John Closterman

The Marlborough family" by John Closterman. On the Duke's left are Elizabeth, Mary, the Duchess, Henrietta, Anne and John.

John Closterman, (1660 - 1711), portrait-painter, born at Osnaburg, Hanover, the son of an artist, who taught him the rudiments of design.cite web | last =Fagan| first =L. A. | title =Closterman, John (1656–1713), portrait-painter| work = Dictionary of National Biography Vol. XI | publisher =Smith, Elder & Co. | date = 1887 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/olddnb.jsp?articleid=5708 | format = HTML | accessdate = 2008-02-27]

In 1679 he went to Paris, accompanied by his countryman Tiburen, and there worked under François de Troy. In 1681 he came to England, and painted draperies for John Riley, at whose death, in 1691, Closterman finished several of his portraits. This recommended him to the Duke of Somerset, but he lost his favour on account of a dispute about a picture of Guercino, specially acquired for his grace, and which was afterwards purchased by Lord Halifax. In 1696 he was invited to the court of Spain, and executed the portraits of the king and queen; he also went to Italy twice, and made several acquisitions of works of art. On returning to this country he obtained considerable employment, and married an Englishwoman, who, according to Houbraken, ruined him by her extravagant habits, and ultimately left him in a state of dejection of body and mind. (The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which contains a substantial revision of the John Closterman article, states "Closterman had buried his wife, Hannah, on 27 January 1702. Later, according to J. C. Weyerman, he took a beautiful mistress who, while he was away in the country, robbed him of his valuables and disappeared, actions which drove the painter into madness". [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5708?docPos=1 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography] , retrieved 11 September 2007] }

He died in 1711, and was buried in Covent Garden churchyard.

Works

Among his works should be mentioned a whole-length portrait, formerly in the Guildhall, of Queen Anne in her coronation robes, wearing a crown, and carrying the orb and sceptre; this is similar to another portrait, engraved in mezzotint by John Faber, jun., and now in the National Portrait Gallery, where there is also a portrait of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, painted before he became a knight of the Garter, to which order he was elected in March 1702. Closterman also executed a family group of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, with their children, viz. John, marquis of Blandford, Lady Henrietta, Lady Ann, Lady Elizabeth, and Lady Mary Churchill. The members of the family are assembled beneath a rich hanging curtain, on a raised dais; all the figures are of life size. This picture is now at Blenheim Palace, and it is particularly mentioned by Horace Walpole in his "Anecdotes of Painting". It was most probably painted about the beginning of 1698. It is related that Closterman had so many disputes with the duchess on this subject, that the duke said, "It has given me more trouble to reconcile my wife and you than to fight a battle".

For many years John Closterman and his artist brother John Baptist Closterman have been conflated in biographies, such as that in the Dictionary of National Biography. An article by J. D. Stewart, "John and John Baptist Closterman: some documents", Burlington Magazine, 106 (1964), 306–9, sets the record straight, citing John Closterman's will, which left part of his estate to "my Deare and Loveing Brother John Baptist".

References

Notes

*DNB