Recline and sprawl

Adam Solomons | Issue 1 | Magazine, Politics

From the Archive

James_Tissot_-_Captain_Frederick_Gustavus_Burnaby

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s languid pose on the Treasury bench launched a thousand memes on social media. Five observers interpret his body language for us.

Philip Mould, art dealer: What’s so interesting about that Rees-Mogg pose is that, unlike 99 percent of the canon of British portraiture, he’s reclining. The political office of the 16th, 17th and first half of the 18th centuries was indistinctive from the aristocratic one. Even Cromwell would stand like a Van Dyck when he was being painted. The idiom of portraying political power was always to make you look like an aristocrat.

Then, in the later 18th and 19th centuries, politicians were increasingly portrayed with a new democratic quality: you think of Thomas Lawrence and Millais doing Disraeli and Gladstone – they’re intransigent, statutory. There’s a new sobriet, with darker clothes that make it hard for artists to deal with. Artists then had to emphasise gesture and facial expression in a way that they hadn’t in the ostentatious iconography of yesteryear.

And although it breached protocol, if you’re a portrait painter who wants to express the role of Leader of the House, what better way to style him than as reclining over a number of benches? Rees-Mogg is a sophisticated chap who knows his art and history; what I find so amusing is that a portrait painter would likely have depicted him in a similar way.

Prime ministers are more problematic to depict. When it came to someone like Thatcher, that was a real task because there had never been a language for female power in the …

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



Silly season is coming to an end: What to expect from Westminster this Autumn

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | August 27, 2026

September and October usually mark the most intense period of political activity in the UK, here is what to expect.

Andy Burnham’s social media strategy faces questions over traditional media

Mace Magazine | August 26, 2026

The former Downing Street communications chief believes “there are hard truths coming” for Burnham.

Industry Watch: John Gill, Deputy Director of External Affairs, Reform UK – “There’s no limit to where a man can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit”

Mace Magazine | August 20, 2026

John Gill's promotion at Reform UK, just before the party launches its inaugural Business Day at its September NEC conference, is indicative of how the party is ramping

Carry on, Clacton

William Cash | August 18, 2026

Wiliam Cash reflects on how the myth of Clacton and its reality has created media distortion when it comes to reporting on Farage’s seaside spiritual HQ.

The Clacton by-election: “It has been amazing for business” 

Ella Beadman and Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | August 10, 2026

Ahead of the Clacton-on-Sea by-election this Thursday, Mace went to the constituency to hear what local businesses make of the media circus that has descended on the seaside town, and the changes they want

Burnham is trying to fix Whitehall, but will the political machinery change?

Mace | August 7, 2026

Andy Burnham is shaking up government with more changes than by any incoming prime minister in memory. But, asks Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, does he understand why the

Racing the sunset: a pilgrim odyssey across a dying Europe

Mace | August 4, 2026

For 10 months, ex-army officer James Jeffrey trekked 3500 km across Europe by foot. The scale of migration he witnessed may not have been as dramatic as the

Leader in Public Affairs: Grace Pritchard, Downing Street Director of News and the Prime Minister’s Political Spokesperson

Mace | August 3, 2026

After heading the Makerfield by-election comms team, Grace Pritchard was singled out by Andy Burnham as being a key part of his northern campaign team. The self-styled 'Yorkshire

Dame Antonia’s key civil service reforms are ready to be supported by Whitehall, says Jonathan Freeman

Mace | August 1, 2026

The Civil Service is ready to support Dame Antonia Romeo's flagship changes to government machinery - notably relating to AI and devolution - under new prime minister Andy

Kemi’s true blue purge, with help from Sir Philip May

William Cash | July 26, 2026

The news that former Home Secretary Sir Grant Shapps has failed to make the new Tory candidate list has put fear into dozens of former Conservative MPs. Whether