William Pitt the Younger

William Pitt the Younger from 1783 depicts the youngest Prime Minister in British history, who took office at the age of twenty-four. Romney's portrait captures Pitt at the beginning of his first ministry, conveying the intelligence and determination that characterized Britain's wartime leader. Romney's oil handling was distinguished by fluid, rapidly applied strokes and an instinctive sense of elegant silhouette, producing portraits of apparent effortlessness that concealed careful...

The intense gaze and composed features are rendered with Romney's characteristic economy, the simple composition focusing attention on the face of the young statesman.