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自畫像1737 晚年
He gave up painting in about 1770 to concentrate on literary pursuits. His health was shattered by an accidental dislocation of the right arm and his second wife's death in 1782. With unflinching pertinacity, he struggled until he had completed a likeness of the king upon which he was engaged at the time, and then started for his beloved Italy. He left a series of 50 royal portraits to be completed by his assistant Reinagle. For several years he lingered in the south, his constitution finally broken. He died at Dover on 10 August 1784.[2]
Ramsay was a friend of Samuel Johnson's, who said of him, 'I love Ramsay. You will not find a man in whose conversation there is more instruction, more information, and more elegance, than in Ramsay's.'[4]
James Boswell (30 April 1778). The Life of Samuel Johnson.
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Portrait painter, Allan Ramsay, was born #onthisday 1713.
Ramsay completed his training in Rome and Naples. On his return to London in 1738 his only serious competitor was Thomas Hudson, with whom he shared a drapery painter, Joseph van Aken.
In 1761 it was Ramsay, not Reynolds, who was appointed Painter to the King. His later portraits are characterised by their soft colours and French elegance. He gave up painting in about 1770 to follow literary pursuits.
This self portrait was probably painted in Italy where Ramsey completed his training, and is an early example of his indebtedness to the vigour of the Italian baroque. It is currently on display in Room 12 of the Gallery.
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