Summary
The sitters can probably be identified as (from left to right): Charles Crokatt (died 1769), William Keable (?1714-74) playing the flute, and Peter Darnell Muilman (c.1725 -1766). The two seated figures to the left are posed in a relaxed way in the spirit of a conversation piece, whereas the young man standing on the right, slightly set apart from his comrades, is characterised by an air of distinction. Since it is believed that the picture was commissioned by his father, Henry Muilman, it would seem appropriate that Peter Darnell Muilman is the most prominent figure.
Peter Darnell Muilman's father, Henry, (died 1772) was a prosperous merchant who had emigrated with his brother Peter (1713-90) from Amsterdam. Both brothers appear to have retired to the Essex countryside in 1749. It seems likely that Henry Muilman commissioned the picture from Gainsborough to include both his son and his future son-in-law, for his daughter Anna married Charles Crokatt on 16 April 1752. The painting was presumably intended as a celebration of the engagement and therefore as a record of the new dynastic links forged between the two families… (read more)
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