The Milbanke and Melbourne Families, by George Stubbs

The name of George Stubbs (1724-1806) will always be linked to paintings of horses, of which he was possibly the greatest ever exponent. However, his genius extended in equal measure to the portrayal of people, and he should be ranked along Gainsborough and Reynolds as one of the greatest portraitists of his age.

Born in Liverpool on 25^th August 1724, George Stubbs followed his father’s trade as a currier (a worker in leather goods) while also teaching himself to draw and later to paint. He studied human anatomy, including the dissection of corpses, before he moved on to his more well-known dissection work on horses. These studies were central to his ability to portray horses and people alike with an accuracy that had never been seen before and rarely since.

His painting entitled “The Milbanke and Melbourne Families” was created in about 1770 and was probably commissioned by Sir Penistone Lamb who later became 1^st Viscount Melbourne and the father of William Lamb, 2^nd Viscount Melbourne, who served as Prime Minister during the early years of the reign of Queen Victoria and after whom the city of Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) is named.

Sir Penistone served in Parliament for 40 years, but he made no impression as a politician, only making one speech during his entire career as a politician, being far more interested in his horses and in gambling. The brains and ambition inherited by his son came from the latter’s mother, not his father.

The painting “The Milbanke and Melbourne Families” serves to illustrate these circumstances very well. It shows four people, three horses and two dogs, set against a typical outdoor background (which is quite likely to be an invented one and which was used by Stubbs for at least one other group portrait).

To the right of the group is Sir Penistone, mounted on a chestnut horse that is seen in left profile as the rider looks across at his wife, the former Elizabeth Milbanke, who is seated in an open four-wheeled light one-horse carriage known as a “tim-whisky”. Leaning on the carriage is her father, Sir Ralph Milbanke, who was the head of an old Yorkshire family and who, having lost his wife, had lately retired from Parliament.

The fourth portrayal is of Elizabeth’s brother, John Milbanke, who stands cross-legged with an arm resting on his horse which has stooped to graze.

Of the three horses, the most splendid is undoubtedly that ridden by Sir Penistone. Presumably one of his favourite hunters, it stands showing its conformation to full effect, with neck arched gracefully forwards and coat gleaming with health. The horse is of much more interest than its rider, who is in no way flattered by the artist, Sir Penistone’s large nose being prominently featured.

However, the viewer’s attention is taken by the lady in the picture, Elizabeth Milbanke. She had married Sir Penistone at the age of sixteen and so would only have been about seventeen at the time of the painting. She was energetic, level-headed, rational and ambitious, all of which characteristics were lacking in her husband. In later life she would use her beauty and her talents to good effect, for example obtaining her husband’s viscountcy by sleeping with the Prince of Wales. She was much admired by many leading figures of her day, including Lord Byron who described her as “'the best friend I ever had in my life and the cleverest of women'”.

Stubbs seems to have caught much of her character in this portrayal. She is dressed in a light-coloured shawl and pink dress, the folds of which fall from the carriage. The brightness of her face and clothing contrast sharply with the dark background and draw the viewer’s eye in her direction. In response, her eyes are looking out at the viewer and nowhere near her husband or family members.

Although the carriage horse stands still, Elizabeth’s left hand is firmly on the reins and in her right hand she holds a long whip. Everything about her suggests that she is the person in this painting who has the strongest character. With her hands literally on the reins, she dominates her retiring father, foppish brother and ineffectual husband, despite her youth. The artist’s triumph is in displaying this fact by using the simple means of lighting, posture and composition.

Stubbs is certainly not alone among portrait artists in being able to convey much more meaning than might be gathered at first glance. Gainsborough was certainly capable of this, as was Holbein from a previous era. Like Gainsborough, Stubbs came from a modest background and was not averse to telling his aristocratic employers what he really thought of them, in ways that they would have been too stupid to appreciate for themselves.

The apparently casual arrangement of four people and three horses conveys a very strong message for those willing to read it, which is that here is a woman who will make or break you, and quite possibly she will do both.

“The Milbanke and Melbourne Families” was acquired by the National Gallery (London) in 1975 after an export licence was refused, and it is now on display in Room 35 alongside a number of other paintings by British artists that tell a story, notably some famous canvases by Gainsborough and Hogarth. Stubbs's "Whistlejacket" can be seen on the opposite wall as soon as one steps through into Room 34.

© John Welford