George IV (1762-1830)

Lawrence painted George IV around 1821, the year after the king's accession, creating the official coronation-era portrait that would define the monarch's visual image. George IV was one of the most extravagant kings in British history — patron of Nash's Brighton Pavilion and London's Regent Street, but personally profligate and politically controversial. Lawrence, who owed much of his career to royal patronage, portrayed the king in the grand manner befitting his aspirations while tactfully minimizing his considerable corpulence. Now in the Royal Collection, the portrait represents the official face of a reign memorable more for cultural patronage than political achievement.

Lawrence's full-length state portrait renders the coronation robes with extraordinary bravura, the ermine and gold threads gleaming with virtuosic paint handling. The composition follows the grand tradition of royal portraiture while flattering the king's substantial figure.