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| Artist: | Thomas Patch (1708-1782) |
| Title: | The Golden Asses, 1761 |
| Description: | Oil on canvas |
The name of this painting comes from Machiavelli who, 200 years earlier, called the visiting English "The Golden Asses" because they were so rich, confident, and ignorant. Patch himself is to the far right, astride a golden ass on a pedestal with Machiavelli's remarks engraved on it. Standing in a brocaded suit of persimmon and gold at the center left is Sir Horace Mann, the British diplomatic representative in Florence from 1738 to 1786, who is entertaining a group of distinguished English visitors. The letter he extends may have come from Horace Walpole, who was Mann's guest on his Grand Tour. Although Mann and Walpole never met afterwards, they corresponded for forty-five years on foreign and domestic matters.