John Linnell (1792-1882) - Portrait of architect Decimus Burton

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated. Inscription 'Section 1? J Arch / W Palace'.

- This impeccable portrait, precisely dated 1830, depicts the eminent architect Decimus Burton at thirty years old (it includes a contemporary pastel portrait of the architect by Thomas Lawrence) and stands as an aesthetic key to the epilogue of the Prince Regent's reign. The pictorial power of the painting upholds the standards of the English portrait, following the models established by figures such as Thomas Lawrence and Martin Archer Shee. However, the work gains new resonance by celebrating a specific professional achievement of Burton: the completion of the Parliamentary Mews in the monumental surroundings of the Palace of Westminster.

In direct relation to his profession, the artist anecdotaly adds some dark Gothic ruins with a distinctly romantic taste, a contrast that reflects the era's fascination with the medieval past versus Burton's neoclassical passion. Linnell's magnificent technique is heightened by the fact that this is one of the few large-format works produced by the artist, who typically limited his output to small panels. This portrait should formally relate to another painting from the Colección Mateu, also a portrait of a knight, auctioned in 2020 at Ansorena in Madrid for €8,000.

Decimus Burton (London, 1800 – 1881) was one of the most prolific and influential architects in the United Kingdom during the Regency and early Victorian periods. Born into a family of builders, his career took off at an extraordinarily early age, demonstrating a masterful command of the pure Neoclassical style.

Burton is primarily known for his contributions to the creation of elegant and functional urban landscapes, highlighting his work in London, where he designed the iconic Hyde Park Gate and the Pantheon on Regent Street. He was the chief architect of major real estate and landscape developments such as Regent's Park and the gardens of Kew Gardens. Additionally, he designed numerous public and residential buildings, including his involvement in the surroundings of the Palace of Westminster (such as the Parliamentary Mews). His ability to combine monumental scale with refined detail established him as a key figure in the aesthetic definition of 19th-century British architecture.

- John Linnell (1792-1882) was a versatile English engraver, portraitist, and landscape artist, considered a naturalist and rival of the painter John Constable. Born in Bloomsbury, his artistic training began early, selling childhood portraits and studying with figures such as Benjamin West and John Varley before entering the Royal Academy in 1805, where he earned medals for his mastery in drawing, modeling, and sculpture. Throughout his career, Linnell initially supported himself through miniature and large-format portraits of personalities like Thomas Carlyle, and he extensively engaged in engraving, publishing transcriptions of Michelangelo's frescoes and works from Buckingham Palace. Beyond his own productions, he is notable for his friendship and patronage of the visionary William Blake, to whom he entrusted the two largest commissions of his life: the designs for The Inventions to the Book of Job and the illustrations for Dante.

Although he addressed themes of history and religion where the landscape was prominent, Linnell is mainly remembered for his pure landscape paintings, in which he captured typical English scenes with an impressive effect of dawn or dusk. His work is distinguished by rich and bright color, full of a true poetic feeling. An admirer of Northern European Renaissance art, especially Albrecht Dürer, he was also a central figure in his circle by introducing Blake to painter Samuel Palmer and other members of 'The Ancients'. By around 1850, thanks to the large sums he received for his paintings, he bought a property in Redhill, Surrey, where he lived until his death, dedicating himself to landscape and studying the Bible in its original language.

- Image dimensions without frame: 81 x 104 cm / 99 x 122 cm with exclusive framing.

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