Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.P.29 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Title |
Portrait of David Rittenhouse |
Artist |
Peale, Charles Willson |
Date |
1791 |
Description |
Three-quarter length portrait of a seated figure in Chippendale-style chair at a table with his body and face turned slightly to his right. The figure has a fair complexion with rosy cheeks, shoulder length grey hair and wears a blue, brocade banyan with a pink lining, a white buttoned waistcoat, a white neckcloth, and a white jabot. His hands rest on the table in front of him with his left hand hidden under his right hand, which he holds with his right palm facing up and a red pencil resting in his hand. He gestures at notepaper with a diagram. The background is a shaded, greenish-gray. Unsigned and undated. |
Label |
David Rittenhouse was a self-made mathematician, clockmaker, instrument builder, astronomer, and surveyor who gained international renown for his observations of the 1769 transits of Venus and Mercury across the sun. Painted to commemorate Rittenhouse's election as APS president in 1791, this portrait by Charles Willson Peale identifies the subject as a man of science. The long, loose robe known as a banyan signified intellectual activity in portraits of scholars, and the scientific diagram on the table shows the orbit of a comet Rittenhouse observed in 1770. |
Medium |
Oil on canvas |
Dimensions |
H-45.25 W-35.625 inches |
Dimension Details |
Framed |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society |
Search Terms |
18th century eighteenth century painting scientist astronomy mathematics navigation surveying |