Composer Cristiano Giuseppe Lidarti (1730 - 1793), is shown posing with a beautiful blue harp along with painter Giovanni Battista Tempesti of Volterra, Italy (1729–1804). Both men lived and worked in Pisa and in Rome, primarily. Born in Vienna of Italian descent, Lidarti, best known for his oratorio, "Esther", composed a huge body of work using Hebraic text specifically for the large flourishing Jewish community in Amsterdam.
Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1st Baronet, RA (born: 1735) was a successful and notable English portrait painter who studied with Francis Hayman and Angelica Kauffman, as well as various ateliers all over Italy. One of the founding members of the Royal Academy, in 1790, Dance-Holland gave up a stunning career as a painter to become Member of Parliament in Sussex. He continued in politics until his death in 1811.
This painting is from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon. Click image to enlarge, then click to enlarge again.
