Portrait of Edmund Physick 1795

Charles Willson Peale rendered this portrait of Edmund Physick in oil on canvas. Peale’s skill is evident in the way he handles the paint, capturing the textures of Physick’s coat, the paper in his hand, and the reflective surface of the inkwell. Note how the artist has captured the likeness of a man of status, a subject of the Enlightenment. The very act of painting a portrait was labour intensive. Creating the canvas involved stretching and priming, and producing the pigments required grinding and mixing. The act of painting itself was slow and considered. The creation of this type of object during this period, where every item was handmade, imbued this piece with social significance, as it spoke to both the labour and the resources involved in its production, elevating it beyond mere object, and into a potent symbol of craft and the means of production during this era.