Portrait of George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer 

Curator: John Singleton Copley's "Portrait of George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer" is our focus now, executed in oil paint. Editor: A very somber-looking gentleman. His posture is quite erect and regal, almost defiant. There's a sense of expectation and power radiating from the figure. Curator: Copley's process involved a complex layering of paint. Close inspection reveals the building up of color and form to convey both texture of fabric and luminosity in the face. The costuming of nobility during that time required labor from dressmakers and textile workers, their toil now immortalized in this portrait. Editor: Absolutely. Note the placement of that Order emblem, a bright visual focus—an emblem of his public role but also speaks volumes of his self-perception. These objects weren’t just adornments; they carried heavy symbolic and historical meaning. Curator: Copley certainly captured that meaning by carefully positioning and rendering such emblems. In painting this work, what degree of creative control and self-expression did the laborers have versus the master portrait painter or the Earl himself? Who truly owns the artistic production in this work? Editor: Interesting point. The weight of those traditions clearly sculpted the figure, yet the relaxed folds of fabric near the drape also speaks of personal affectations that could have pleased him such as his favorite robe color or design. It shows the relationship that a leader needs to build with those he rules, a sign of respect that is paid by showing oneself with a softer affect. Curator: The level of societal position it represents and all the labor it entailed can never really give us a glimpse of the complete subject of the painting. This system, as an artist’s, weaver’s or nobleman’s product is at its best for some but exploitative to others in its design. Editor: This exploration has revealed many levels and perspectives and opened me up to exploring artwork in a whole new light. Curator: And to think how oil paint from this piece was distributed, to envision it arriving, mixed by pigment makers.