Portraits and Paintings
In this section, I'll be uploading all the portraits that I could find, with my opinions on accuracy and so on, and there's also going to be a poll so you can vote on your favourites! I'll add more portraits soon!
By JF Rigaud
This one here is my personal favourite - I use it as my iPod wallpaper! It's also interesting because I think that you can see how the young Nelson already had that amazing confidence and swagger (jagger) that made him as successful as an admiral as he had been as a captain.
I'd love it if this picture was totally accurate - it's so HANDSOME and I think that it looks similar enough to the pictures of when he was older to assume that it's at least partly right. Even so, it must have been hard to keep up that little smile through the hours of portrait sittings!
I'd love it if this picture was totally accurate - it's so HANDSOME and I think that it looks similar enough to the pictures of when he was older to assume that it's at least partly right. Even so, it must have been hard to keep up that little smile through the hours of portrait sittings!
Life Mask
I'm not sure if this counts as a portrait, but I guess it does in a way. After all, it's the closest thing they had to photography back then. I must say, I'm not a big fan of life masks, or even a small fan. They creep me out, the way the faces all look dead.
Nevertheless, I like this mask. It's a good way to measure the accuracy of paintings, and I think that the expression is very calm, yet powerful. I'd say Nelson's 'battle face' looked something like this, and it's handsome in a sort of sophisticated way.
Nevertheless, I like this mask. It's a good way to measure the accuracy of paintings, and I think that the expression is very calm, yet powerful. I'd say Nelson's 'battle face' looked something like this, and it's handsome in a sort of sophisticated way.
Waxwork by Catherine Andras
Again, I'm not sure whether this is a portrait in the strictest sense of the word, but since this a blog, not an art dictionary, I'll go ahead anyway!
This was made in 1806 to commemorate Nelson's death, by Catherine Andras, a modelmaker of extraordinary skill. Although this was made after Nelson died, Andras had made a small model from life before, while her adoptive father was painting a miniature of him at the same time. Her previous Nelson experience had helped her gain the commission for this VIM (very important model).
I think that we can safely say this model is mostly accurate, since Andras had met Nelson, and had her previous model to refer to. It was also declared by many of Nelson's contemporaries, including Lady Hamilton to be very accurate. I daresay that it might be the closest we're ever going to get to the real thing. That grand uniform does make him look rather small, too.
Portrait from 1800
This is an interesting one. It's been mentioned how Nelson looks so much more serious here than he does in all his other portraits, and I think I agree. Then again, it needs to be viewed in the context of the time at which it was painted. It was 1800 - his marriage was breaking down, Lady Hamilton was pregnant with his child, and he was probably just desperate to get away from everything for a bit.
It's an interesting face he's got on there... Penny for your thoughts, Horatio! Maybe he's thinking 'not ANOTHER portrait!' Or maybe he's just trying to think of a way out of his rather thorny situation. That, unfortunately, is lost to history.
Hey, wait... CAPTION COMPETITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Submit your ideas for what he's thinking on the contact page, and I'll publish the good ones on the blog! Yay!
It's an interesting face he's got on there... Penny for your thoughts, Horatio! Maybe he's thinking 'not ANOTHER portrait!' Or maybe he's just trying to think of a way out of his rather thorny situation. That, unfortunately, is lost to history.
Hey, wait... CAPTION COMPETITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Submit your ideas for what he's thinking on the contact page, and I'll publish the good ones on the blog! Yay!
Engraving from John Hoppner's Portrait
I love this one too... It shows a friendlier Nelson, very different from the one in the above portrait. It's also a good study in how engravings just got worse and worse each time they were copied. This one's ok, but most are terrible!
In this one, he looks like someone you could talk to. Not so much a father figure, more an older brother. He has the look of someone who is very pleased with himself - to quote Lord Byron's 'She Walks in Beauty': 'A mind at peace with all below'.
In this one, he looks like someone you could talk to. Not so much a father figure, more an older brother. He has the look of someone who is very pleased with himself - to quote Lord Byron's 'She Walks in Beauty': 'A mind at peace with all below'.
Portrait
I have a feeling that this one is fairly accurate. It doesn't make any attempts at flattery, and so focuses more on Nelson's personality, which I think is shown very well in this painting.
The expression is calm but confident, with power lurking just below the quiet exterior. It shows him as someone who never lost control, and always seemed collected, no matter how badly things were going. This is definitely somewhere in my top 10 portraits!
The expression is calm but confident, with power lurking just below the quiet exterior. It shows him as someone who never lost control, and always seemed collected, no matter how badly things were going. This is definitely somewhere in my top 10 portraits!
Portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott
Ahhhh... The quintessential Nelson portrait! This is the one most people will probably visualise when you say the name 'Nelson' to them, and really shows how he was always so supremely 'on top' of things, and never showed worry or anxiety, no matter how much he was feeling them.
In terms of accuracy, I think it is safe to say that this is a very good one - in fact, it was commissioned because so many portraits were failing to show the 'real man', and trying to change his features to make him look more appealing.
In terms of accuracy, I think it is safe to say that this is a very good one - in fact, it was commissioned because so many portraits were failing to show the 'real man', and trying to change his features to make him look more appealing.