Core Record |
| Title |
Captain Robert Parker, The Royal Regiment of Ireland |
| Collection |
National Army Museum, London |
| Artist |
Attributed to circle of Belle, Alexis-Simon (French painter, 1674-1734) |
| Date Earliest |
about 1720 |
| Date Latest |
about 1720 |
| Description |
Captain Robert Parker's (b. about 1665) Memoirs, published in Dublin in 1746, remain one of the most important eye-witness accounts of the wars of William III and Marlborough, as well as a record of his remarkable career. Born in Kilkenny in Ireland, a Protestant, he rose from the lowest rank to Captain of the Regiment's Grenadier Company. This portrait possibly commemorated Parker's retirement from the Army. The use of armour symbolizes the military occupation of the sitter. Belle, born and trained in Paris, was a pupil of François de Troy at the exiled court of James II in St Germain-en Laye. He replaced him as the official painter of the Jacobite court in England. |
| Current Accession Number |
NAM. 1989-05-21 |
| Subject |
portrait (Parker, Captain Robert ); military and war |
| Measurements |
77.5 x 63.5 cm cm (estimate) |
| Material |
oil on canvas |
| Acquisition Details |
Purchased from Mr T. O. Read 1989. |
| Provenance |
Mrs Georgina Garde-Brown by about 1968; Miss Gwen Rochfort by 1986; sale, lot 86 (?). |
| Publications |
Chandler, D., (ed.), Robert Parker and Comte de Mérode-Westerloo: The Marlborough Wars, London, 1968, p. pvii, ill. frontispiece. |
| Notes |
In a painted oval. Neither of the owners names or related sales could be found at the Courtauld Library in the sales card index. |
| Rights Owner |
Courtesy of the Council, National Army Museum |
| Author |
Dr Madeleine Korn |
