![A Portrait of Roger ScrutonOil on canvas,120 x 60cm, 2014This painting won The Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture, the major prize of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) in 2016.Thanks to Sir Roger’s fame, it has received persistent interest, almost everyone who asked me about this portrait asked: “Is that a donkey or a horse?”It is a donkey. And the donkey hints at Don Quixote, a man who wished to become a knight in an age that knights had ceased to exist. In Cervante’s own words:"This gentleman in the times when he had nothing to do – as was the case for most of the year – gave himself to the reading of books of knight errantry; which he loved and enjoyed so much that he almost entirely forgot his hunting, and even the care of his estate. So odd and foolish, indeed, did he grow on this subject that he sold many acres of corn-land to buy these books of chivalry to read… [In the end], he so buried himself in his books that he spent the nights reading from twilight till daybreak and the days from dawn till dark; and so from little sleep and much reading, his brain dried up and he lost his wits." Despite the perpetual failure and naivety of Don Quixote, it’s worth pointing out that: the successful man adapts himself to the world. The loser persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the loser.One may argue that in the end, Don Quixote did become a knight… Funny enough, that two years after this portrait was created, Roger Scruton received the knighthood! There are two pictorial references in this painting: Watteau’s Pierrot (aka. Gilles) and Ting Qin Tu (聽琴圖) by Emperor Huizong of Song](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe1fe5d1562c21224f9bf77/1608919844705-3TXJTG3TFX5UZFPP3NW5/a-portrait-of-roger-scruton)
A Portrait of Roger Scruton
Oil on canvas,
120 x 60cm, 2014
This painting won the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture, the major award of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP), in 2016.
Thanks to Sir Roger’s fame, it has garnered considerable attention. Nearly everyone who inquired about the portrait asked, “Is that a donkey or a horse?”
It is a donkey. The donkey serves as a nod to Don Quixote, a man who aspired to become a knight in a time when knights no longer existed.
In Cervantes’ own words:
“This gentleman, in the times when he had nothing to do – as was the case for most of the year – gave himself to the reading of books of knight errantry; which he loved and enjoyed so much that he almost entirely forgot his hunting, and even the care of his estate. So odd and foolish, indeed, did he grow on this subject that he sold many acres of cornland to buy these books of chivalry to read… [In the end], he so buried himself in his books that he spent the nights reading from twilight till daybreak and the days from dawn till dark; and so from little sleep and much reading, his brain dried up and he lost his wits.”
Despite Don Quixote’s constant failures and naivety, it’s worth noting: the successful man adapts to the world, while the loser persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the loser.
One could argue that, in the end, Don Quixote did indeed become a knight. Interestingly enough, two years after this portrait was painted, Roger Scruton was knighted!
There are two key pictorial references in this painting: Watteau’s Pierrot (also known as Gilles) and Ting Qin Tu (聽琴圖) by Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty.