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This portrait of the great Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, was described when acquired by the Museum as ‘Voltaire drawn by Mr Gardel, a young painter of Geneva’. The donor was a member of staff, Matthew Maty, of Huguenot origins, who was appointed in 1756. How Maty obtained it is not known but the artist Theodore Gardelle, described in the ‘Oxford Dictionary of National Biography’ as ‘murderer and painter’, worked in Geneva, Brussels and France before coming to London in 1759. Gardelle is said to have known Voltaire at Geneva where he drew his portrait and enamelled it on a snuffbox. In February 1761 he is said to have argued with his landlady over her portrait and murdered her – he said that she had initially fallen during a struggle.
Title
'Voltaire' (François-Marie Arouet) (1694–1778)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 81.8 x W 64.3 cm
Accession number
Painting.26
Acquisition method
gift from Dr Matthew Maty, 1760
Work type
Painting
