The Three Sons of the Earl of Bute
{{Short description|Painting by Johann Zoffany}}
{{Infobox artwork
| image_file=3SonsOfEarlOfBute.jpg
| image_size=400px
| title=The Three Sons of the Earl of Bute
| artist=Johan Zoffany
| year=c. 1764
| type=Oil on canvas, portrait painting
| height_metric=100.9
| width_metric=126
| metric_unit=cm
| imperial_unit=in
| museum=Tate Britain
| city=London
}}
The Three Sons of the Earl of Bute is an oil on canvas portrait painting by the German-born British artist Johann Zoffany, from c. 1764.
History and description
A conversation piece, It depicts the three eldest sons of the Scottish aristocrat and politician John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute.Langmuir p.208 Felus p.139
A favourite of George III, Bute replaced the Duke of Newcastle as Prime Minister in 1762. However the Treaty of Paris he signed ending the Seven Years' War with France and Spain made him deeply unpopular and he resigned in April 1763 to be replaced by George Grenville.
The three boys are shown around a tree on Bute's country estate of Luton Park in Bedfordshire. They have abandoned archery to look at nesting birds. The painting may have been started around the time Bute resigned his office. Today the painting is in the collection of the Tate Britain in Pimlico having been acquired in 2002 through the acceptance in lieu scheme, with support from the Tate members and the Art Fund.[https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/zoffany-three-sons-of-john-3rd-earl-of-bute-t07863 Tate Britain]
File:3DaughtersOfTheEarlOfBute.jpg
Bute also commissioned a companion painting of his three daughters from Zoffany, which was also acquired by the Tate in 2002. It features the three girls posed in a similar composition.[https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/zoffany-three-daughters-of-john-3rd-earl-of-bute-t07864 Tate Britain]
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Felus, Kate.The Secret Life of the Georgian Garden: Beautiful Objects and Agreeable Retreats''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
- Langmuir, Erika. Imagining Childhood. Yale University Press, 2006.
- Treadwell, Penelope. Johan Zoffany: Artist and Adventurer. Paul Holberton, 2009.
- Webster, Mary. Johan Zoffany, 1733-1810. National Portrait Gallery, 1976.
{{Johan Zoffany}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Sons of the Earl of Bute, The}}
Category:Paintings by Johann Zoffany
Category:Paintings in the Tate galleries
Category:Oil on canvas paintings