Portrait of a Gentleman

Portrait of a Gentleman from 1791 by George Stubbs is one of his relatively rare pure portrait commissions, depicting an unidentified sitter without the equestrian elements that dominated his output. Stubbs's human portraits, less celebrated than his animal paintings, demonstrate the figure painting competence he had developed through decades of equestrian portraiture requiring the rendering of both horse and rider. The plain portrait format—a figure against a neutral or simple background—placed Stubbs in direct competition with the specialist portrait painters who dominated that market, and his work in this mode is judged as technically accomplished though lacking the distinctive authority of his equine subjects. The work is held at the Royal Collection and was probably a royal or court commission given its institutional provenance.

The portrait demonstrates Stubbs's ability in formal portraiture, with careful attention to the sitter's features and costume.