Alexander Pope
attributed to Charles Jervas
ca. 1713–1715
National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 112)
After returning to England from his travels in France and Italy in 1708, Charles Jervas set up a studio in his home in Cleveland Court, Westminster. He included in his circle of literary friends Pope, Addison, and Swift. Pope, a close friend, studied painting under Jervas' direction between 1712 and 1714, and stayed in his home in 1716 when Jervas was away from London.
The portrait was painted around the time Pope was beginning his translation of The Iliad. Accordingly on the top left is a bust of Homer.
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