2001 - mallett gallery
DESCRIPTION
The Mallett Gallery catalogue 2001, including Tete de Jeune Femme by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.TRANSCRIPT
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MALLET T Established 1865
M A L L E T T Gallery
141 New Bond Street, London W I S 2BS Telephone: +44 (0)20 7499 7411 Fax: +44 (0)20 7495 3179
Mallett Gallery
141 New Bond Street London WIS 2BS Telephone: + 44 (0) 20 7499 7411 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7495 3179
James Harvey Director
Mallett & Son (Antiques) Ltd
141 New Bond Street London WIS 2BS Telephone: + 44 (0) 20 7499 7411 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7495 3179
Mallett at Bourdon House Ltd
2 Davies Street London W I K 3DJ Telephone: + 44 (0) 20 7629 2444 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7499 2670
Mallett Website: www.mallett.co.uk E-mail: [email protected]
From cover: P ie r rc -Augus tc Renoir , Tete dejeune
Fmime Jeanne Samary (Pages fiI-92).
Front ispiece (detail): J o h n H a m i l t o n M o r t i m e r .
A Self Portrait of the artist. (Page !)9).
Left (detail): J a n Gri l l ier the FIder. I'iew of Rnchestfr.
(Page 52).
Contents
Sporting Paintings
Dirk Dalens II
Richard Barret Davis
Sir Alfred Munning»i
John \\'ootton
John Boultbee
Ben Marshall
Landscape Paintings
Marine Paintings
John Clexeley Sr
Nicholas Pocock
John Askew
Peter Monamy
Thomas Whitcombe
John Nost Sartorius 8
Margaret Collyer 10
English School 12
Richard Jones 13, 14
John Frederick Herring Sr 16, 17
18
22
26, 27
28, 33
36
37
Solomon Delane 40
Hendrick Willem Schweickhardt 42
J an Verdussen 46
Richard Bankes Harraden 48
J an Griffier the Elder 52
Gaston de LaTouche 55
Tobias Strano\er 56
63
65
66
68
70
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Tete dejeme Fmime - Jeanne Sammy 82
Condition Report 85
Renoir's Models 87
Jeanne Samary
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Renoir and Portraiture
Figurative Paintings
Angelica Kauilmann
Princess Louisa Hollandina
Sir Joshua RcN iiolds
Sir Peter Lelv
John Hamilton Mortimer
William Hoarc of Bath
Watercolours
87
88
91
76
78
95
96
99
100
William Turner of Oxford 104
John Varley 105
Lillian Stannard 106
Ernest Arthur Rowe 109
English School 110
A De Wignacourt 112, 113
French School 114, 115
Thakur CJanga Singh 116
Edmond Leche\allier-Ghevignard 119
Paul-Cesar Helleu 120
William Monk 122
Sporting Paintings
John Nost Sartorius 1759-1828
Mr Christopher Wilson's Bar Racehorse 'Sophia' with jockey up on the Rowley mile at Newmarket
Signed and dated 1801, and inscribed 'Sopliia by Buzzard" lower right Oil on can\ a.s
In a Georgian c a r \ e d and gilded (Vaine U n f r a m e d : 28 x 36 in / 71 x 91.5cni Framed: 34'/2 x 42'/i in / 87 x 107 cm
I 'ROXKN.WCi:
Painted for Chr i s topher Wilson at O x t o n Stud, Yorkshire, 1801
Sophia was a bay racehorse foaled in 1 798, got by Buzzard out of Hmcamunka by Highjtyer. She was bred by Chr i s topher Wilson at O x t o n , the 'Doyen of the English Turf and Father of the Jockey Club ' . Wilson
was the winner of the very first 1,000
Guineas Classic with Charlotte and the first 2,000 Guineas with Wizard.
Sophia is depicted after winning her match for 200 guineas against the Duke of Graf ton ' s Flambeau as a three year old o \ e r the Rowley mile at Newmarke t . I'his was the second time she had been pain ted by Sartorius: she appears as a foal in Mares and Foals at Oxton painted bv- the artist in 1 798.
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Margaret Collyer fl. 1893-1910
Dandie Dinmont
Signed and dated 1899 lower right
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 28 x 37 in / 71 x 94 cm
Framed: 32 x 41% in / 82.5 x 106.5 cm
The Dandie Dinmont is a rare breed that was
probably developed from the nati\ e rough-
haired terriers working in the hill country-
along the border between Scotland and
England. The peculiar name of 'Dandie
Dinmont' originates from a character of that
name in a novel by Sir \Valter Scott entitled
Guy Mamering. In this book Dandie Dinmont
was actually based on a real person named
James Davidson of Hyndlea, a farmer who
owned a pack of terriers fitting the description
of the rough haired breed from the borders.
This breed, having previously been called
'Pepper and Mustard' was renamed after the
publication of this book and have sincc been
known as Dandie Dinmonts.
Margaret Collyer was a very skilled artist
who was based in Nottingham and exhibited
at the Royal Academy in the late nineteenth
century. The Dandie Dinmont is standing in
a show pose.
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English school l-^arlv 19th centurv
King Charles Spaniel
Oil on c a m as
L 'nf ramed: 20 x 25 in / 51 x 63 cm I'Vamcd: 26V. x 3 1 i n / iM x 80 cm
Spaniels were po|)ular in France and England as cad ) as the middle of the fourteenth century and were used in haw king and to spring and retrieve fowl. This spaniel is pa in ted with the skill and c h a r m typical of many unsigned British dog paintings of the early nineteenth century.
Richard Jones 1767-1840
A Black (Jocker Spaniel
Oil on canvas
Unf ramcd : 26 x 31 in / 66 x 78.8 cm
Framed: 32 x 37 in / 81 .2 x 94 cm
R icha rd Jonc.s, 'one of the better sporting
painters ol' his t ime' (Sally Mitchel l ,
Dictionary of Equestrian Artists', page 28()) was
a native of Read ing who ma in ta ined a
studio in London near his fr iend A b r a h a m
Clooper R.\ in the early years of the
nineteenth centiiry. His snbjects are those of
horse, hound and S|)()rt and are depicted in
a highly recogni.sablc and personal style. His
paint ings are very rarely signed, though their
technic|ue makes them easily identif iable. He
worked as the "house" artist to Arthiu'
Acke rmann , the dea ler in sj jorting art who
a r r anged many commissions for him.
By 1824, Jones had mo\ ed to Lincolnshire
where he worked for Lord ^arborotigh, who
had ]ireviously emplo\ed ( J eorge Stubbs as his
s]5orling artist. By 1830, he was establislied in
Birmingham, and painted mimcrous pictures
for the rising industrial class who had mo\ed
out into the countryside.
The |)resent pa int ing cle])icts a well loxed
gundog in a rural setting that is very
reminiscent of Stubbs.
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Richard Jones 1767-1840
A portrait of three favourite hunters, with a groom approaching holding a feeding tray
Oil on canvas Unframcd : 34 x 44 in / 86.5 x 112 cm Framed: 46 x 50 in / 116.5 x 142 cm
P R O V K X A N C K
Pri\ ate collection, Rome
'Jones' portraiture of both horse and rider was excellent and powerful. He tended to paint a good sort of deep-bodied horse. He paid great attention to detail and his distant landscapes are delightful and with warm colouring' (Sally Mitchell, op cit.).
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John Frederick Herring Sr 1795-1865
Equestrian portrait in hunting pinks of Hugh, 12th Earl of Eglinton and Winton
Signed and dated 1826 on gate post Oil on can\'as Unframed: 22 x 30 in / 56 x 76 cm Framed: 27 x 35 in / 68.5 x 89 cm
I'ROVK.NA.NCi: Windsor T White, Cleveland, Ohio, 1928
John Frederick Herring Sr is ]K-rha])s the best-known I'>nglish s])oriing jjainter of the first half of the nineteenth century. His output was
prodigious (especially bearing in mind the very liigh 'finish' in his paintings) and it has retained a tremendous po])ularity amongst collectors from his own times to today. His subjects are \ irtually all based on animal themes; portraits of horses, iuinting scenes, farmyards, dogs and other domestic creatures are all to be found in his work. He was born in London, the l'>nglish son of a New \ b r k American father of Dutch extraction. He took up painting in about 1815, which is the date of his earliest recorded painting. I5y 1820, his .style had de\'eloi)ed from these early beginnings to
become iiotably fluid and fine. His best work dates from about 1820 to the mid 1840's, and he has left us with an unparalleled visual history of the Knglish countryside in its heyday.
'Fhe ])resent ])ainting is a perfectly preser\'ed examjile of the early maturity of the artist, which shows him at the height of his powers.
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John Frederick Herring Sr 1795-1865
Portrait of Sir Hugh Hamilton Mortimer, Master of the Old Surrey Hounds, on his chestnut hunter
Signed and dated 1846 lo\\cr left
Oil on canvas
L'niVamcd 28 x 36 in / 71 x 91.5 cm
Framed: 33 x 40 in / 83.9 x l()l.(i cm
Sir Hugh Hamillon Mortimer was Master of the
Old Surrey hounds, one of the oldest packs in the
south of England. He was a member of the I'amily
of John Hamilton Mortimer, the distinguished
(ieorgian artist (see page 99).
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Dirk Dalens II 1659-1688
A wooded landscape outside a country house, with sportsmen hawking
S igned lower niid-left
Oil on canvas
In seventeenth eenti iry carved and gilt Iranie
of oak- leaf and acorn I'oini
L 'nframed: 35V. x 69',A in / 90 .8 x 1 76.5 cm
Framed: 43'/. x 77'/, in / 109.8 x 196.2 cm
Dirk Dalens II was tiie grandson of the like-
named Dirk Dalens I ! I()()0-167()) and the
son of Wi l lem Dirksz. T h e y were both
landscape painters in Haar l em and
Dordrecht and , later, in Amste rdam, where
Dirk II was i^orn in 1659. Like his father he
painted views of the countryside, and was
part icular ly noted for his composit ions of
large pastoral scenes. It is possible that the
artist worked in France in the 1680s as this
])ainting depicts a French country hou.se and
there is a s imi lar work by him entitled
Huntsman near a country house (dated H)83) in
the M u s e u m of Fine .Art in Bordeaux, France.
He was the pu|)il of both his father and
grandfather , but his style was a l together more
"modern", taking on the e legant Ital ianate aii'
which had been introduced into Dutch
pa int ing by such artists as J a n Both and
Nicholas Berchetn. His work is rare, and few
signed examples are known. Fhe pa int ing
is e legant ly des igned and sufliisecl with
w a r m southern light and is reminiscent of
the work of Frederick and Isaak de
Moucheron .
