Portrait of William Herschel
Date
1788
Sitter
William Herschel (1738 - 1822, German-British) , Astronomer
Creator
Thomas Ryder (1746 - 1810, British) , Engraver
After
Lemuel Francis Abbott (1755 - 1803, British) , Painter
Object type
Image reference
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 120mm
width (print): 100mm
width (print): 100mm
Subject
Description
Half-length portrait in an oval frame showing William Herschel turned slightly towards his right, with his head turned back to the left. He is wearing a jacket with a ruffled shirt and a cravat around his neck. Below the frame is a Latin quotation from Book 3 of Virgil’s Aeneid that translates as ‘he notes all the stars gliding through the silent sky’.
Inscribed below: ‘Painted by Abbott./Engraved by Ryder./GULIELMUS HERSCHEL. L.L.D. R.S.S./ Sidera cuncta notat tacito labentia caelo /Vir. Æneid Lib. 3/From an Original Picture in the possession of Wm Wastson M.D. F.R.S./Publish’d as the act directs Feb. 11. 1788 by S. Watts, No 28 Walcot Place, Lambeth’
Sir William Herschel (1738 – 1822), German-British astronomer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1781 and was awarded the Copley Medal the same year.
Inscribed below: ‘Painted by Abbott./Engraved by Ryder./GULIELMUS HERSCHEL. L.L.D. R.S.S./ Sidera cuncta notat tacito labentia caelo /Vir. Æneid Lib. 3/From an Original Picture in the possession of Wm Wastson M.D. F.R.S./Publish’d as the act directs Feb. 11. 1788 by S. Watts, No 28 Walcot Place, Lambeth’
Sir William Herschel (1738 – 1822), German-British astronomer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1781 and was awarded the Copley Medal the same year.