This portrait of a man in a wig has the subtle psychological penetration typical of Gainsborough’s portraits executed in Bath in the 1760s. Its austere, apparently simple composition reveals the technical mastery of the artist’s works at this period, prior to the development of his more brilliant and sumptuous mature style.
Sequeira (1738-1816) was a celebrated doctor who numbered Gainsborough among his patients. Born into a Jewish family in Lisbon, he moved to Bordeaux, studied in Leyden and eventually settled in London where he practised his profession. Gainsborough follows Van Dyck’s interest in capturing the character of the sitter and conveys Sequeira’s refined character. He presents him in a dignified pose with