David the Shepherd Boy

This vibrant and engaging portrait depicts David from the Old Testament. As a shepherd boy, David is best known for slaying the mighty Goliath with a single stone from his sling. The portrait is based on a larger-scale portrait entitled ‘A Head of David’ painted by the Italian Baroque painter, Guido Reni (1575-1642).

Painted in enamel on copper signed on the counter-enamel ‘London / March 1813 / Painted by Henry Bone R.A. / Enamel painter in Ordinary to / His Majesty and Enamel painter / to H.R.H. the Prince Regent / after the Original by Guido in / the possession of James Poole Esq.’.

Captain James Poole was a Deputy Inspector General in the army, a role that involved European travel giving him the opportunity to purchase Italian and Spanish art. Retiring to his native Norwich, Poole sold many of these paintings to local collectors and through auction houses. There is a record that ‘A Head of David’ by Guido Reni owned by James Poole was sold at Christie’s on 10 June 1815, lot 46.

When creating an enamel copy of a full-scale painting, Bone first drew a pencil copy of the original painting on squared paper. Many of these drawings were retained and later bound into albums that are now in the care of the National Portrait Gallery. The tracing for this painting is amongst them (Ref. NPG D17488).

The enamel has a very light surface crack that runs from the bottom through to the top of the uncloaked shoulder. This does not show on the counter-enamel nor is it very apparent to the naked eye. The portrait is presented with a gilt metal slip in a gilt wood frame. There is some loss as shown to a bottom corner of the frame.

Henry Bone was born in Cornwall, the son of a cabinet-maker. His artistic career began in Plymouth where he painted porcelain before moving to London where he graduated to enamelling designs for watches. Bone first exhibited miniature portraits at the Royal Academy in 1781 and was appointed Enamel Painter in Ordinary to George III in 1809. He was in his 80th year when he died at his house in Clarendon Square in December 1834.