Archibald Menzies

Born in Vienna but residing for much of his life in Rome, Anton von Maron was one of the most celebrated portraitists of the eighteenth century, receiving commissions from the Roman elite, foreign dignitaries, and British aristocrats visiting on the Grand Tour. Here he portrays the Scottish commissioner and traveler Archibald Menzies (d. 1777) in an elaborate waistcoat and fur-trimmed jacket. The sitter holds a copy of Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem (1761), the book by James Macpherson purported to be a translation from the Gaelic. The inclusion of that volume, with its controversial claim of a classical heritage for Scotland, marks his sitter’s political affiliations and engagement in contemporary debates on history and literature, and underscores the sitter’s desire to be associated with Rome.