Sir Richard Burton

Painting height: 66 cm
Painting width: 53.3 cm
Frame height: 62.5 cm
Frame width: 54.5 cm

‘Burton will likely murder you for this’ were the words of warning a friend gave to Watts when he decided to leave this portrait of Richard Burton (1821–1890) unfinished. As an explorer and prolific writer, Burton was a suitable candidate for Watts’s ‘Hall of Fame’ series of portraits celebrating the great men and women of the Victorian age. Due to rumoured disagreements between the sitter and the artist, Watts refused to finish the portrait and it remains the product of a single, short sitting.

Primarily considered to have been an explorer and author, Sir Richard Francis Burton has also been described as a geographer, soldier, translator, orientalist, ethnologist, poet, diplomat and even spy. He began his career aged 21, when he arrived in India and was posted to the 18^th regiment of the Bombay infantry [1]. As part of his duties he served as an interpreter, surveyor and intelligence officer. In 1849, however, he returned to England due to a bout of cholera, and whilst recovering he began his literary career. Over the next four decades Burton published numerous books and hundreds of essays on his travels and subjects as broad as human behaviour, sexual practices and falconry. He is perhaps best remembered for his explorations in Africa and North America, and a journey to the Islamic holy states of Mecca and Medina during a time when non-Muslims were forbidden to visit [2].

This unfinished portrait of Burton was created during an initial short sitting of ‘probably an hour or less’ [3]. The mustard coloured ground is left uncovered in the lower half of the portrait, whilst a dark green background has been quickly painted in rough and uneven strokes around the head. His short hair brushed forward onto his crown, shows evidence of green paint mixed in with the white, which is also visible in his right eyebrow. This demonstrates that Watts was working quickly and not allowing paint layers to dry before beginning with a new colour.

The face itself is established using tones of terracotta and deep reds and purples which appear warm as a result of the yellow ground. There are no definite lines to the ear, chin or nose and the left eye is barely indistinguishable as it remains in the shadow. The lack of definition between Burton’s neck, jaw and right ear is disrupted by his white shirt collar which has been executed in a single, quick, broad brushstroke.

Focusing on the eyes, we can see that there has been no attempt to paint the whites or the pupils, as is the case in the earlier unfinished portrait of Sir Henry Taylor. Nevertheless, Watts has been able to infuse the painting with Burton’s fiery and at times hostile character. There is an intensity, sternness and seriousness to the portrait.

As a public figure of the day, it is fitting that Watts would choose Burton to be included in his ‘Hall of Fame’ series. Prior to his sitting with Watts, he had already been immortalised on canvas by Frederic Leighton between 1872-1875. During these sittings, which took place at Leighton’s house at 2 Holland Park Road, a stone’s throw away from Watts’s studio at Little Holland House, Burton is said to have instructed Leighton: “Don’t make me ugly, there’s a good fellow” [4].

The resulting portrait shares similarities with Watt’s completed ‘Hall of Fame’ portraits. As became the trend in late Victorian male portraiture, the head is shown in profile, against a dark background with light illuminating the head and face [5]. Leighton chose to paint Burton facing the left, which meant that the scar on his left cheek was prominent. Watt’s decision to paint Burton in three-quarter profile facing the right meant that the scar did not feature.

After his short sitting with Watts, Burton left for an expedition for the Gold Coast. Watts’s refusal to seek out future sittings on his return and complete the painting resulted in a friend’s warning: ‘Burton may likely murder you for this’ [6]. Despite being unfinished, the portrait provides an opportunity to understand how Watts worked and it was included alongside completed portraits in  displays at Little Holland House, which guests and visitors could admire [7].

Explore:

Henry Taylor [COMWG 96]

Footnotes:

[1] Jason Thompson, ‘Burton, Sir Richard Francis’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edition May 2009.

[2] Jason Thompson, ‘Burton, Sir Richard Francis’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edition May 2009.

[3] M.H. Spielmann, G.F. Watts, R.A., O.M., as a Great Painter of Portraits: A Lecture, delivered in the Memorial Hall Manchester, 7th June 1905 (London, Sherratt & Hughes, 1905), p.34.

[4] Isabel Burton, The Life of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton (London: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1893), Vol. II., p.596.

[5] Jan Marsh, ‘Sir Richard Francis Burton’, Extended Catalogue Entry, National Portrait Gallery.

[6] Mary Seton Watts, Catalogue of Portraits by G.F. Watts O.M. R.A., Vol. II, c.1915, page 26.

[7] Marks Bills and Barbara Bryant, G.F. Watts: Victorian Visionary (New Haven and London: Yale University Press in association with Watts Gallery Compton, 2008), p.45.

Further Reading:

Marks Bills and Barbara Bryant, G.F. Watts: Victorian Visionary (New Haven and London: Yale University Press in association with Watts Gallery Compton, 2008).

Barbara Bryant, G.F. Watts in Kensington: Little Holland House and Gallery (Compton: Watts Gallery, 2009).

Isabel Burton, The Life of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton (London: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1893), Vol. II.

Victoria Franklin Gould, G.F. Watts: the last great Victorian (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004).

Jan Marsh, ‘Sir Richard Francis Burton’, Extended Catalogue Entry, National Portrait Gallery.

M.H. Spielmann, G.F. Watts, R.A., O.M., as a Great Painter of Portraits: A Lecture, delivered in the Memorial Hall Manchester, 7th June 1905 (London, Sherratt & Hughes, 1905).

Jason Thompson, ‘Burton, Sir Richard Francis’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edition May 2009.

Mary Seton Watts, Catalogue of Portraits by G.F. Watts O.M. R.A., Vol. II, c.1915.

Text by Dr Stacey Clapperton