Pompeo Girolamo BATONI
Italian 1708-1787
Sir Sampson Gideon and an unidentified companion
1767
oil on canvas
275.6 x 189.0 cm
Everard Studley Miller Bequest 1963
1325-5

The seated figure is Sir Sampson Gideon, aged twenty two, a rich young English man making the Grand Tour of Italy. The miniature he holds out to his unidentified friend is possibly of his bride-to-be. Suitable classical references are made to antiquity and the world of learning to emphasise the sitters' accomplishments and knowledge. A bust based on the Minerva Giustini in the Vatican stands on the table, while through the window is a view of the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli.