Dorothy Jordan

John Hoppner painted Dorothy Jordan around 1791, depicting the celebrated actress who was then at the height of her fame and in the early years of her long relationship with the Duke of Clarence (later William IV). Jordan was the most beloved comic actress of the Georgian stage and her portrait by Hoppner is one of several theatrical portraits that document her public persona — the vivid, warm-hearted performer whose naturalness on stage was as celebrated as her technique. The portrait shows the informal ease that distinguished Hoppner's best female portraits from the more formal grand manner treatments of the same subjects by his contemporaries.

Hoppner renders Jordan with the soft, atmospheric handling and warm palette characteristic of his style. The portrait captures the actress's famous vivacity and natural charm, using fluid brushwork and luminous flesh tones.