His son, Dirk Dalens III. was born
]30sthum0usly in 1688, and cont inued the
family 's 150-year tradit ion of landscape
pa int ing into the fourth generat ion. He
died in 1753, s ixty-fne years after the
death of his father.
File present pa int ing is wholly t )p ica l
of Dalens" refined <)ut|)ut, and should be
considered as at least the ecitial of any of
his small recorded ocuvre.
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Richard Barret Davis 1782-1854
John Musters Esq on his grey horse Baronet and his hounds meeting at Covert-side in Annesley Park, Nottinghamshire, with his first whip T Maxwell on the brown mare and second whip on the chestnut. The hounds are: Comedy, Bluecap, Harkaway, Collier, Reginald, Rummager, Nimrod, Druid, JS'iobe, Pnmrose, Hotspur, Wachman, Duster, Hector, Freeman, Anxious, Frederick and Pillager.
Signed and dated 1845 lower right Oil on canvas Unframed: 40 x 50 in /102 x 127 cm Framed: 50% x 61 in / 128.3 x 155 cm
P R O V K N A X C E By family descent until 1975 when sold by Ackermann to Bo Johnson Esq, Stockholm from whose agent acquired by Mallett.
E N G R A V E D By C E Wagstaff, London, and dedicated to 'The Fox hunters of the United Kingdom' and published August 4th 1847 by Ackermann & Co, 96, The Strand.
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Richard Barret Davis was horn into a family
of very keen huiitsmeii. His father was the
celebrated RB Davis Sr, huntsman to the
Royal Staghounds and brother to the equally
famous Charles Da\ is, Master of the King's
Buckliounds. Richard Barret Davis' life was
centred on the royal residence at Windsor,
where for years he was a keen foot-follower
of hounds.
His initial art training at the behest of
George III was under Sir Francis Bourgeois.
He then trained under William E\ ans, drawing
master of Eton College, followed by Sir
William Beechey who was the royal portrait
]5ainier. hi 1831 he was ajipointed animal
painter to King William IM WlUi such an
important position at court, his work was in
great demand and he recei\ed many
commissions from the aristoerac\' and the
gentr\'. John Musters of Colwick,
Xottinghamshirc, was named 'The King of
Gentleman Hunters' such was his skill and
enthusiasm for the sport. His fortune was
dedicated to the life of a sporting squire and
he was a leading light in the golden age of
fox hunting. He was master of the Pytchley
hunt from 1821 to 1827. He married Mary
Ann CMiaworth who was the sole heiress of
the old family of Clhaworth of Annesley
wliose house is visible in the present jjainting.
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Sir Alfred Muniiings, PRA
1 8 7 8 - 1 9 5 9
A Mare and Foal Beside a Sunlit Wood
A Bay Mare in a Paddock
A pa i r
O n e sii^ncd a n d d a t e d 1912 lower left
Oi l o n c a n v a s
U n f r a n i e d : 20'/2 x 2 4 in / 5 1 . 5 x 61 c m
M u n n i n g s b e g a n his ca reer with a n
a ] ip rendce sh ip to a f i rm o f l i thograpl iers , whilst
at the s a m e t ime s t u d \ i n g p a i n t i n g at exen ing
classes. Desj^ite losing the sight in his right eye
af ter an acc ident in 1898, he w a s d e t e r m i n e d to
pa int a n d the fol lowing year two o f his
pa int ings were shown at the Roya l A c a d e m y .
H e h a d a l i felong fa.scination with p a i n t i n g
horses a n d his first m a j o r c o m p o s i t i o n , .1 Suffolk
Horse Fair, w a s executed in 1901. In 1910 he
spent the s u m m e r p a i n t i n g outs ide, li\ ing in a
c a r a x a n in the R i n g l a n d Hills n e a r X o n v i c h
a n d p r o d u c i n g a series o f beaut i fu l ])aintings.
The e n t h u s i a s m a n d success which gree ted
this series led h im to join the artists" co lony at
N e w l y n in Clornwall the fol lowing sumtner ,
f rom w h e r e it is likely that he p a i n t e d the
|)resent pair.
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Early in 1912 Mumiings had his own marc sent by train to him in Cornwall . The resultant painting, Hunter Out to Grass, shows her in what is almost certainly the same ]5acidock as the present jiair of paintings, and indeed she may e \ en l)c the same marc. All three paintings have the same spontaneity and directne.ss, showing Munnings as a master of plein air painting in the tradition of Constable and
lurncr . His ability to express volume, space and movement with a few decisive ijrush strokes separates him from the laboured 'colour ]5hotograph' style of laic \ ' ic tor ian horse painting.
At the end of the First World War Munnings exhibited his portrait of General Seeley on Horseback to great acclaim, creating a new d e m a n d for his equestrian portraits. In
1920 he |5ainted The Bekoir Hunt (now in the Paul Mellon Pri \a te Collection) which was included in a successful exhibition at the .M])ine Club in London the following year, and in 1925 he was in\i ted In- (^ueen .\hiry to paint The Ascot Procession Crossing Windsor Park (Royal C;ollection). He was knighted in 1944, and for the next five years ser \ed as the President of the Roval Academv.
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John Wootton 1683-1764
Mr Richard William's Bay Racehorse Squirrel lead by a liveried groom near the rubbing-down house at Newmarket
Signed
Oil on cam as
Contained in fine carved and gilded frame
Unframed: 38 x 48 in / 96.5 x 122 cm
Framed: 4672 x 54% in / 118.1 x 138.4 cm
P R O V E N A N C t
J W Barney Esq; with Ackermann 1965
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Squirrel was a bay colt bred by M r Smith of Midd leham, Yorkshire in 1719; got by M r Ma t thew Lister's Snake (son of the Lister Turk) out of a mare by the Ancaster Turk, her d a m by a son of the Pulleine Arabian. Squirrel was bought by Richard Williams f rom Smith; subsequently owned by Ambrose Cowley and, on his demise, by Richard Williams again. An out -and-out stayer, Squirrel was a m o n g the first horses to show the huge benefits of good Ara i j blood in the development of the English thoroughbred . ^Squirrel, at high weights, was greatly superior to any horse of liis t ime in England ' {Portraits of Famous racehorses, Vol 1, page 22 (1887).
Wootton is without peer as the most accomplished and successful British equestrian painter of the first half of the eighteenth century; who has left us a rich heritage of equestrian portrai ture and sporting painting. Working for the most e.xalted clients at court , he was a keen follower of hounds and an habi tue of the turf.
He was b o r n at Snitterfield in Warwickshire, a n d was t ra ined initially by J a n Wyck, a Dutch immigran t pa in ter of country-life, whose work he ver\ ' soon surpassed. H e was the horse painter pa r excellence of the English turf, and has left an unparal leled record of the appea rance of most of the great thoroughbreds of the age, and the A r a b horses f rom which they were bred. His pat rons read like a roll-call of the great and the good of the Whig landowning classes. His m a j o r surviving commissions, of ten on a vast scale, are in such houses as Longleat and Althorp.
T h e present pa in t ing shows the artist in a relatively early {circa 1 725) date in his illustrious career, when his palette was relatix'ely higher in tone.
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John Wootton 1683-17r34
A portrait of a Bay Horse with a liveried groom in a landscape by a group of classical buildings
Signed mid-right on plinth Oil on canvas In a fine carved and gilded Georgian frame Unframed: 39 x 48 in / 99 x 122 cm Framed: 46% x 54'/? in / 118.1 x 138.4 cm
I ' R ( ) \ I ; N . \ n c e
By descent at Middleton Park, County W'estmeath, Ireland, in the Boyd-Rochfort family until sold in 1958 to y\ckermann; Paul Mellon KBE, acquired from Ackermann and subsequendy (1963) resold to them; accjuircd in the same year from Ackermann by the father of the last owner.
The present painting is typical of Wbotton's sophisticated output in the years around 1740, when the artist was showing a greater interest in classical landscape painting allied to his animal portraiture. The portrait of the groom is notably fine.
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John Boultbee 1753-1812
Two Favourite Hunters at Grass
Oil on canvas
U n f r a m c d : 28 x 36 in / 71 x 91.5 cm Framed: 33 x 40% in / 84 x 103.5 cm
P R O V K N A N C ; ! - :
Private collection, Franco
J o h n Boultbee was bo rn at Osga tho rpe in Leicestershire in 1 753. Both he and his twin bro ther T h o m a s were encouraged to become painters, a n d in their early 20's were
sent to London with letters of introduct ion to Sir J o s h u a Reynolds f rom their g randfa the r the Rev T h o m a s Boultbee.
Boultbee received some furt i ier t ra ining f rom Sawrey (Jilpin R.\, and was soon paint ing equestr ian portrai ts as good as those of his teacher. In about 1 785 he re turned to his native Leicestershire, and settled near Loughborough .
Whilst Boultbee's paint ings in his ma tu re style of about 1790-1810 reflect the style and teciinicjue of Sawrey (i i lpin, they also show an acute awarencs.s of the work of the
great George Stubbs .\RA, many of whose works were to be found in the houses of the hun t ing scjuires of Leicestershire. At its best Boultbee 's work has an a u r a of calmly observed, gentle light allied to an anatomical accuracy of the highest order. His horse portra i ts 'show beautiful solidity of body ... the composi t ion is always pleasing' (Sally Mitchell , lyictionary of Equestrian Artists, page 128). In 1812 Boultbee moved to Liverpool where he exhibited numerous pictures at the Liveri)ool Academy until his dea th a few-mo n t h s later.
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Ben Marshall 1768-1835
Mr John (ioddardls Cambric with Frank Buckle up beside the Great Ditch at Newmarket racecourse
Signed, inscribed Cambric and dated 1812 middle riglii Oil on canvas
Unfran ied : 33 x 40in / 83 x 101 cm Framed: 42 x 48 in / 106.8 x 121.9 cm
K X i i i n r n . i ) Leicester, 19()7, Bicentenary Kxhibilion of the uiorks of Ben Marshall
Benjamin Marshal l was bo rn at Seagrave in Leicestersiiire. He worked initially as a .schoolmaster, and seems not to have taken up paint ing until about 1 790. I le was introduced in the following year to William Pochin Esc|, the local m e m b e r of par l iament , who in turn introduced him to his first Master, the portrai t painter Lemuel Francis Abbot . Marshall 's progress was rapid, and by the middle of the 1 790's he was being patroni.sed by H R H The Prince of Wales. Marshal l was at his artistic peak in the years 1798 to 1818, and the jjainiings
p roduced from his brush dur ing this per iod rank with the \-ery greatest works (jf the FjUglish School of animal painting.
