This guided tour will look at the portrait 'The Family of Sir William Young' which can be seen on the right.
The picture was painted in 1770 by Johann Zoffany. It measures 114.3cm x 167.8cm.
Before we begin the tour you may want to spend a few seconds looking at the picture and getting to know it a little.
If you do not wish to take this guided tour but would like find out more about this portrait, you can do so here.
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First, look at all of the people. They are sitting close together and seem to be talking. They are probably a family.
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The oldest man is sitting at the front of the painting in the middle. He is the father, Sir William Young (1725-88). He was probably also the person who commissioned (paid for) this portrait.
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The oak tree growing in the centre of the portrait could be a sign of the family's strength and long life.
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There is land in the background and a servant. The family was rich.
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The servant boy on the left is black. Most black people in England at the time were slaves or servants. This tells us that the family's wealth flowed from the slave labour of West Indian plantations.
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There are a number of props in the portrait, e.g. musical instruments. They tell us that the family was interested in music and drama.
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So, we know that this is a wealthy family. Their money probably came from the West Indies, from sugar plantations worked by slaves. The father, Sir William, commissioned the painting.
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Other things you should remember or think about are:
More information on this portrait is available here. Otherwise you can click on the link above to return to the Portrait Detectives main page.
