Green curtain is to the right.
Credit
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Department
European Art
Find out more
View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)
As bishop of Winchester and prelate of the Order of the Garter, Bishop Hoadly ranked second in precedence among the English bishops. In this small picture, he wears the prelate’s robes, with the arms of St. George embroidered on the shoulder. To enhance his sitter’s impressiveness, Hogarth wraps the dark blue mantle around Hoadly’s arm, thereby displaying the white satin of its lining and revealing a cluster of large gold tassels. The setting – a grandiose space with massive columns and a distant prospect of Windsor Castle – is also designed to impress.

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