T h e present painting, with its free and \ ibrant brushwork and lively colourat ion, its precise d rawing and acutely observed ec|uine animat ion , is f rom the period of Marshall 's best paintings. It is also in a ciuite exce|)tional state of presei-vation, and a]jart f rom its brief trip to Christie 's in 1927 (when it was bought back, Ibr an e n o r m o u s price, by the ( i o d d a r d family) it has not |)re\iously been on the market .
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Solomon Delane circa 1727-1812
A view of Lake Albano
Oil on canvas Contained in exceptional car\'ed and giltwood frame Unframed: IS'A x 23% in / 46.4 x 60.4 cm Framed: 24 x 29 in / 61 x 73.8 cm
PROVEN.XNCE Acquired by the Re\ John Disney (1756-1816) of The Hyde, Ingatestone, Essex, and thence by descent until circa 1950 when acquired at a sale of the contents of that house.
Solomon Delane is the least-known, but arguably one of the best Irish landscape painters of the eighteenth century. Trained at the Dublin Society School, where he won the Premium in 1750, Delane was later in London where he was elected member of the Society of Artists in 1763. Soon after, Delane found agreeable employment in Italy for over twent)' years. He was part of the emigre Irish community of artists which flourished in Rome during the second half of the eighteenth century, and which included such interesting figures as Christopher Hewetson and John Crawley, the sculptors, and the painters Robert Crone, James Barry, Mathew William Peters, Thomas Hickcy and James Forrester.
Much of his work (which was highly
rated at the time) must remain in Italy, and only very few of his paintings have been identified in collecdons in the British Isles. These seem to have belonged to patrons who went on the Grand Tour (Disney was there in 1796), but the paintings may have been acquired in England or Dublin.
What emerges from examination of those paintings which have been identified is that Delane was an artist of exceptional talent. His paintings are suflused with a calm quiet and intensely poetic light; his palette is cool and restrained and his technique smooth and refined. His achievements, albeit based on a small sample, would place him in the first rank of painters of the Northern Romantic school.
The present painting, which has recently been identified as his work, has a beautiful elegiac quality which surpasses mere topography. The attribution has been confirmed by both The Knight of Glin and by Professor Anne Cruickshank.
The Lake Albano was part of a typical excursion that took travellers along the Appian Way to the Alban hills and lakes of Albano and Meni. This region, which the Welsh painter Thomas Jones called the 'Magick Land' is found South East of Rome, and was a favourite for tourists, attracted by the spectacular scenery and by its associations with Roman and classical poetry.
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Hendrick Willem Schweickhardt 1746-1797
Haymaking: a harvest scene with country folk resting in the foreground
Signed lower right Oil on canvas Contained in a giltvvood frame Unframed: 28 x 36 in / 71 x 91.5 cm Framed: 36 x 44 in / 88.5 x 113 cm
PROVK.\A.\Ci: Fieetwood-Hesketh family, Lancashire Exhibited: Royal Academy, 1792, no. 168
Hendrick Scweickhardt was born at Hamm, Westplialia, in 1 746. He was a pupil of Girolamo Lapis at the Hague where he worked from 1775. He was appointed Director of the Hague Academy in the early 1 780's, but in 1786 moved permanently to London where he was a regular Royal Academy exhibitor. He died in London in 1797.
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Jan Verdussen 1700-1763
Two views of Richmond on Thames from the Hill, with elegant company promenading in the foreground
A pair of oil jjaintings on cojDper
Signed in sgrafito on the reverse of the
eo])per panels
In eaned and giltwood frames
L'nframed: 9 x 1 3 in / 22.9 x 33 cm
Framed: 13'A x 17'/4 in / 34.3 x 43.8 cm
1,1 I K R . v u r k
tlol M H Gram, The Early English iMndscape
Painters (Vol 2 page 90).
Dictionary of Britvih iMndscape Painters,
page 206.
This curious, charming and rare pair of
panels are clearly signed J Verdussen which
has been carefully scratched by an
eighteenth century iiand on the reverse of
the copper supports. Colonel Grant
suggests that the artist is Jan Petersz
Verdussen who is known as a painter of
battle .scenes, in a style which c\okes
\\'ou\erman. Born in Antwerp in 1700, he
was acti\ e in Marseilles where he worked
from about 1 744. He also travelled widely
in Italy where he enjoyed an exalted
patronage. He painted the battles of Parma
and Guastalla for King Amadeus III of
Sardinia. \o details sur\ i\c of his i)re.sence
in England, and nothing is known about the
dates of any visit. Colonel (irant, howe\er,
records seven paintings of English scenes by
the artist, including the present examples. All
but one of these are topograpiiical
landscapes: four of Windsor (three in the
Fairlunen collection and the other in the
Royal Collection, Hamilton Court), the
present jjair of \ iews of Richmond and a
'good sized hav-iield" whose j^resent
whereabouts is unknown.
The technique of these paintings is highly
unusual for England at the suggested date of
the 1 730's and is reminiscent of the work of
the itinerant Robert (iriOier, who likewise
executed a small number of topographical
views in the southern counties.
i l 46
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47
Richard Bankes Harraden 1778-1862
A view of Maples
Signed with initials lower right Oil on canvas Unframecl: 18 x 35 in / 46 x 89 cm Framed: 25 x 42 in / 63.5 x 106.8 cm
Richard Bankes Harraden was a well known illustrator and engraver born in Cambridge towards the end of the eighteenth century. He had a flair for drawing and his father, Richard Harraden (1756-1838) whose aquatints of Four Views of Paris after Girlin and drawings of architectural motifs were exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1 799, no doubt inspired him to develop his talent as a draughtsman. At the beginning of his career Richard Bankes Harraden focused his interest on the architectural beauty of the colleges and quadrangles of Cambridge, his home town. However, unlike his father, he had the opportunity to partake of the famous Grand Tour of Europe, a journey that was so popular with the literati and artists of this period. During the eighteenth century, Naples, the capital of the kingdom of the two Sicilies, was one of Europe's great cultural metropolises. Its location, verdancy and mild climate attracted many travellers
and the city was widely described as the garden of Europe. According to Lord Findlatcr, the situation and the climate were 'most charming' , and the sight of Mount Vesuvius in the distance was no doubt an unprecedented ex]jericnce. O n his travels throughout Italy, Harraden painted several views of various landscapes and seascapes and the present work is a detailed representation of the famous view of Naples, with Clastel Sant 'Elmo on the left, merchant shi|)s and fishing boats coming into harbour and Mount Vesuvius in the distance, painted circa 1810.
48
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Jan Griffier the Elder 1645-1718
View of Rochester
Oil on canvas Unframcd: 27 x 49 in / 68.5 x 124.5 cm Framed: 36 x 57 in / 91.4 x 144.8 cm
Jan Griffier was a merchant, born in Amsterdam, whose amateur interest in painting developed into a professional one. His career was split between Holland and England, where he first arrived just after 1666. He took lessons from the landscape painter J an Looten, another English-based Dutchman, whose tonality he imitates throughout his careen He travelled widely (Vertue tells us that he kept his own yacht, which on one occasion was wrecked on a journey to Holland, thereby causing the loss of much of his stock of drawings) and seems to have worked in a number of English locations.
In about 1695 (and possibly earlier) Griffier was once more in Holland, where he remained for a dccade or so. He returned to London in 1705, where he became part of the busding Netherlandish emigre art scene, and his style changed to what might best be described as a proto-English landscape technique, a precursor of the pure English style of such painters as William Tomkins and Thomas Smith.
The last decade of his life was devoted to topographical landscape painting along the Thames Valley, including Greenwich, Windsor, Oxford, and Gloucestershire. He also made occasional forays into types of painting such as exotic bird pieces in the manner of his fellow emigre painter Pieter Gasteels.
52
53
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Gaston de LaTouche 1854-1913
Two Figures in a Park
Signed and insci'ibcd Monsieur Feuillard lower left Oil on canvas Unf ' ramed: 23 x 23 ' / . in / 58 x 58.5 cm Framed: 31 x SO'/j in / 78.8 x 77.5 cm
( ias lon de La Touche wa.s a painter, ]3rintmaker a n d sciil|)tor. H e was bo rn in St CHoud in 1854 a n d died in Paris in 1913. D e t e r m i n e d f rom cliildliood to be an artist, his ]5assion was encoi i raged and s iqjpor ted by his parents . Dur ing his career as a sell' t aught artist, La l o u c h e was a leading
m e m b e r of the society of Beaux Arts. In 1900 he received the 'Legion d ' H o n n e u r ' a n d was gi\'en a n d carr ied out several official commissions of large scale decorat ixe schemes. In 1917 an edition of p o e m s by de Regnier was ])ublished with his work.
This c h a r m i n g | )ainting is most likely to re])resent the Park of St CHotid, outside Paris. La l o u c h e pa in ted a small a m o u n t of works in plein air in St C loud , often including figures in the c()m|X)sition, somet imes in fancy dress. His work is greatly influenced by the imjjressionists a n d the light filtering th rough the leax es creat ing a dappled efl'ect rellects this.
55
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Tobias Stranover 1684-1724
Exotic birds in a landscape, depicting a Chinese peacock, a white peacock, a male and female mallard, a cardinal and a pair of turtle doves.
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Signed and dated 1721 mid-right Oil on canvas In a mid-eighteenth century frame Unframed: 43 x 63 in / 109.2 x 160 cm Framed: 50% x 69% in / 127.7 x 1 75.3 cm
Tobias Stranover was born in Sibiu, in central Romania situated at the Northern foothills of the Transyh anian Aljjs. He was the son-in-law of Bogdani, also a well-known painter of birds and fruits. The two men used similar fruits and and bird species v\ hich suggests close collaboration between the artists, perhaps e\en a shared studio. Stranover travelled to Hamburg and Dresden and finally setded in England, where he married Elizabeth Bogdani.
These two Eastern European artists also brought a lightness to their work that is lacking in Northern European paintings of the Dutch and German schools. The striking blue and gold plumage of the peacock contrast effectixely with the purity of the v\ hite peacock. This is a particularly lively composition and the viewer is given the impression of the noisy interaction between the birds. The skill of the animal ]3ainting combined with the strong colours and humour of the composition shows Stranover's delight in the baroque depiction of 'wonders from nature.'
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John Cleveley Sr circa 1712-1777
An East Indiaman in three positions
Sis^iccl and dated /. Cleveley Pinx. 1757
lowci' left
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 62 x 42 in / 157.5 x 106.8 cm
Framed: 53','.. x 73 in / 135.9 x 185.4 cm
riii.s j jainting i.s a spectacular and detailed
portrayal of an East Indiaman iinder sail, as
seen from how, beam and stern. .Merchant
.ships of the middle years of the eighteenlh
century can be dislinguished from the King's
(or (Queen's) na\al ships in several resi^ects.
