Talk:John Gordon of Glenbucket

Picture
There is a well known portrait of Glenbucket, but its provenance is a bit dubious so I have used the Penicuik drawing of him for preference. Just recording the logic below, in case anyone adds the other portrait at some point.

The ultimate source for the 'portrait' is from one of the plates in one of the Sobieski-Stuart brothers' books on tartan, where it is described as based on a 1745 portrait "in the possession of the Chevalier de Gordon, Versailles". As we know the brothers were likely fraudulent and while nearly all their plates are based on genuine contemporary prints, the original of the Gordon one has not yet been traced (moreover the tartan they have added to it was only created in 1793, so some elements at least of their plate cannot be an accurate version of a 1745 portrait). So the Glenbucket 'portrait' is a bit dubious, while the Penicuik drawing is at least certainly contemporary.Svejk74 (talk) 10:07, 10 April 2020 (UTC)