Possibly William Pitt with His Two Sons

This portrait shows a gentleman in a redcoat, a light-coloured waistcoat and a white jabot in front of a background suggesting a grotto. He is playfully offering a peach to two young children.According to tradition, the sitter is the British statesman William Pitt the Older (1708-1778). Pitt was a member of the British House of Commons. As paymaster and permanent secretary, he determined the British foreign policy for decades along with the strategies of Great Britain during the Seven Years’ War.In 1766, he was raised to the peerage and became the first Earl of Chatham (in the county of Kent). His biographical data and comparisons with other pictures,however, suggest that this sitter was not Pitt himself, but his son, William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806). He became a member of the House of Commons in 1781 and was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer one year later. In 1783, he became Prime Minister under George III. As he died unmarried, the children represented in the portrait would not be his own.¹

The striking features of this miniature are the bright, glowing colours suggesting that the picture was influenced by the work of Joshua Reynolds, and the relatively large format. Parallel to the background, the group is placed in a sloping diagonal; however, the line leading from the man to the younger boy sitting on his knee is broken by the strong movement of the older boy who stretches in order to grasp the peach. Apart from the playful gesture, the fruit conveys another message: of all the precious fruits from southern countries, the peach with its pale, white flesh was considered the finest and,moreover, indicated a luxurious standard of living.

D. O.