They llcw short red ma.sthead vanes, rather
than long pennants at the main mast; they had
a long poor o\'er the stern cabins which carried
the passenger accommodation; the hull was
deep, to maximise the cajjacity for cargo; and
the cannon were ranged in a single tier. (At a
later date more gun-]iorts were added, often
false, to gi\ e the impression of a w arship.) The
merchantman's red ensign is seen here without
the diagonal cross of Si Patrick which was to be
added later in 1801.
Born at Southwark on the southern side of
the Ri\er Thames, John (l leveley was
ajjprenticed to a joiner, Thomas Miller, in 1726.
and he later worked in (he Royal Dockyard at
De[5tford where he stayed until the end of his
life. His considerable skills as a painter must
ha\e been acc|uired from painting the trophies
of arms, classical figures, chariots etc which
adorned most ships from head to stern at the
le\el of the u|)per-deck gunwales and aboxe.
From the late 174()'s he painted a .series of shi]5
launches at Deptford which were of high
ciuality and w r y closely observed. He was also
a painter of ship portraits, including a number
of F.ast Indiamen, and other marit ime scenes.
A subject similar to the present ])ainting.
The East Itidiaman Princess Rural in tivn positions.
.signed and dated 1 770, is illustrated in the
.\ational Maritime Museum. (Greenwich. (Mcise
(Catalogue of Oil Paintings. 1988, [lage 125.
63
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Nicholas Pocock 1740-1821
The battle of Frigate Bay 26th January 1782
Oil on c a m a s In a fine c a n ed and gilded f r ame U n f r a m e d : 42.5 x 73 in / 108 x 185.4 cm Framed: 49 x 80 in / 124.5 x 203.2 cm
P R { ) \ I : \ . \ . \ C ; E
Italian private collection
E X H I M I I ; I )
Royal Academy 1 782: Representation of the aetion between the British and the French Fleets on 26th January 1782, off Basse Terre, St. Christopher's (Eitiier this or the version on loan to tiie Nat ional Mar i t ime Museum)
Nichola.s Pocock was a Bristol pa in ter w h o was b o r n on M a y 2nd 1 740, the son of a sailer to w h o m he was apprent iced at the age of seventeen for seven years. In the ensuing years, he m a d e numerous voyages to Char les ton, Carol ina , and the West Indies; he was still sailing there as late as 1 776 at the start of the Amer ican War of Independence . His interest in [jainting as a career thus came late. At the age of forty he marr ied , and was encouraged to pursue his ama teu r talents as a watercolourist and painter. In 1782 he submit ted iiis first paint ing to the Royal Academy; within two years he was commissioned by Admira l H o o d to | )roduce a .series of very large canvases depict ing Hood ' s battles in the
West Indies. His reputat ion was assured by the outs tanding quality of his drawing, and his int imate knowledge of the sea and ships. H e cont inued to sail in naval ships, visiting Iceland to paint topographical land.scapes for Lord Stanley (1791) and he was on board the frigate Pegasus dur ing the Battle ol" the Glorious First of J u n e (1794). He emerges as one of tiie great figures of e ighteenth century mar ine ]5ainting, and one who, because of his own first h a n d experience at sea, particularly endeared himself to professional seamen. He died at C o o k h a m in 1821.
65
John Askew fl. 1786-1805
A Whaling Scene in the Arctic
Signed and dated 1786 mid-right on rowing
boat
In a Georgian carved gUtvvood frame
Unframed: 26 x 44 in / 65 x 110.5 cm
Framed: 32V4 x 50% in / 83.2 x 128 cm
This is the earliest known signed and dated
work by the enigmatic John Askew, whose
output is known only by a small number of
signed and dated paintings spanning the
years 1786-1805, the 'Golden Age' of British
marine painting. The name of the ship is
Sarah, and it was built at North Shields in
1782. The boat was active between 1784 and
1792 and again in 1798 to 1807. While
Askew was working on Tyneside, he
portrayed a few other known ships that were
built there, for example, the portrait of The
Otterburn o f f Tynemouth, built in 1783 for John
Stanton at Sunderland, and the signed but
undated [circa 1785) Star of India o f f Tynemouth.
illustrated in The Pierhead Painters (R Finch,
1983, plate 16).
One other whaling scene by the artist is
known, a painting which shares many
similarities with the present painting. This is
the Whaler and other vessels in a light breeze in the
National Maritime Museum (catalogue
BHC1064) which is signed and dated 1788,
two years later than the present painting and
which is identical in size. The whaling
industry in the eighteenth century was
concentrated on the ports of the North East
coast of Britain, which further enhances the
likelihood that Askew was domiciled there at
least in the 1780's. The wearing of the white
ensign appears in other whaling pictures and
may be a signal that the whalers arc working.
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67
Peter Monamy 1681-1740
Ij)rd Townshend's Yacht in Sail
Oil on canvas
In original carvccl and gilded frame Unframed: 28 x 36 in / 71 x 91.5cm
Peter Monamy has been described as a Jersey born painter by ever)- biographer since George Vertue in the mid-eighteenth century. Recent researcli by a descendant, Charles Harrison-Wallace, has sho\vn conclusively that this is in error. Peter Monamy was born in The Minories in the City of London, and was baptised in the church of St. Botolph's-without-Aldgate on 12th January 1681, the fourth son of Pierre Monamy and his wife Dorothy, nee Gilbert. The Monamy family was indeed from the Channel Islands, where they are first noticed as early as 1540 as successful merchants.
By the late se\cnteenth century, the family had become rather less distinguished, and the artist's father spent some months in prison for infringements of the Customs regulations with regard to importing and exporting to the Channel Islands. Where Peter Monamy's interest in art was fostered is entirely unknown, but in 1696 he was indentured as apprentice to William Clarke of the Company of Paintcr-Stainers for seven years. Clarke was Master of his Livery in 1687, and had a good trade in decorative painting, rather than easel painting, in the City.
In 1704, now a Freeman of his (iuild, Monamy married his first wife, who died
shortly after; in 1706 he married his second wife Hannah Christopher. This was the year before the death of Willem van der Velde the younger, the greatest Dutch marine painter of his age, who had lived and worked in London. His death left a considerable void in London for marine painting, which was only slightly filled by the ongoing work of his son Cornelius \ a n der Velde who conUnued his father's calling. It .seems that Monamy's beginnings as a marine painter may be traced to CUjrnelius \ an der Velde's studio, and, indeed, Vertue refers to him as painting 'imitations of Van der Velde and other famous Dutch masters'. By the eady 1720's, though, Monamy was establishing a good reputation as the leading London marine painter, and the first native-born marine painter of this quality. Patronage came from numerous sources, not least from such Channel Islands naval families as the Durrels and the Saumarez's. In 1726 he was elected a Liver\'man of the Company of Painter-Stainers, to whom he presented the ver\ large painting of T/ie Royal Sovereign at anchor, a picture which still remains in their collection.
From the 1730's until his death, Monamy was at the centre of London artistic life. He was a friend and companion of Hogarth, and collaborated with the celebrated younger artist. He painted some of the decoration at the glamorous new Vauxhall Gardens and was patronised by many of the leading families of the day He was never particularly prosperous, howe\er, and seems to have
preferred to paint decorati\'e pictures for the commercial galleries and dealers.
Charles, 2nd Viscount Townshend (1674-1 738), immortalised as 'Turnip Townshend', of Rainham in Norfolk, was a statesman and agriculturalist, who was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. He was a central figure in the negotiations with the continental powers which brought to a conclusion the wars in which his colleague the Duke of Marlborough had played such a central role in Qiieen Anne's day. He tra\elled frequently to the continent as a statesman, and was assiduous in playing court to King (ieorge I during his long stays away from England. His frequent travels seem to have brought about his interest in ships, and he was opposed to the bill that was proposed to Parliament in 1721-22 which would have forbidden English shipbuilders from making ships for the foreign market.
His interest in shipping and commerce were extraordinary for an aristocrat of his age. He seems to have had a broad sweep of interests and learning, and after his retirement he threw himself into agricultural improvements in his nati\'e Norfolk. His promotion of the turnip (which earned his famous sobriquet) was important in leading to the improx ements of Bakewell and CJurwen, and he was the first to widely promote the marling of land to improve its quality and yield, and to have noted the enriching qualities of clover as a crop.
(i8
69
Thomas Whitcombe circa 1752-1824
An Indiaman in Two Positions Signed and dated 181! lower right Oil on can\ as In a car\'cd frame Unframed: 44 x 67 in / 11 1.8 x 1 70.1 cm Framed: 52% x 74'/4 in / 1 32.8 x 188.5 cm
Thomas Whitcombe was the leading painter of the French Revolutionary wars and painted over one hundred and fifty actions of the English fleet including fifty plates for The Naval Achievements of Cheat Britain, a splendid volume issued after the
cessation of hostilities. The cjuartet of marine painters to whom we owe so much for the visual documentat ion of this dramatic period of historx' (Pocock, Luny, Dodd and Whitcombe) between them produced some excejitioiial work of the highest standard, a great deal of which is to be found in the National Mari t ime Museutn, Greenwich, and in naval collections around the world.
T h e present painting is compositionally typical of the artist, although it is conceived on a much grander scale than is usual for him. It mav be considered one of
his most substantial commissions. This type of ship fast, a rmed, hugely
seaworthy and capable of sailing closer to the wind than many of its contemjjoraries
was the backbone of British trade with the Indian subcontinent which so enriched PLngland in the eighteenth century It is depicted oO" the coast of the Island of Ascension in the South Atlantic, then, as now, an important naval staging post and the site of a considerable British garrison. It was one of the few safe ports of call for fresh water and su])plies on the long and dangerous journey to India.
70
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Angelica Kauffman, RJ\ 1740-1807
The tender Eleanora sucking the venom out of the wound which Edward I, her Royal Consort, received with a poisoned dagger from an assassin in Palestine (Rapiii's Hisforv, Vol iii, page 129)
Oil on canvas In a Georgian carved f rame Unframed: 27 x 35'A in / 6 8 . 5 x 90.2 cm Framed: 34 x 42 in / 86.3 x 106.7 cm
K X G R . W K D
Subject engraved (in re\erse sense) and published by Ryland, 1st March 1780
P R O V E N A N C E
Attributed to the painting noted in KaufTman's m e m o r a n d u m of her own paintings: Venice, December 1781. For HIH Grand Duke of Russia, a picture of about 3 English feel, representing a subject in English History, Eleanor on the point of death from the poison she had sucked in the wound that Edward 1st had receivedfrom a traitor while at the war in Palestine
I . n E R A T U R E
Manners and Williamson, Angelica Kauffman, ftl, her life and works (1924), page 141.
