File:Drawing (BM 1860,0728.167).jpg

Height: 416 millimetres

Width: 320 millimetres

The following text is from S. Lloyd and K. Sloan, 'The Intimate Portrait' (exh. SNPG & BM, 2008-9), cat. no. 74:

Christian Friedrich Zincke (1684?-1767) was a painter of miniatures in enamels. Born into a family of goldsmiths in Dresden, he came to England around 1704 or 1706 to assist Charles Boit who was the leading enamel portraitist at the time. He not only painted miniature portraits but also made miniature copies of larger portraits by other artists. When Boit left England, Zincke held the monopoly as an enamel painter, marrying an Englishwoman and setting himself up in Covent Garden. George II enjoyed his company and Zincke was happy to conform to requests to make the King and Queen appear younger than their actual age. In 1732 he became cabinet painter to Frederick, Prince of Wales, which may be how he met William Hoare who drew Frederick's portrait in pastels in 1738, shortly after Hoare's return from Italy and before he left London for Bath. In the 1740s, Zincke's eyesight deteriorated and he retired to Lambeth around 1746.

Graham Reynolds has described the present drawing as 'an exceptionally informal representation of an artist at work.' William Hoare drew constantly in chalks - in Italy and after his return he made sketchy records of Old Masters, as well as compositional and more detailed studies for his portraits in pastel and oil and finished chalk drawings as faithful records of his works. Through his life he made informal profile portrait drawings of his family and friends, usually as here in black and red chalks. They were often just head and shoulders - natural, informal records of their appearance at home and at their ease. Here, as a present out of friendship and love, he depicts his old friend engaged in an activity that came naturally to him and that he enjoyed, painting his own daughter's portrait for pleasure. Hoare carefully records all the details of this most intimate of all arts: Zincke's open-mouthed concentration on the work, his close proximity and the intricate nature of the tiny miniature in the corner of the box, how it was painted with delicate touches, the larger scrap paper for trying the brush and colour above, his placement by the window lighting his back and his work, the tools on the desk next to him, and above all his gentle features framed by the velvet cap standing upright on his head. KS