17th Century Portrait Of James Thynne In The Gardens Of Longleat House By Johann Kerseboom

Portrait of the Hon. James Thynne (c. 1680-1704), full-length, seated in the gardens of his ancestral home Longleat House beside a fountain, holding a shell catching water spouting from a horn blown by a cherub on a dolphin. Oil on canvas in a period gilt wood frame. Circa 1682.
Dimensions: 145 x 123 cm (57 x 48 inches)

Provenance:
ExLongleat House, Wiltshire
Private Collection, Bath

James Thynne was the youngest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth and Frances Finch of Longleat House, Wiltshire. He died in his youth and his aunt, Anne Kingsmill Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1661-1720), wrote a moving poem on his death. He was buried in the family vault at Longbridge Deverill, Wiltshire. A mezzotint of this painting by William Faithorne the Younger is held in the Royal Collection.

Johann Kerseboom (d. 1708) worked first in Germany before coming to England in the 1680s where his sitters included the "Electress Sophia Dorothea" (known from a mezzotint by William Faithorne). His early works were influenced by William Wissing through his early collaboration with him, but he developed his own style, as evidenced by his portrait of "Robert Boyle", several versions of which are in the Royal Collection and the National Portrait Gallery . He collaborated with his close friend Jan Van der Vaart on works such as the portrait of 'Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds' (1704, London NPG) and the portrait of 'Gilbert, 4th Earl of Coventry (dated 1704, Antony House, Cornwall) which is signed by both artists. He died in London in 1708, leaving his estate to Van der Vaart. In his words, "I am indebted and owe to my very loving friend John Vander Vaart of the parish of St Paul Covent Garden in the county of Middlesex a considerable sum of money which I am not at present able to pay. ..Therefore in satisfaction, I give you and bequeath you to the said John Vander Vaart All my Estate'.