George Frideric Handel
- Artist: Thomas Hudson
- Date: 1756
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 94 in. x 57 1/2 in. (2388 mm x 1461 mm)
- Portrays: George Frideric Handel
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
Before you is Thomas Hudson’s 1756 oil‑on‑canvas of the German composer George Frideric Handel. The painter gives us a full‑length view: Handel sits on a high-backed chair, his face calm and slightly furrowed, eyes gazing forward even though he was blind at the time of this painting. Hudson’s brushwork is loose yet controlled – you can see small strokes where light catches the hair and collar.
The table in front of him holds a printed score, the libretto of “Messiah,” his most famous oratorio. It links to the librettist Charles Jennens who commissioned the portrait, tying music to image.
Notice the frame: rococo carved pine, gilt, with trophies shaped like violins, tambourines and lyres. The detail adds a musical flourish that frames Handel’s legacy as composer, concerti and opera maestro of early 18th‑century London.
See it in person
George Frideric Handel is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
