William DobsonEndymion Porter c.1642-5

Endymion Porter was a favourite courtier of King Charles I, for whom he bought works of art. He is shown here as a huntsman with his kill, a possible reference to the ongoing civil war. His patronage of the arts is indicated by the statue of Apollo and the classical frieze he is leaning on.William Dobson painted this portrait at the exiled court of King Charles in Oxford. The pose is taken from a portrait of the Roman Emperor Vespasian by Titian, which was then in Charles I’s collection. Porter was later forced into exile in France, and his art collection was seized.