George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper (1738 – 22 December 1789) was an English peer who went on the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

as a young man, but actually emigrated. Despite becoming a member of parliament and later inheriting lands and the title of

Earl Cowper Earl Cowper ( ) was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1718 by George I for William Cowper, 1st Baron Cowper, his first Lord Chancellor, with remainder in default of male issue of his own to his younger brother, Spencer ...

in England, he remained in Italy. He amassed a valuable art collection and became a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

. He was a patron of the arts and science.

Biography

George Nassau Clavering-Cowper was the son of the 2nd Earl Cowper and the godson of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

.The poetical works of William Cowper
William Cowper, John Bruce, Volume 3, p.clxx. Retrieved May 2010 He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. His education was planned to be completed with a

. This rite of passage for British aristocrats required that they tour the continent in the company of a tutor. Clavering-Cowper was at the time known as Viscount Fordwich. Accompanied by his tutor, they travelled through France, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and Germany before Clavering-Cowper studied for two years in Switzerland. Hugh Belsey, 'Cowper, George Nassau Clavering, third Earl Cowper (1738–1789)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 26 April 2010
/ref> Unlike other Grand Tourers, Fordwich was independent of his parents as he had inherited a fortune from his maternal grandfather in 1754. The tourers arrived in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

on 7 July 1759. Fordwich's father was expectant of his return; he arranged for him to be elected as the Member of Parliament for Hertford in December 1759. However, Fordwich was establishing himself in Florentine society. By the following year his tutor, Jean Chastellain, asked for and was given permission to abandon his charge. The 2nd Earl gave Chastellain leave to return to his home town of

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

Florence

He married the sixteen-year-old Hannah Anne Gore, daughter of

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

, on 2 June 1775. Their betrothal was commemorated with a painting by Zoffany commissioned by Fordwich's new father-in-law.''Burke's Peerage''
Retrieved April 2010 In 1780, he bought the Villa Palmieri in

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

which overlooks Florence. They had three children; the first two would become the 4th and 5th Earl Cowper. Although George Nassau Cowper had left his family's seats and his father in England he was not without connections. He had ambitions to be the British representative in Florence and he tried to increase his favour with the King. He sent a small painting to the King and also sent further copies of Italian works to England. The job he wanted was held by

Sir Horace Mann Sir Horatio (Horace) Mann, 2nd Baronet (2 February 1744 – 2 April 1814) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. He is remembered as a member of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire and a patron of Kent county ...

who despite not being as much in favour as Cowper, was still the British Resident in Florence.Hugh Belsey
"Mann, Sir Horatio, first baronet (bap. 1706, d. 1786)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online ed., May 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009 Cowper was successful in other ways. He was instrumental in having a monument erected on Machiavelli's tomb, in the Church of Santa Croce. Cowper was able to get himself made a Prince of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. His title was ''Prince of Nassau d'Auverquerque'' (his mother had been born "Henrietta Nassau d'Auverquerque") and he was given permission by George III to adopt this title. Cowper only returned to England once, and this was only a brief visit after over thirty years' absence. His arrival was so remarkable that it was reported on by Horace Walpole. In a letter to

he recounts that he was astounded to see

an English Earl who is more proud of a Pinchbeck Principality and a paltry order from
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
than he was of being a peer of Great Britain when Great Britain ''was'' something.

Art collection

Johan Zoffany - Tribuna of the Uffizi - Google Art Project

Cowper's art collection absorbed a great deal of his time and money. Among his most notable possessions are two paintings by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

. The first is known as the ''

Small Cowper Madonna The ''Small Cowper Madonna'' is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, depicting Mary and Child, in a typical Italian countryside. It has been dated to around 1504–1505, the middle of the High Renaissance. Story It is not ...

'' and the other is the '' Niccolini-Cowper Madonna''. The latter is particularly remarkable in that he can be seen evaluating the painting in another painting. ''Tribuna of the Uffizi'+ shows Cowper looking at the painting as it is offered by Johann Zoffany. Zoffany had purchased the painting from the Niccolini family in 1782 and sold it to Cowper in 1785."The Niccolini-Cowper Madonna, 1508"
, National Gallery, London. Retrieved May 2010 Zoffany was in Italy on a mission by the British royal family to paint the Tribuna. Zoffany lost his role as a court painter due to including figures in this commission. Reputedly Cowper was thought acceptable but the others were considered unnecessary."The Tribuna of the Uffizi"
The Royal Collection. Retrieved May 2010 Cowper used Zoffany's expertise to increase the value of his art collection in addition to giving him commissions. Zoffany painted Cowper and his fiancée separately as well as including both of them in the painting commissioned by his father-in-law, Charles Gore. Artists Cowper collected included Giuseppe Antonio Fabrini, the landscape artist

Francesco Zuccarelli Giacomo Francesco Zuccarelli (commonly known as Francesco Zuccarelli, ; 15 August 1702 – 30 December 1788) RA, was an Italian artist of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He is considered to be the most important landscape painter to hav ...

Jakob Philipp Hackert Jacob Philipp Hackert (15 September 1737 – 28 April 1807) was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy. Biography Hackert was born in 1737 in Prenzlau in the Margraviate of Brandenburg (now in Germany). He t ...

, and Hugh Primrose Dean. After 1778, Cowper purchased

Fra Bartolommeo Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo (, , ; 28 March 1472 – 31 October 1517), also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di S. Marco, and his original nickname Baccio della Porta, was an Italian Renaissance painter of religious subjects ...

's ''Holy Family'' in 1779 and he also supported Joseph Plura,

Innocenzo Spinazzi Innocenzo Spinazzi (1726–1798) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo period active in Rome and Florence. Biography Born in Rome the son of a silversmith, he became the leading sculptor in Florence, where he died. He was trained by Giovanni Bat ...

, Hugh Douglas Hamilton, and

Jacob More Jacob More (1740–1793) was a Scottish landscape painter. Biography Jacob More was born in 1740 in Edinburgh. He studied landscape and decorative painting with James Norie's firm. He took the paintings of Gaspard Dughet and Claude Lorrain a ...

Patron

Cowper's support was not limited to artists. His cousin

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and sce ...

, a noted poet, received a generous annuity from him. Count Volta also received a complete laboratory from Cowper and they also had continued correspondenceThe Third Earl Cowper: an English patron of science in 18th century Florence and his correspondence with Alessandro Volta. Italian Stud. 16:1–34. Dragoni G.(1994) in Proceedings of the 11th International Scientific Instruments Symposium, Bologna 1991, Lord George Cowper's 18th century cabinet of physics, eds Dragoni G., McConnell A., Turner L’E.pp 191–199. as Cowper assisted Volta with translation for a paper presented to the Royal Society.

Death and legacy

Cowper died on 22 December 1789 at age 51 from

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

. His body was returned to England and buried in Hertford. His title was taken by his eldest son, George Augustus. His second son, Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau, inherited that title in 1799 and held it for another 38 years, which denied the title to Cowper's last son, Edward Spencer.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper, George Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl 1738 births 1789 deaths People educated at Eton College Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Fellows of the Royal Society British MPs 1754–1761 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Earls Cowper

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...