Kit-cat portrait
- For other items called Kit Kat or Kit Cat see Kit Kat (disambiguation).
A kit-cat portrait or kit-kat portrait is a particular size of portrait, less than half-length, but including the hands. The name originates from a famous series of portraits which were commissioned from Godfrey Kneller for members of the Kit-Cat Club, a Whig dining club, to be hung in their meeting place at Barn Elms. They are now mostly in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, with a selection of about twelve displayed in London and others at their satellite locations, including twenty on display at Beningbrough Hall.[1]
Size
Each canvas is thirty-six inches long, and twenty-eight wide.[2] The special Kit-cat portrait size is said to have been determined because the dining-room ceiling of the Kit-cat Club was too low for half-size portraits of the members. Slightly larger than the traditional head and shoulders format, it allows enough space to include one or both hands. So, while the poses in the Kit-cat portraits may look similar, none are actually repeated. When hung together, the overall effect is of a unified club of equals, though each man retains his individuality through distinct gestures, props and costumes.[3]
Overview
The Kit Kat portraits, as a whole, can be broken down into three separate styles. The first group will be represented by John Vanbrugh. Vanbrugh's portrait is the most famous and the style of the painting is the most common. They wear a huge stately wig and high class clothing. The men painted in this style often look down and off to the left of the view, if to be day dreaming or thinking of some grand political scheme. These men are also painted with a ring or pendent, depicting their family crest. William Caverndish represents the second most popular pose in the series. He is painted with the same stately wig and fine clothing but he holds a long quill. His face is also more rogues then Vanbrugh's, suggesting that he may be younger. Thomas Hopkins represents the third most popular style. Instead of a wig, Hopkins is bald and sports a red cap and his cloths are the same as his fellow Kit Kats.</ref>http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/set.php?set=347&wPage=0</ref>
References
 | This article about an eighteenth-century painting is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |