George Frideric Handel

Image credit: National Portrait Gallery, London

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Born in Saxony, Handel moved to London in 1712 from the court in Hanover. By 1714 he found himself working for his old master, now George I, for whom he composed the Water Music in 1717. For the next fifty years Handel poured out opera, oratorios and concertos. His Messiah, first performed in Dublin in 1742, was a national institution within his lifetime.

Showing the great composer in old age and by now blind, it was painted for Handel's friend, Charles Jennens, who selected the words for Messiah (the score pictured beside him).

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

George Frideric Handel

Date

1756

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 238.8 x W 146.1 cm

Accession number

3970

Acquisition method

Purchased with help from the Handel Appeal Fund and HM Government, 1968

Work type

Painting

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