Portrait of John Sanders (1714-1782)

Dateca. 1724

Attributed to The Schuyler Limner

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 37 1/8 x 31 3/8in. (94.3 x 79.7cm) and Framed: 42 1/8 x 36 1/2in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1964.100.2

DescriptionA three-quarter-length portrait of a standing young man, his body turned a quarter to the viewer's right, his proper right hand on his hip, and his proper left arm extended with a colorful small bird perched on the index finger of this hand. He wears a brown coat with a white tie and shirt and has shoulder-length brown hair parted in the center. Behind him to the viewer's left, part of a balustrade is visible and, beyond it, a pinkish sky above loosely-defined vegetation, with a dark drape hanging diagonally behind and to the right of the subject.

The 3-inch molded, black-painted frame is original.
Label TextJohn Sanders was the son of Barent and Maria Wendell Sanders and the brother of Robert Sanders (1964.100.3), all from the Albany, New York, area. John married Deborah Glen (1964.100.1) on December 6, 1739, and the couple eventually bought Scotia, the Glen family home near Schenectady. This portrait, the one of John's older brother, Robert, and Deborah's likeness all hung at Scotia until their acquisition by CWF. John is mentioned in family papers as a merchant in Albany.

The Sanders pictures and the portrait of Pieter Waldron (1966.100.1) have many similarities and are characteristic of the English-inspired baroque style of an unidentified New York painter now called The Schuyler Limner. His work is noteworthy for its rich coloration and dramatic contrasts of light and dark areas, no doubt a reaction to the courtly poses and opulence of portraits associated with academic painters abroad. The Schuyler Limner borrowed heavily from these prototypes, but given the limitations of his talent and colonial circumstances, he altered, refined, and simplified their complex poses, swirls of fabric, and elaborate settings into a style he could practice with assurance and facility. His work thus has a decisive, crisp quality that is balanced by judicious placement of smaller details.

Another distinctive feature of the unidentified artist's style is the manner in which he drew faces, particularly the eyes. The whites of the eyes seem dark and set deeply into the head. The sitter's lips are generally full, boldly drawn, and nicely colored in pinks and reds. The modeling of the nose and other aspects of the face is strong, with heavy shadows adjacent to areas of intense brightness. The smooth and simple depiction of costumes and the use of balustrades, curtain swags, and rows of trees in the backgrounds are additional features of this painter's work.

Although the Schuyler Limner faithfully repeated poses, backgrounds, and other devices, it would be unfair to say that his style was totally standardized, because he varied some of the hand gestures and backgrounds and incorporated a number of decorative props in his paintings. A comparison of the Museum's three likenesses by the artist illustrates the point quite well. John Sanders holds a colorful parakeet on his finger, while his brother has a hat under one arm, wears one glove and holds the other, and has a flower in his left hand. Pieter Waldron's pose is nearly identical to Robert's, but reversed.
InscribedBefore the painting was lined, an inscription on the back of the original canvas was partially legible and is thought to have read "John Sanders."
ProvenanceDescended in the Glen-Sanders family of Scotia, NY.