Portrait of a Girl

Portrait painting was the least characteristic part of George Morland's output — he was primarily a genre and animal painter, and the formal conventions of portraiture sat uneasily with his instincts. Yet this portrait of a girl in Leicester Museum and Art Gallery demonstrates his ability to observe a specific face with genuine attentiveness when given the opportunity. The girl's identity is unknown, though she may be connected to one of the many household members, neighbours, or chance acquaintances who posed informally for Morland during his rural wanderings. His portraits are distinguished from the more polished productions of Reynolds, Gainsborough, or Romney by their directness and lack of social performance — the subjects appear as themselves rather than as social ideals. The informal, observational quality of this portrait is consistent with the same honesty that characterises his animal and genre work.

On canvas, the portrait employs a simple format — figure against a neutral or loosely painted background — that keeps attention on the face. Morland's flesh painting, when applied to portraiture, is more carefully modelled than his broader genre and animal handling, with attention to the specific tonal transitions of a young girl's skin. The eyes, as in all Morland portraiture, are rendered with a direct, candid observation that avoids the gloss of flattery.