.'Vngclica Kau f fman was born at Ghur in Switzerland, and was the pupil of her father, the painter Joseph J o h a n n Kauf fman . Apart from Ix'ing a j^rodigious talent as a painter, she exhibited an extraordinary talent for languages and music. Her artistic education was furthered early in the 1 760's by her visits to \'arious towns in Italy, such as Florence and Rome.
L'i)on her arrix al in London, where she remained (i-om 1766 to 1781, she was already a \e r \ ' competent artist, and made a dramatic impact both aesthetically and
socially and was soon an immense success. She appealed equally to the Royal family as she did to her fellow artists, architects such as Robert Adam and 'Athenian' Stuart, and printmakers like Bartolozzi.
She was an industrious worker, and her paintings, largely of classical and my thological scenes, were frequently exhibited at the Free Society and the Royal Academy. She also painted many portraits. She marr ied the decorative painter Antonio Zucchi (1726-1795) in 1781, and retired, possessed of a not inconsiderable fortune, to Rome. From there she continued to submit paintings to the Academy. She died in Rome in 1807.
Fhis painting represents Edward I, King of England, and his wife, Queen Eleanor, sucking venom out of a wound from a poisoned knife inflicted by an assassin in Palestine. Edward I (1239-1307) was a ruthless but effective ruler. Queen Eleanor (who died in 1290) was the daughter of Ferdinand III of Castile. Their marriage, though politically important , seems to have been unusually affectionate, and she accompanied him on the Crusade to the Holy Land in 1270. Here, Edward was attacked by an intended assassin, who stabbed him in the a rm. His doctors proposed to cut away the flesh, which was poisoned, and tried to order the Queen f rom his presence, lest her 'constant wailing and unrestrained g r i e f should increase his danger. According to the report of the Dominican Friar Ptolomaeus Lucensis (d.l327). Queen Eleanor, saved his life by sucking the ])oison from his a rm. T h e story, of highly doubtful veracity, was perhajjs disseminated to mark the recoxery of the King from his wound, and to encourage sui)|M)rt in England for a foreign Queen . She was crowned with her husband on their return to England in 1274.
In 1290 she died of a fever at Harby i!i Nott inghamshire. Her body was embalmed for the journey back to London for burial at Westminster Abbey. T h e journey of the funeral procession is marked by the famous series of crosses which were erected at the places where they stopped: Lincoln, Gran tham, Woburn, Dunstable, Waltham Cross and Char ing O o s s . The latter two take their names from these crosses erected in her pious memory.
Angelica Kauf lman exhibited a painting of this title in the Royal Academy of 1776 where it was one of fi\ e b) her accepted that year It was her first exhibited painting of British History, and marks a turning point away from the purely classical subjects she had shown since 1 769. It seems to have been a critical success. This prime version is in the mirror image to the present painting, implying that the ]Dresent painting was the one exhibited by the engraver and publisher William Wynn Ryland (1733-1783) at an exhibition four years later in May 1780 at his London premises.
Of the one hundred and forty-six exhibits in Ryland's exhibition, eighteen were paintings by Kauf fman , all of which were engraxed by Ryland. It seems likely that tnany of the paintings still belonged to the artist, while others were likely to be reduced versions of compositions prepared especially for the engraver to work from. In 1781, she and her husband returned to Venice, where in December she tnade a note in her work-book of painting a picture of the same subject for the G r a n d Duke of Russia. This painting she refers to as being 'about 3 English feet' in size the present |)ainting is just '/, iiieh less than '3 English feet' and the precision of the drawing, the confidence of the execution and the fact that it is mirror image to the print, all suggest that this ma\ well be one and the same painting.
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7 7
Princess Louisa Hollandina of the Palatinate 1622-1709
Half-length portraits of the sisters of the artist: Princess Hennetta and Princess Elizabeth.
Oil on canvas, a pair
f n l i a m e d : 28 x 23 in / 71 x 58.5 cm
Framed: 33'/. x 29' • in / 85 x 75 cm
The identities ha\e been confirmed by the
National Portrait ( i a l l e rv
Both artist and sitters were the daughters of
Frederick V, Elector Palatine, and his wife
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, the so-called
'Winter Queen ' who was also the daughter of
King J a m e s I of Great Britain. T h e story of
the loss of her kingdom is one of the most
romantic tales of the seventeenth century-
Having acceded to the throne in 1620, the
King and Queen of Bohemia reigned for only
one winter. The i r promotion of Calv in ism as
the state religion incited the neighbouring
Catholic countries to invade. T h e armies of
Emperor Ferdinand II and Maximi l l i an of
Bavaria quickly overcame the small Bohemian
a rmy and the King and Queen sought refuge
with the Elector of Brandenburg. They spent
the rest of their life in exile. A famous poem
has been written by Sir Henry Wotton about
the Winter Queen, entitled 'You meaner
beauties of the night' . This story was also
commemorated in an exhibition at the
National Portrait Gallery in 1963, endtled The
Winter Queen in which a self-portrait by Princess
Louisa Hol landina was exhibited.
Princess Louisa was a pupil of the Court
painter Gerrit von Honthorst (1592-1656) who
painted numerous portraits of the Royal
families of England, Holland and Germany,
and who was retained as a teacher to the
young princess. She was an adept pupil , and
her style is a charming and slightly nai\-e
interpretation of that of her teacher. M a n y of
her works were given by the Queen of
Bohemia to her great supporter, the Earl of
Craven and are consequently in British
collections today. Her works are occasionally
on an ambitious scale: her double portrait of
her sisters Charlotte and Elizabeth (Charlotte
Larocjue, France; ex-Craven collection) is a
signed life-size work which is almost exactly
contemporary with the present paintings and
preci.sely in their style.
Louisa later in life gave up painting and
became the Roman Catholic Abbess of the
Abbey of Monbausson, where she died in
February 1 709. Her sister Elizabeth became
the Lutheran Abbess Herxorden at Herford,
\Vest]5haIia and died in 1680. Henrietta
marr ied Sigismutid Ragocky, Prince of
IVan.sylvania, and died in 1651.
78
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841-1919
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841-1919
dejeune Femme — Jeanne Samary
Signed upper right Painted circa 1877-79 Oil on canvas Unframed: I6V4 x 13 in / 41.5 x 33.5 cm Framed: 23 x 20 in / 58.5 x 49.5 cm
P R O V E N A N C E Lefevre Galleries, London, 1924; Dr Albert Charpentier, Paris, 1929; By descent
E X H I B I T E D A Century of French Painting, Alex Reid & Lefevre, Glasgow; May 1927, catalogue no 28; A Hundred Years of French Painting, Van Wisselingh Gallery; Amsterdam, 16th April -5th May 1928, no 53;
Lefevre Galleries, Ix)ndon 1954, illustrated, no 15
L I T E R A T U R E Francois Daulte, Augusts Rmoir, Catalogue Raisonne de I'oeuvre peint, Figures 1860-1890, 1971, no 310 (illustrated)
A hitherto unidentified portrait, almost certainly a finished version of a small, circular portrait of Jeanne Samary executed by Renoir in 1877.
This painting comes from the celebrated collection of the psychiatrist, Dr Albert Charpent ier {seefig 7) (1872-1953). Married to Elvira Aramayo (1871-1950), the daughter of a wealthy Bolivian tin magnate, Albert Charpent ier assembled a magnificent collection of Impressionist paintings between the First and Second World Wars. He was an amateur painter himself, and in 1936 wrote a book entitled Sur Quelques Peintres (Renoir, Monet, Boucher). In 1937 and 1951 he donated the ten most important works from his collection to the Louvre, among them Renoir's IM Seine a Argentueil (now in the Musee d'(3rsay). Degas' Danseuses en bleu, Manet 's Anguille et rouges, and another Renoir, a pastel.
This painting, which had previously been dated to 1876-1879, was exhibited three times: at the Alex Reid and Lefevre show, 1927, (held at the McLellan Galleries in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow) it was catalogued as 'painted about 1879', while in their 1954 exhibition it is dated to 'circa 1876'. Now that we are able to identify the sitter as Jeanne Samary, however, the painting can be more accurately dated to 1877-1879.
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Condition Report
The original canvas has been lined on to a medium weight linen canvas. This process was probably undertaken at the turn of the century. The condition of the lining is good with no signs of separation between the original and the lining canvas. This has left the canvas in a good and stal)le condition. The original ])aint has been effectively consolidated with the current lining and there is no suggestion tiiat the original paint is susc^t ible to lifting or flaking. T h e tacking margins of the can\-as have also been retained. There are at least two rows of old tack holes suggesting the canvas was stretched before. Renoir used a commercially ]5rimed can\ as of an off-white coloured ground. This canvas can be seen on the tackiiig margins of all four edges. The oil paint extends on to these margins of the canvas which perhaps suggests that the artist painted the image and stretched it once he was happy with the final result. This technic|uc is not
uncommon for this artist. There are slight abrasions on the sight edges of the paintings caused by the rubbing of the frame. These marks are in the soft area of paint and would indicate that this happened at the time of painting. There is minor loss of paint in the corners under the frame rebate. There is very minimal paint loss abo\'e the sitter's left ear and also in the blue dress just to the right of the necklace. (SeeJigs 1, 2). The painting is in its original and genuine state and can only be described as being in excellent condition. What minimal blemishes there are, are confined to small particles of dirt caught in the paint's impasto. [SeeJig 3)
The painting has been surface cleaned. The \'arnish was remo\'ed at that time, revealing the brilliance of the Prussian blue of the dress and the delicate flesh tones of the face. Apart from the two areas of paint loss mentioned earlier the painting is in a \'ery good state.
fi rurr 1 I'if iirc 2 t iirurr
85
V ^ /
Renoir's Models
Renoir preferred to paint professional models and actresses, one of his first fa \our i tes being Lise Treliot, whotn he met in 1865. It was Lise w h o modelled for his Diane chasseresse (National Gallery of / \ r t , Washington) which was refused by the Salon of 1867, a long with paintings submit ted by Bazille, Pissarro a n d Sisley, and which was the catalyst for the format ion of the First Impressionist Exhibition.
In 1875 Renoi r rented two attic rooms in M o n t m a r t r e and here he painted many portrai ts of two new models, Henr ie t te Henr io t a n d Nini Lopez, a n d studies of C laude Monet pa in t ing outside. In 1878, he engaged ano the r new model , Marguer i te 'Margo t ' Legrand , i)ut unfor tunate ly she died at the beginning of 1879.
