{"id":9627,"date":"2015-06-23T13:45:01","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T13:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.britishportraits.org.uk\/?page_id=9627"},"modified":"2018-04-20T15:25:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T15:25:59","slug":"sarah-backhouse","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.britishportraits.org.uk\/resources\/bursaries\/sarah-backhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Backhouse, Exhibition coordinator, Royal College of Physicians, London"},"content":{"rendered":"
Initial scope<\/h2>\n
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) owns a painting by Johan Zoffany, \u2018William Hunter lecturing at the Royal Academy\u2019, painted c.1770-2. It is one of the most significant paintings in our collection, but we don\u2019t fully understand what, or rather who, it represents. William Hunter \u2013 who became a licentiate of the RCP in 1756 \u2013 is lecturing to a group of 25 sitters, of whom only one has been positively identified. This is Sir Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy (RA), whose presence suggests that Hunter is lecturing to a group of RA members, in his role as the academy\u2019s first professor of anatomy.<\/p>\n
Hunter was a really interesting character. He was connected to all the important late-18th century societies, and was a well-known teacher and collector who built his own anatomy school and museum in London. This project, with its aims of identifying more of the sitters in Hunter\u2019s audience, will help us understand more about the extent of Hunter\u2019s influence, the social context within which the painting was commissioned, and how the RCP and its members can be situated alongside other historical institutions.<\/p>\n