Nelson, G. (McKechnie Section 2)

Known from two signed silhouettes (one of a man, the other of a woman) that I have seen; their appearance indicates that Nelson was working c. 1807- c. 1815. Although he is not known as a miniaturist, his style suggests that he may have worked in this capacity. There is no evidence of his place of work.

The painting on these two examples is good. On the profile of a man the hair, cravat, and waistcoat are all shown in transparency. Hair strokes are drawn in black pigment, with the addition of Chinese white; the remainder of the transparency is shown with thinned pigment. The style of painting the shirt-frill is something like that of William Alport, but is less neat. The profile of a woman is painted on a round piece of card (diameter, 2⅛ in.). As the profile of a man has been reframed with a card mount, this may also originally have been circular. This feature might be a clue to the identification of other work by Nelson. Another possibly characteristic feature of the profile of the woman is the line of shadow beneath the bust, carried a short way round both to the front and to the back of the profile, giving a suggestion of the shape of the top of the sitter's dress.

Like some of his contemporaries, Nelson signed his silhouettes in the line of shadow below the bust-line, giving a three-dimensional effect.

Ills. 899-901