British, possibly Sir William Boxall, Portrait of a Man aged about 45

This painting and Portrait of a Woman aged about 45, both painted in oil on board, were designed to hang together as portraits of a husband and wife. They are said to have been given by the painter Sir William Boxall RA, director of the National Gallery from 1865 to 1874, to his friend, the architect James Wyatt RA (1746–1813). Wyatt’s great-grandson, H.W. Standen, presented them to the National Gallery in 1964 as a ‘Self-Portrait of William Boxall and a companion portrait of his wife’. However, the features in the male portrait are unlike those in Boxall’s Self Portrait at the Age of Nineteen, and he never married. It is now thought more likely that this is an early portrait by Boxall of his father. The companion female portrait probably shows Boxall’s mother.

The man appears to be in middle age with a peppering of grey in his close-cropped hair and the stubble on his chin. His hair is suggested by loose brushstrokes of grey and white that appear to be painted wet-in-wet, merging with the edge of the face. Boxall’s Self Portrait at the Age of Nineteen reveals a similar wet-in-wet technique for painting the hairline. The eyebrows and around the eyes in the Portrait of a Man aged about 45 have also been painted wet-in-wet to create a soft, indistinct focus which adds subtlety to the expression.

It is not clear whether the man is standing or sitting. The white form held in his hands is not clearly defined and it is difficult to work out what it is. He may be holding a large sheet of paper, perhaps a broadsheet newspaper or drawn plans. He wears a black frock coat and a pale blue-grey waistcoat with a white shirt, and a white stock tied at his neck. The background is very dark and is damaged in places. The upper right-hand side of the background may have once been red, as areas of colour can be seen through the now cracked darker surface. This portrait may have once appeared more like its companion painting, which has a sweep of red in the background. The man’s portrait is now almost monochrome, placing all of the emphasis on his face and hands, to which our attention is drawn by the bright white stock and white object he holds. Although this painting seems to have darkened in the background, Boxall’s portraits were known during his own lifetime for being particularly sombre and gloomy, and were popular with clergymen and dignitaries.

Parts of the flesh are damaged, but it is still possible to appreciate the artist’s sensitive portrayal of the sitter’s features, achieved as in the companion Portrait of a Woman aged about 45, through dramatic lighting, softly blended brushwork, attention to texture and delicately placed highlights.