| Georgiana Spencer, Duchess
of Devonshire (1757-1806) In this enamel the duchess is depicted three-quarters right, wearing
a mauve ribbon in her blonde hair and a light yellow dress. Although
painted in 1779, she is shown as she appeared the year of marriage
to the 5th Duke of Devonshire some five years earlier.
Two slightly different versions of this
miniature exist, They are both taken from a full-scale group portrait
entitled 'John Lord Althorp with his sisters', painted in 1774 by
Angelica Kauffman. It depicts John, afterwards 2nd Lord Spencer,
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and her sister Harriet, Countess
of Bessborough, from which Hurter has 'extracted' the head and the
shoulders of the duchess.
The husk and ribbon frames on both versions
are extremely similar and are like the frames of other miniatures
by Hurter. This would suggest that Hurter either made the frames
or at least supplied them with the miniatures.
The enamel was painted in 1779 and is signed
and dated on the front and on the counter
enamel. It is mounted its original pressed gilt-metal
frame with husk and ribbon decoration. The paper on the reverse
reads,
Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire
Eldest daughter of John Earl Spencer
Johann Heinrich Hurter (1734-99)
Johann Heinrich Hurter was born in Schaffhausen.
He started his career in Geneva and Berne as an enamel painter,
miniaturist and pastellist, later working in Versailles and the
Hague, before settling in London around 1777. Lord Dartrey (Thomas
Dawson, 1725-1803) was Hurter's major patron and the family, to
this day, own the largest number of Hurter miniatures.
Hurter exhibited at the Royal Academy from
1779-81 and was reputedly appointed a court painter, although no
documents confirm this. He did however do a number of enamel portraits
of George IV, Queen Charlotte and some of their children. In 1785
he was back in Schaffhausen and travelled to London and the Continent
frequently until his death in 1789.
In about 1780, he founded a mathematical
and scientific instrument factory in London. He then divided his
time between England and the Continent, although in 1787 he received
a large commission from Catherine the Great for fifteen enamels
with ormolu frames. He was enobled in 1789 in Dusseldorf by the
Elector Charles Theodore, becoming Reichsfreiherr.
Hurter executed both original enamels and
copies of existing portraits. His works are represented in major
museums, including the Metropolitan and the Royal Collection.
Glossaries
counter enamel - the
reverse side of the enamel base, usually covered with a thin layer
of plain
gilt-metal - the embellishment of silver, bronze or other
material with a thin layer of gold
back to the
collection
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the
Gilbert silver