Sir John Baptist Medina (Brussels 1659-1710 Edinburgh)

Born in Brussels, Medina came to London in 1686, attracted by the market for portraiture proven by Sir Godfrey Kneller. One of his earliest projects in London was a set of eight illustrations for an edition of Milton's Paradise Lost (Victoria and Albert Museum, London); rapid, slight drawings which are stylistically similar to the present group.
George Salting (1835-1909), the son of a Danish merchant who made a fortune in Australia, was educated in England where he settled in 1857. He was an art connoisseur and benefactor. By 1858 he had become a full-time collector and till his death he devoted his entire life and fortune of about £30,000 per annum to his collection which he bequeathed to the National Gallery, London, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.