Jeanne Samary: 'The spark of contemporary art'
J e a n n e Samary was Renoir's favourite model f rom 1877 to 1880, and he painted at least twelve portraits of her in oil and pastel. Most famously, slie appears in l^e Dgeuner des Canotiers, 1880-81 (The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., see detail fig 6} which was exhibited at the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition of 1882.
J e a n n e is the w o m a n in the background on the extreme right of the picture, dressed in black, co\er ing her ears with glo\ed hands in order to ignore the flirtations of her suitor, Paul Lhote. This paint ing also contaiiis a ])ortrait of Aline C^harigot, wiiom Renoir marr ied in 1890.
Born in 1857 into one of France's greatest stage families, J e a n n e joined the Comedie Frangaise v\hen she was fourteen, and in 1875, at the age of se\'enteen, she won the first prize for comedy; her debut being in Moliere's Ix Tartujfe in the role of Dorinne. From here, she quickly rose through the ranks of the theatre to become a leading actress. U p to her marriage in 1880 to Marie-Joseph L;igarde (which caused a scandal when his wcalth\- father challenged the marriage in court), J eanne li\cd with her parents just a few steps away from Renoir's studio. She died of typhoid fever aged thirty-six in 1890, and her funeral in Paris was at tended by two thousand mourners . O n her death, Jules Claretie wrote '... she was the laugh of Moliere, the spark of contemporary art ' .
In April 1877 Renoir submitted his Portrait de Jeanne Samary en Buste (fig 5) (Pushkin Museum, Moscow), to the Th i rd Impressionist Exhibition which the Republique Fran(;aise compared fav ourably with the work of Fragonard.
In 1879, desperate for financial success, he sent two [jaintings to the Salon: Portrait de Mile Samary ('Fhe Hermitage, St. Petersburg) and Portraits de Mme Charpentier et de ses Enfants, where both were exceptionally well receix cd and Pissarro wrote "Renoir has been a great success at the Salon. I believe he is launched. '
l.<'ft {[if 7;:J(';itin<' .Sainaiy ('iilltTlions dr l;i (:ntiu'(iic-Fran(,aisc. Paris Top right (fi^ :'}): tWirail dfjmtme Samary en Hu\U. 'la Ueverie',
IK77, by I'ii-rrc-.Augusli- R< N(iir (I8U-IIII9). I'uslikin .\1USCUTII,
•Moscow. Russia/liricis'Tilan An l,il)rary •SiiTiird anti (ialccl top leil Remir 77
8 7
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Renoir is credited as one of the founders of Impressionism. Born in Limoges in 1841, he m o \ e d to Paris with his family at the age of three. His first job , at thir teen, was as an apprent ice to Lexy Freres, porcelain painters, where he began by pain t ing flowers. His skill a n d speed impressed his employers and he was soon given more dilTicult work, such as pa in t ing portrai ts of Marie-Antoinet te on teapots. He persisted in his ambi t ion to become a painter, however, a n d s]5ent his spare t ime visiting the Louvre where he admired a n d m a d e coj^ics of the works of Ruljcns, Fragonard a n d Boucher. Eventually, in 1862, he was admi t ted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. From here he m a d e contact with Char les Gleyre, a Swiss painter, a n d began to visit his studio, where he me t Mone t , Bazille {seeJig 8) a n d Sisley.
Two years later, in 1864, Renoir had his first success at the Salon when his pa in t ing IM Esmeralda (untraced, and claimed by the artist to have been destroyed) was accepted. In 1867, howe\er , the Salon jur\- refused his entry, Diane chasseresse. Renoir, Pissarro, M o n e t and Bazille sent a petit ion to the Salon and called for ano ther 'Salon des
Refuses ' like that of 1863 at which M a n e t h a d exhibited his famous Dgeuner sur I'herbe (Musee d 'Orsay) . T h e y receiv ed no response.
Following subsequent refusals by the Salon in 1872 and 1873, Renoir joined a g roup of fellow artists headed by M o n e t in the First Impressionist Exhibit ion in the spring of 1874. He also showed at the Second a n d T h i r d Impressionist Exhibitions but refused to be inxohed in the Fourth and Fifth of 1879 and 1880 because he had re tu rned to the olficial Salon in 1878 and feared al ienating his Salon-orientated |)atrons. H e was unable to prev ent Paul Durand-Rue l f rom including his works in the 1882 Impressionist exhibition, however, and was happy to co-operate when Durand-Rue l put on Renoir 's first individual retrospective exhibit ion in his gallery in Paris in 1883.
Renoi r first met Durand -Rue l in J a n u a r y 1872, to w h o m he was in t roduced by M o n e t and Pissarro. In March Durand-Rue l bought Renoir 's Pont des Arts (Norton Simon Collection, Los .Angeles) for 200 francs, and two mon ths later a still life, Pivoines et Coquelicots for 400 francs.
In 1881 a n d 1882 Renoir travelled to
Italy and Nor th Africa, re turn ing via the south of Fraiice where he spent t ime \ \orking alongside Paul Cezanne . In 1883 he visited Guernsey and Jersey, and the Med i t e r r anean coast between Marseille and G e n o a in the company of Mone t . He cont inued to exhibit regularly at the Salon dur ing these three years. Towards the end of the 1880's Renoir moved aroLind France, and visited the great museums in London , Madr id , Dresden a n d .Amsterdam, exhibit ing at the Salon for the last t ime in 1890, the year of his marr iage to Aline Char igot .
Renoir was awarded the Legion d ' H o n n e u r in 1900, and was by this t ime a well established artist with a growing internat ional reputat ion, thanks largely to Durand-Rue l ' s exertions on his behalf His health was declining, however, a n d f rom 1912 he was confined to a wheelchair by rheumat i sm. His illness led h im to pro longed visits to the south of France, where he died in D e c e m b e r 1919, but he remained active in his work, trying his h a n d at sculpture and pain t ing a variety of figurative works such as the acclaimed Baigneuses (1918-1919) (Musee d 'Orsay) .
R i ^ l u {delaUjifi 6) : />" Dejeuner de.s (.moliers, IKMO-KI l iy I ' i c r n - -
A i i i f u s i c K r n o i r ( 1 M 4 I - 1 ! > 1 . \ ( ( j u i n ' ( l l iy i lu- l ' l i i l l i [ ) s
( l o l U ' c l i o i i . W a s h i n ^ i o n D C
88
I
Renoir and Portraiture 'Rmoir's women are enchantresses.'
Portrai ture was central to Renoir 's aesthetic. O f all the Impressionists, he was perhaps the one who most excelled at this genre a n d infused the tradit ional process of recording the likeness of a sitter with new force a n d vibrancy. H e strove to cap ture the essence of his sitters while still investing his works with the spontanei ty and c h a r m of his landscapes and u r b a n scenes. In 1877, the seven portrai ts that he exhibited at the T h i r d Impressionist Exhibit ion encouraged some of the most favourable critical responses to his work that he had yet provoked. Colin Bailey considered that the portrai ts that Renoir exhibited ' inspired the-inost perceptive assessment yet m a d e of his talents ' .
In 1878 Renoir 's success as a portraitist dramatical ly enhanced his reputat ion, and he was given increasingly impor tan t port ra i t commissions, with his pa t rons of ten request ing that Renoir paint portrai ts of several m e m b e r s of their families.
E d m o n d Renoir, his brother, whose wife he pa in ted in 1876, described his m e t h o d of por t ra i ture in a letter to Emile Bergerat thus:
' H e asks his model to main ta in her cus tomary manner , to sit as she usually sits, to dress the way she usually dresses, so that no th ing smacks of constraint or artificial prepara t ion . T h u s his work has, in addit ion to its artistic value, all the sui generis c h a r m of a pa in t ing faithful to m o d e r n life. W h a t he has painted , we see before us every day; he has recorded our lives in 'pages ' that will surely remain a m o n g the most vi\'id and ha rmon ious of our per iod ' .
Renoi r did indeed strive to create a natural , relaxed effect in his portraits. He por t rayed each subject in natural
circumstances, dressed in the clothes they wore regularly a n d thi» faithfulness to m o d e r n life is one of his most significant characteristics. In addit ion his ability to por t ray female c h a r m and beauty was exceptional. In 1884 Octave Mi rbeau wrote of Renoir :
' H e is truly a painter of women , al ternately gracious and mo\ ing, knowing and simple, and always elegant, with an exquisite visual sensibility, a touch as light as a kiss, a vision as pene t ra t ing as that of Stendhal . Not only does he give a marvellous sense of the physique, the delicate relief a n d dazzling tones of young comjjlexions, he also gives a sense of the fo rm of the soul, all woman ' s inward musicality and bewitching mystery. Con t r a ry to the major i ty of m o d e r n painters, his figures are not frozen by layers of paint ; an imated and vivacious, they sing out the whole range of bright tones, all the melodies of colour, all the vibrations of light . . . I do not unders tand why all w o m e n do not have their portrai ts pa in ted by this exquisite artist ' .
Ano the r admire r of his work, T h e o d o r e Dure t , sums up Renoir 's almost un ique abilities of por t ra i ture and his towering place in this art fo rm:
' [He] excels at portraits. No t only does he catch the external features, but through them he pinpoints the model 's charac ter a n d inner self. I doubt whe ther any [painter] has ever in terpreted w o m a n in a more seductive manner . T h e deft a n d lively touches of Renoir 's brush are charming , subtle a n d unres t ra ined, making flesh t ransparent and tinting the cheeks and lips with a perfect living hue. Renoir 's women are enchant resses . . . '
There isn't a single thing that interests man as much as man.
Pi('rrc-y\ugusU' Roi
I>'ft (fig 7): Mcmlx'rs of tht' C'harpenticr lamily. M. Albert C'harpeniicr is the gentleman siatuiiiig two iti from left, with liis wile to his lelt. Overleaf (fig 8)\ Portrait of R<'iuiir. 1867 by jeati Frederic Ba/.ille (IfM 1-70). Musee d'Orsay. Paris. Franee/Hridgenian Art !.ibrar\; Roger-Viol let, Paris
91
'J.'
p-i l l
Sir Joshua Reynolds 1723-1792
Head and shoulders portrait of Marchesa Faola Castiglione-Litta wearing a white dress and pink wrap trimmed with ermine
Oil on canvas In a c a n c d and gilded frame Unframed: 30 x 25 in / 76 x 63 cm Framed: 38 x 32'A in / ' 96 .5 x 82.5 cm
PROVEXAXCF.
By descent from the sitter until sold in the fourth auction of the pro]5crty of the Chiesa family (of Milan), New York 23rd November 1927 (lot 23); Newhouse Galleries New York, from whom acquired by Mrs Robert Bishop, and by whom given in 1969 to the Wadsworth Athenaeum; de-accessioned by the latter in 1999 when acquired by Mallett.
l . I T E R A T U R E
Sir Ellis W'aterhouse: Reynolds, Chronological Catalogue, page 67.
