Buncombe, Charles (McKechnie Section 6)

See Section Seven for main entry on Buncombe, Charles and John

There has recently come to light a profile of an army officer painted on glass (on which the sitter's features are shown with stippling), inscribed 'Newport, Isle of Wight' (where Charles Buncombe worked) and clearly inscribed with the date 1800 on the reverse. Although Buncombe's name is not inscribed on this portrait, it is reasonable to attribute the piece to him. The technique differs from that which he used when painting on card, but no more so than differed the technique of, for instance, Mrs Beetham, when she was working on glass from that which she used when painting on card. The date 1800 indicates a period between the earlier phase during which Buncombe painted mainly in black on card, and the later phase during which he depicted many military subjects, still on card but often rendering the uniforms in colour.

The profile in question is of as fine a quality as any example illustrated in this Section. The sitter, an officer of the 14th Dragoons, is shown in profile to sinister. The portrait is painted beneath convex glass. without any bust-line termination: a style which Buncombe was to favour in much of his later work. The sitter's features are shown with fine stippling, though less light and shade are shown in the modelling of the face than in the work of Lea, or in Jane Read's later work. The stippling of C. H. Hudson, on the other hand, who also painted profiles in this style, is coarser by comparison. The eyelash, not shown protruding abnormally (as was commonly done, in an effort to achieve realism on most black profiles) is shown, by a flick of the brush, in its natural position. A curious feature is the heavily painted eyebrow. The feature which this profile chiefly has in common with Buncombe's work on card is the sitter's stance; his arm is held well back, to show the full width of the epaulette.

Ill. 1524