Sir John Floyd on horseback
Richard Westall British
Sitter Sir John Floyd, 1st Baronet British
Not on view
Westall did not visit India, but relied on visual information supplied by others to portray a British cavalry officer in the mountains of Mysore. With accurate details of uniform and visage, a dynamic pose, and a dramatic setting, he adapted to a smaller scale a Romantic portrait type recently devised by the artist’s friend Thomas Lawrence. Floyd had distinguished himself fighting the Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan in 1790–92 and 1799. This portrait was likely commissioned soon after the sitter returned to England in 1800, when Westall’s reputation was at its height. An 1814 exhibition prompted a critic to note, "The honor which Great Britain has derived from the discovery of the art of painting in transparent water colours . . . is in great degree to be ascribed to Mr. Westall."
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