The subject was a typically 18th century figure, deeply suspicious of religious enthusiasm and a liberal patron of the arts.
Soldi, a native of Florence, came to England where, for some years, he enjoyed considerable success as a portraitist. In its vivacity, this work seems to owe something to Hogarth's Archbishop Herring although it is evidently also a good characterisation of its genial, bonhomous subject.
Provenance
Christies 20/11/1981, lot 119.