Sir Codrington Edmund Carrington
Thomas Lawrence·ca. 1801
Historical Context
Lawrence's Sir Codrington Edmund Carrington (c. 1801) at the Victoria and Albert Museum depicts the colonial administrator who served in Ceylon and later as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court there. Carrington's career in colonial administration was typical of the professional men outside the traditional aristocracy who were becoming an increasingly important market for portrait painting in the Regency period. Lawrence's ability to communicate the dignity of professional achievement and public service — without the inherited status symbols of aristocratic portraiture — made him as successful with this expanding class as with the traditional noble and royal clientele.
Technical Analysis
Lawrence employs a dark, restrained palette appropriate to the sitter's professional dignity. The face is modeled with warm, naturalistic flesh tones and careful attention to individual features, while the dark coat and background are rendered with broad, fluid strokes that focus attention on the sitter's direct, intelligent gaze.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the professional dignity Lawrence projects for Carrington: this is a self-made man, and the portrait communicates achieved status rather than inherited rank.
- ◆Look at the dark, restrained palette appropriate to a colonial administrator's professional gravitas.
- ◆Observe the warm, naturalistic modeling of the face: Lawrence's careful attention to individual features gives Carrington a specific rather than generic authority.
- ◆Find the direct, intelligent gaze: Lawrence consistently used direct eye contact to project the mental engagement that made his male portraits compelling.
See It In Person
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
Gallery: British Galleries, Room 52a
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