Lot 84: Baron Alexander von Humboldt, seated three-quarter length, wearing the star and the broad band of the order of the Red Eagle, one hand resting on a map on a draped table

Henry William Pickersgill, R.A. (1782-1875)
Baron Alexander von Humboldt, seated three-quarter length, wearing the star and the broad band of the order of the Red Eagle, one hand resting on a map on a draped table
oil on canvas
56 x 43¾in. (142.2 x 109.2cm.)

London, Royal Academy, 1833, no 6 ('Baron d'Humboldt, painted in Paris in the autumn of 1831').

Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850), London (by whom commissioned from the artist).
James Morrison, Basildon House, Berkshire.
Acquired by the present owner from Dr William Fortner, Memphis, Tennessee, c.1989.
Private collection, Columbus, Mississippi.

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'During the 1820s Pickersgill's reputation for sober and accurate portraiture was confirmed with the success of his portraits of Hannah More (1822; NPG) and Jeremy Bentham (1829; NPG). Another noted success was his portrait of Wordsworth, which inspired the poet to write a sonnet, now preserved (together with the portrait) at St John's College, Cambridge. From surviving correspondence it would seem that Wordsworth enjoyed the company of the portraitist, who was noted for his lively and sympathetic conversation. As well as the portraits of More, Bentham, and Wordsworth, the National Portrait Gallery contains thirty-two portraits by H.W. Pickersgill including those of William Godwin, M.G. Lewis, and George Stephenson. He painted the celebrated naturalists Richard Owen, Cuvier, and Humboldt for Sir Robert Peel, the botanist Dr Robert Brown for the Linnean Society, and Faraday for the Royal Institution.' ( DNB )

Nelken ( op. cit. ) confirms that the portrait was painted by H.W. Pickersgill in 1831 for Sir Robert Peel and adds '“Soon after the death of Sir Robert Peel, Humboldt'’s portrait was described by G.F. Wagen in his voluminous work on art in Great Britain, as belonging to the Collection of Pictures and Sculptures at Basildon House, Berkshire, seat of James Morrison, Esq.'

Described by Darwin as 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived', Alexander von Humboldt's fame in Europe rivalled Napoleon's. His expedition to the Americas in 1799-1804 laid the foundation of the sciences of physical geography and meteorology. He began to put his Voyage through the press in Paris in the spring of 1808 and the thirty volumes were still being published when Humboldt sat for Pickersgill's fine portrait in Paris in 1831. The portrait, commissioned by his friend and fellow member of the Royal Society, Sir Robert Peel, would undoubtedly have hung at the new mansion Peel commissioned from Robert Smirke in 1832. The portrait was exhibited at The Royal Academy in 1833 ('Baron d'Humboldt painted in Paris in the autumn of 1831') and shows the great naturalist and explorer, aged 62, with volumes and sheets from an atlas, possibly from his Voyage , or relating to Russian territory, the subject of his researches at the time he sat for the portrait.

'In 1827 Humboldt was called back to Berlin, and he had to leave his beloved Paris, where he had been living during the last 22 or 23 years. Then came the expedition to Russia (1829). And from then on, he had to assume duties at the Prussian court; but Humboldt was allowed by the King of Prussia to stay for four months each year in Paris. However, his fixed residence was in Berlin. During his private trips to France, he was obliged to accomplish state affaires for Prussia, since he was well-known and respected by the French administration. Therefore, in this portrait, he appears as a statesman.' ( Pablo Diener, private communication, August 2007 )

We are grateful to Dr Pablo Diener for his help in preparing the above catalogue entry.