JOHN CLOSTERMAN (GERMAN 1660-1711)PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN, C. 1702Oil on canvas127 x 101.5cm (50 x 39¾ in.)Provenance:Collection of S. Poyntz-Wright JP Private Collection, SpainJohn Closterman was born in 1660 in Osnabrück, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. Closterman's father was an artist and would have given his son a basic training. It was not until 1679 when Closterman travelled to Paris and worked under the Court artist François de Troy that he began to hone his skills as a portrait painter. In 1680, following the death of Sir Peter Lely, Closterman arrived in London where he was soon employed by John Riley as a painter of draperies. After the death of Riley in 1691, the demand for Closterman's works soared and by the late 1690s he appears to have enjoyed a position amongst the most distinguished literary and artistic circles. In 1696, Closterman was invited to Spain where he was patronised by the court and painted full-length portraits of Carlos II and Maria Ana of Neuberg. He then went from Madrid to Rome where he collected old master drawings and expanded his knowledge of classical antiquities. On his return to England in 1702, his demand amongst the nobility had increased further as a result. This portrait can be dated to the early 1700s, shortly after Closterman returned from Madrid and Rome in 1702. The sitter's richly embroidered coat, detailed with flashes of lapis lazuli lining is typical of Closterman's grand English baroque style and shows the artist's enormous skill at recreating draperies in a truly unique manner, setting him apart from the more generalised draperies of artists such as Lely and Kneller.