Portrait of Anna Isabella Milbanke (later Lady Byron)
Hoppner trained at the Royal Academy, Londonâs foremost art institution during the 18th and early 19th centuries. His work, modelled to an extent upon that of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), flattered fashionable society with its light, free brushwork and delicate colour range. Fêted by many, Hoppner was appointed portrait painter to the Prince of Wales in 1789. Anna Isabella Milbanke (1792-1860) married the poet Lord Byron in 1815. Their marriage was notoriously unsuccessful. In this portrait, datable by the costume, she would have been about eight years old. Her childish innocence is symbolised by the fresh blues of the scenery, and the picture shows an up-to-date romanticism in dress, pose and background. The portrait was commissioned by her father, Sir Ralph Milbanke.
