This is Richard Milles of Nackington, a Member of Parliament for Canterbury from 1761 to 1780, who sat for this portrait when he was in Rome on his Grand Tour. He points to a map inscribed with 'Grisons', the name of a Swiss Canton that he probably visited on his way to Italy.
The classical columns at the right and sculpted bust of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius establish Milles' status as a learned, cultivated gentleman. He is magnificently dressed in a red fur-lined cape, a luxurious silver silk waistcoat and red breeches, and Batoni has confidently imitated the various textures and surfaces. Milles' swaggering pose, with a hand placed firmly on his hip, is one of self-assurance and ease.
Batoni was established in Rome as the most sought-after portraitist of his day, and painted this portrait in around 1759, when he was at his most prolific.
Credit: Bought, 1980