Portrait of George Pitt, First Baron Rivers, 1769. Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727-1788). Oil on canvas; framed: 261 x 181 x 9 cm (102 3/4 x 71 1/4 x 3 9/16 in.); unframed: 234.3 x 154.3 cm (92 1/4 x 60 3/4 in.). Although George Pitt reputedly led a life of debauchery and was a cruel husband, Thomas Gainsboroughs portrait endows him with an aura of dignity and refinement. This work was painted between Pitts appointments as ambassador to Turin, Italy, and Madrid, Spain, but he is very much the English gentleman at home on his country estate. Gainsborough balances the deep scarlet and green facing of Pitts military uniform with the cool, woodland landscape painted with wide, liquid brushstrokes of mauves, grays, and silvers.