At the date this portrait was executed, 1776, Reynolds stood supreme at the head of the community of artists in London. He was the President of the Royal Academy, immensely successful commercially, an acknowledged aesthete, theoretician on art, man of letters and a di.stinguished collector of Old Master paintings and drawings. This prosperity allowed Reynolds to tra\ el widely, and he opened his art to a vast catalogue of continental images which were transposed into portraits of British high society. In 1775 he was elected to the Florence Acadcmy, and presented them with a self-portrait for the collection in the UlTizi.
Curiously, Reynolds painted very few of the many Continental visitors to London, despite his pan-Kuropean reputation as a portrait painter. Fhe present painting is one of a very small number of portraits of Italian sitters, and shows the artist in sensitive and informal mood, in sharp contrast to many of the great formal set-pieces he painted at around this period.
95
Sir Peter Lely 1618-1710
Three-quarter length portrait of a lady, traditionally identified as Eleanor ('jYell') Gwyn, dressed in a decollete yellow and white dress and blue wrap, resting on a rock with her pet sheep.
Signed in monogram middle right PL. Painted circa 1673 Oil on canvas In a contemi)orary 'Lely Panel' car\'ed giltwood f rame Unframed: 50 x 40 in / 127 x 101.6 r m Framed: 60 x 50 in / 152.3 x 127 cm
PROVENANCK B\ descent in the family of the Marc|uises of Crewe, and formerly al Crewe Hall, Cheshire.
T h e traditional identification of the portrait as Nell Gwyn seems inherently improbable by comparison with the well-known authentic portrait by Lely, also with a lamb, in the Xational Portrait Gallery, London. T h a t painting and the ])resent one are almost exactl)- contemporaneous, and the appearance of the two sitters is very different: the N P G portrait is rather more coarsely featured, and the body rather heavier in build than our picture. O u r sitter also appears to be a few years younger than the sitter in the X P G portrait.
Howe^•er, the present painting shows the technique of the artist the most important and successful in Lngland working for Charles II, after the demise of Van Dyck - at the very height of his powers in his maturity. The brushwork is ravishing and free, the
colour intense and \ ' ibrant, and the drawing
masterly. The fact that the painting is signed points to this being a major commission for the artist, and studio intervention, so common in the artist's work, seems to be safely precluded.
T h e true identity of the sitter remains presently undocumented and obscure, though it is listed in imentories of Crewe Hall as early as the mid-19th century as 'Nell (Jwyn'. A comparison with the best portrait by Lely of the King's other mistress, Louise de Kerouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (1673;J Paul Getty Museum, Chilifornia) shows a youthful sitter of similar age and strikingly similar looks. A positive identification though remains elusive, since the appearance of so many sitters by the artist is similar. This arises, presumably, from an idea of female beauty to which the Restoration court subscribed, and to which many female sitters aspired.
9(i
S:
M'
John Hamilton Mortimer 1741-1779
A Self Portrait of the artist in his study silting in a chair covered in gingha?n with an antique bust and a portfolio
Circa 1760 Oil on cam as Unframed: 29 x 2V/i in / 73.8 x ()2.2 cm Framed: 37 x 32V. in / 94 x 82.5 cm
J o h n Hamil ton Mor t imer was an inventive and ambitious artist. Not only were his portraits and conversadon pieces beautifully executed, he also excelled later in his life in his romantic depiction of historical legends and biblical events. Ho\ve\er his style and technique owes a great deal to his tutors, a series of notable painters. His first tutor was T h o m a s Hudson (1701-1779) whose depiction of formal and solemn figures had a great influence on Hamil ton Mortimer, whose portraits display a similar air of stature and dignity. After a few years at the St Martin 's Lane Academy he liecame a pu]5il of Robert Pine [circa 1730-1788) and Sir Joshua Reynolds (1 723-1 792). Although Hamil ton Mortimer 's portraits never had the f lamboyance of his last master Reynolds, he succeeded in creating a kind of portrait
which could hold its own in company with the latter painter, not least because he effectixely draws the \ ievver into intimate settings where the figure sits or stands at ease, as can be seen in the present work.
Hamilton Mort imer depicts himself as a sophisticated genrieman who is both an artist and an intellectual. He sits in a relaxed ])osc, the informality of which is subtly enhanced by the creased chair co \er and stylishly crumpled garments . The confidence of this self portrayal owes a great deal to Reynolds who raised the status of the artist in British societ)' by his prolific output of portraits of the nobility, thus artists becoming accepted into the fashionable set in the late eighteenth century society
Hamilton Mort imer was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1778, under orders from King George III, who had a high regard for his work. From the 1770s onwards he did drawings and engra\ ings of biblical and nnthological subjects and became exceptionally well-known after winning fi\e Premiums from the Socicty of Arts between 1 759 and 1762 and, in 1764, a historical painting competition when his painting of St Paul con\ert ing the Bi itons won first ]3rize
and was subsequently exhibited in the Society of Arts. Hamilton Mort imer also made a large amount of engra\'ings in the style of Salvator Rosa and (iucrcino, many of which are in the British Museum.
The artist was \ e r y good friends ith Joseph Wilton who was a foiuider member of the Royal Academy and for a while a tcacher at the Duke of Richmond's gallery in the Pri \y ( ia rdens during the early 1760s. 1 his gallery had an impressi\e collection of antique busts and it is likely Joseph Wilton gave Hamilton Mor t imer special acce.ss to paint these busts, one of which ma)- be displayed on the artist's desk in the present painting. A self portrait with Joseph Wilton and a student from 1 765, in a similar setting to the present painting, belongs to the Royal Academy and has been exhibited several limes since it was donated in 1889. Unfortunately Hamilton Mort imer died suddenly at the age of thirty-eight and his [jaintings were exhibited posthumously at the Royal Academy in 1 779. He was both a very skilled portraitist and a talented rf)niantic artist, whose early death was a great loss to the artistic development of both forms of |)ainting.
99
:
William Hoare of Bath 1707-1792
A Young Girl Cradling a Rabbit
Pastel
U n f r a m c d : 26V, x IQ'A in / 68 x 49.5 cm Fraim-cl: 31 'A x 24V, in / 80 x 63 cm
H o a r c was i)()rn in I'-ye, Sullblk, in 1 707 a n d died in Hath in 1 792. H e n io \ ed to Bath in 1739, lollowing his re turn f rom Italy a n d r ema ined Bath's most successful a n d fasliionable artist for twenty years, until Thomas Ga insborough ' s arrix al in 1759.
H e exhibited at Suffolk Street f rom 1761 to 1 7()2 a n d at the Roval . \ c a d e m y between 1770 and 1779. H o a r e was a r enowned a n d serious |X)rtrait ])ainier w h o part icularly fa\()ured pastels as a m e d i u m , a dillicult technicjue which he mastered whilst travelling in Italy f rom 1728 for nine years. Throughout his career he pa in ted m a n y wonderfu l portrai ts , such as this one, which cap ture both a likeness of the sitter as well as a c h a r m that lifts them a b o \ e o ther contem])orary artists.
100
- iVC
Watercolours
5 / <
. - J t '
v . .
William Turner of Oxford 1789-1862
View of Bolton Abbey
W'atercoloiir
Un l r amed : 9'/2 x 13% in / 24 x 35 in Framod: 17'/, x 21 in / 43.9 x 53.3 cm
William r i i rncr of Oxfo rd styled himself thus to distin.E^nsh himself f rom the otiier great Tiirner of the day, J M W Turner, in 1804 he m o \ e d to London , vviiere he studied unde r \ a r l e y and exiiibited at titf Royal Academy in 1807 at the age of just sex enteen. The following year he was elected an Associate of the Society of Paijiters in
Water-C^olours, later becoming its youngest full member . Turner worked principally in watercolour, occasionally in oils, and exper imented in l i thography and ctching. His output consisted almost entirely of landscapes and he travelled through Britain in search of subjects, visiting the \Vye, the Take District, Nor th Wales and Derbyshire by 1818. His range was later extended beyond the conventionally |)icturesque to include detailed pano ramic views remarkable for their combina t ion of b read th and delicacy such as this jjainting. hi 1838 he visited Scotland, where he
sketched in both familiar and remote areas. I'he mysterious power of the unculti\ ated
landscape became a ma jo r theme of his late work.
Fur ther works by Turner can be found in the Ashmolean and at the Victoria and Albert M u s e u m . His studio sale was held at C:hristie's, 9 March 1863.
Bolton Abbey is owned by the Duke and Duchess of Dexonshire. It is situated in the Yorkshire Dales Nat ional Park. The ruins of the Priory, on the bank of the River Whar fe , are sur rounded by some of the most beautiful cotmlryside in England.
104
John Varley, OW S 1 7 7 8 - 1 8 4 2
View on the Mondego River, Spain
Pencil and walorcoloi i r
S igned and dated 1 8 1 3 ; also signed, daled and
inscr ibed on the r e w r s e View on l/ie Alondego River. Spain, from a skelch by (.'apt Demaresq Llnframed: 15'/:. x 2 4 in / 3 9 . 5 x 61 c m
I-Vanied: 2 3 x 3 2 in / 5 8 . 4 x 8 1 . 3 c m
I ' R O X K X A N C K
Col i iaghi
K X H i m r K I )
O l d W'atercolour Society, 1 8 1 4 , l u i m b e r 2 9 8
J o h n \ar iey was a landscape a n d
archi tectural watercolouris t . H e publ ished
works on drawing, pers])ecti\e and
astrolog\- a n d had a cons iderab le
re])utation as an art teacher . A m o n g his
pupils were Wil l iam H e n r y H u n t , Anthony-
Vandyke CV)pley Fielding, Wi l l iam 'I 'urner
o f O x f o r d , I )a\id (. 'ox, John l . innell and
Wil l iam M u h e a d y . \'arlc)' h imse l f studied
under J ( ; Barrow, a t e a c h e r oC drawing.
'This idealised, r o m a n t i c landscape is
c a p t u r e d by \ar ley using .soft tones and
golden light, a style c o m m o n in m a n y ol"
his ])ictures.
From 1 7 9 8 to 1 8 4 3 Varley exhib i ted at
the F^ritish Institute, Royal Soc ie ty o f British
Aitists, SulFolk Street , the Royal Academ>-
( 1 7 9 8 - 1 8 4 1 ) , a n d chiefly at the O l d
W a t e r c o l o u r Society.
