John Christian Santhague (d1. 821)

John Christian Santhague from 1782 by George Stubbs is a portrait that combines human likeness with the broader context of Georgian social and sporting life that Stubbs documented throughout his career. Stubbs's oil technique was grounded in exhaustive anatomical study—he spent eighteen months dissecting horses at a Lincolnshire farmhouse before painting the plates for his Anatomy of the Horse (1766)—producing an exactitude of musculature and bone structure unmatched in equestrian art.

The portrait demonstrates Stubbs's careful observation applied to human subjects, with attention to the sitter's features and bearing.