105
Lilian Stannard 1877-1944
The Garden Path
Singed lower left Watercolour Unframed: 1 7V, x 23 in / 45 x 58.5 cm Framed: 21 x 26' : in 53.3 x 67.2 cm
Lilian Stannard (1877-1944) was a member of the Bedfordshire family of Stannards, one of the remarkable artistic dynasties of the Victorian period. Lilian's brother, Henry John Sylvester Stannard (1870-1951), was i)cst known for his watercoloiirs of [pretty village scenes. Both Lilian and her sister Theresa, however, became specialists in
garden subjects, and held exhibitions of them in London, at Ackermann's, the Mendoza (iailery. Walker's and elsewhere. Qtieen Mary was an admirer of their work and bought regularly at their exhibitions. Another admirer of Lilian's work was Lady Ludlow, who commissioned her to paint the gardens at Luton Hoo. Both the Stannards developed a distincti\ely bright, impressionistic style and at their best, they are effective and decorati\ e, and their watercolours are certainly among the l^rettiest of all Victorian garden pictures. Many of the gardens painted by the Stannards are not specifically identified, but Lilian did paint one particular series of the gardens of C^ambridge colleges. The Stannards also painted a great many cottage gardens, featuring the picturesque old thatched house of their native Bedfordshire and of Hertfordshire.
106
.1
• A
K!
I " . ^ t
A '
> l i V v •
w r
C'vii.i ^ n , * U F j jp
Ernest Arthur Rowe 1863-1922
Montacute House, Somerset
.Signed and dated 1893 lower right VVatercolour
Unfran icd : 21 x 29 in / 53 x 73.5 cm Framed: SO'A x 38 in / 77.5 x 96.5 cm
KXHim ri ; i ) Royal Institute of Painters in W'atercolours, 1893
I 'A Rowe and G S Elgood were the greate.st garden painters of the late Victorian period. T h e y both pain ted m a n y of England 's finest gardens, some of them even f rom the same
viewpoint, such as this view of the border a long the nor th wall of the forecourt at MoiUacute House in Somerset , which was |xiinted by Rowe in 1893 and by Elgood in 1886. Elgood's version show.s the border full of sunflowers, with two ladies in per iod dress walking a long the path (this incorporat ion of figures into garden views was a device often used by I'j|gf)od, but ne\'er by Rowe). Rowe also painted a view of Mon tacu te House f rom the garden in 1893, as well as A View in the East Court, Montacutf which is undated .
M a n y of Rowe's notebooks, diaries and letters survive, and consequentK' more is
known about his career than that of any other garden painter. He began by paint ing landscapes, but dur ing the 1890's he became steadily more interested in gardens and his finest garden pictures were p roduced between 1890 and 1914. His records reveal that he often suffered f rom bad weather -indeed at Pcnshurst in,July 1892 he lost one of his drawings when it blew into the fish|)ond!
The I'irst World War dealt a severe blow to Rowe's career, but it revived again after 1918 and he held several exhibitions at the Gra f ton Ciallery, and in 1921 at the Cireatorex Gallerv in Ix^ndon.
109
English School circa 1810
Palazzo Colonna and Museo Pio-Clementio
A pa i r of vvatcrcolours
U n f r a m e d : 32 x 23 in / 81 .3 x 58 .5 cm
Framed : 36 x 28 in / 91 .5 x 7 1.1 c m
These two vvatcrcolours were n o d o u b t
pa in t ed by an Hiiglish artist on the G r a n d
Tour of E u r o p e in the early n ine t een th
cen tur ) ; E a c h depic t a wel l -known m u s e u m
a n d I 'alazzo in R o m e of the l ime.
T l i e s ta tue gal lery is a view of the
in ter ior of Palazzo C o l o n n a . S i tua ted on the
Via della Pilotta, R o m e , Pa lazzo C>olonna
was built by Pope M a r t i n V in the early
f i f teenth century. T h e f a m o u s three halls
da te f r o m the mid 1600's. T h e artist has
skilfully r eco rded this f a m o u s in ter ior in
detail a n d depic ts the g l e a m i n g m a r b l e
r o o m s with the i r p r o m i n e n t co lumns . T h e
cent ra l ceil ing f resco depic ts M a r c A n t o n i o
C^olonna's naval victory over the Turks.
T h e o the r wa te rco lou r shows the
Gal ler ia dei Busti of the M u s c o Pio-
C l e m e n t i o which was built in the early
s ixteenth cen tu ry to house anc ien t s tatues
a n d relics. U n d e r the left a r c h w a v is
dep ic ted the s ta tue of the r iver-god Nile.
T h e r e a re two stories of wha t the figures
s u r r o u n d i n g the r iver-god s ta tue represen t ,
a n d an cariy t heo ry suggested tha t there
were seventeen little f igures a n d tha t they
r ep resen ted the seventeen k ingdoms of I taly
However , Pliny believed that there were
sixteen little f igures a n d tha t each one
r ep resen ted the sixteen cubi ts by which the
waters of the Nile rise in the ra iny season.
Or ig ina l ly r iver-gods were dep ic ted as half
an ima l a n d half h u m a n , but the full h u m a n
f o r m eventual ly b e c a m e convent iona l . This
s ta tue is now in the Vat ican m u s e u m .
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English School circa 1810
Palazzo Colonna and Museo Pio-Clementio
A pair of watcrcolours Unframcd: 32 x 23 in / 81.3 x 58.5 cm Framed: 36 x 28 in / 91.5 x 71.1 cm
The.se iwo walercolours were no doubt painted by an English arti.st on the Cirand Tour of Europe in the eariy nineteenth century. Each depict a well-known museum and Palazzo in Rome of the lime.
The statue gallery is a view of the interior of Palazzo Colonna. Situated on the
Via della Pilotta, Rome, Palazzo Colonna was built by Pope Martin V in the early fifteenth century. The famous three halls date from the mid 1600's. The artist has skilfully recorded this famous interior in detail and depicts the gleaming marble rooms with their prominent columns. The central ceiling fre.sco depicts Marc Antonio C-olonna's naval victory over the Turks.
The other watercolour shows the Galleria dei Busti of the Museo Pio-Clementio which was built in the early sixteenth century to house ancient statues and relics. Under the left archwav is
depicted the statue of the river-god Nile. There are two stories of what the figures surrounding the ri\er-god statue represent, and an early theory suggested that there were seventeen little figures and that they represented the seventeen kingdoms of Italy. However. Pliny believed that there were sixteen little figures and that each one represented the sixteen cubits by which the waters of the Nile rise in the rainy season. Originally river-gods were depicted as half animal and half human, but the full human form eventually became conventional. 'I'his statue is now in the Vatican museum.
: 1 0
A De Wignacourt fl. 1780-1810
Vue du Cervier
Ix IMC d'Yverton
A pair of watercolours Unframed: 12% x 19'/. in / 32 x 50 cm Framed: 21% x 28% in / 54.5 x 72.3 cm
It is possible that Dc Wignacourt was a traveller on the Grand Tour, painting the panoramic views of the valleys and lakes of Switzerland at the end of the eighteenth centur>'. He was certainly a trained painter and may have been a tutor accompanying a family on their travels.
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French School circa 1730
A pair of" R o m a n \ ' ic \vs
The Esquiline Hill with the Baths of Titus
The Esquiline Hill looking over the courtyard of Nero
Watercolours over etched outlines
Unl'rained: 62 x 85 c m / 24 x 33 in
T h e Esquil ine Hill is the largest a n d highest
of the seven hills ol' R o m e a n d on the
Eas tern side there were a few g r a n d v illas
that be longed to wealthy men such as
M a e c e n a s , adv iser to Emj j e ror Augustus a n d
patron of arts.
O n the south side o f the Hill, called
'Col le O p p i o ' , there arc remains o f the
Baths of Titus, the Baths o f Trajan and ,
close to the C o l o s s e u m , Nero ' s ( i o l d e n
H o u s e ( D o m u s Aurea) .
The Ooldei i H o u s e was a s u m p t u o u s
house built by N e r o a n d was located
between the Esquil ine a n d Palatine Hills.
T h e drawing o f the plans for the G o l d e n
H o u s e was d o n e by the two f a m o u s
architects, Severus a n d Clelere. T h e painter
Fabullus decora ted the whole house.
. \ m a t e u r com[)etitions and p e r f o r m a n c e s
were held in Nero ' s gardens . The v ineyards
a n d orchards were required to lie plentiful
for a courtyard such as Nero ' s which was of
a rectangular shape. C^attle a n d wild beasts
were kept in the meadows .
Titus's Baths were built at a later date as
part of a political c a m p a i g n to return to the
R o m a n public the use o f space which had
previously been occu|) ied by Nero .
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115
Thakur Ganga Singh d. 1971
A botanical collection of the Flora of the Simla Hills
Watercolours Unframed: 15 x 11'A in / 38 x 28.5 cm Framed: 2 2 % x I8'A in / 56.5 x 46.3 cm
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117
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Edmond Lechevallier-Chevignard 1825-1920
The Arch of Titus in the Forum at Rome
Pen, black ink, a n d walercolour on pape r Signed and dated, bot tom left. Ijeclievallier/1851 U n f r a m e d : 32'/2 x 25% in / 83 x 65 cm Framed: 50 x 42 in / 127 x 106.8 cm
E d m o n d Lcchevall ier-Chevignard was a pa in ter and illustrator. H e worked in the studio of Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) and then in that of Michel -Mar t in Drolling (1786-1851). In 1848, he received a commission f rom the Second French Republ ic for a copy after a work by Vasari. H e first exhibited at the Salon in 1849 with portrai ts a n d a study d rawn after a picture by Perugino. He then worked for the Magasin Pilloresque for which he provided numerous drawings f rom 1851 onward.s. hi 1874 he taught at the Ecole Nat ional de Des.sin a n d in 1885, he was awarded the rank of Cheval ier in the Legion d ' H o n n e u r .
In the foreground of the present work is depicted the .'\rch of Ti tus and in the distance are the ruins of the Domit ian 's Palace. In the tradit ion of Piranesi 's drawings, Lecheval ier-Chevignard has opted to represent this section of the R o m a n fo rum with a theatrical a n d magnif icent composit ion of the Arch; the artist has exaggerated the way the columns and cornice stand out and given the monumei t t , generally depicted frontally, an unusual impression of volume. T h e drawing is however accurate: the bas-reliefs, capitals and friezes are r ende red in minu te a n d exact detail.
In his article on Lechex al l ier-Chevignard, Paul Vitry wrote that there were some jsretty eighteenth century drawings in his portfolios, and in 1864, the Goncour t s ment ioned a portrai t by C:hardin which was in the artist's possession. It would not therefore be surprising if the artist had drawn in.spiration f rom an eighteenth century print or drawing, all the more so since he did not \ isil Italy himself until 1857. Even the very technic|ue of this \ iew of the Arch of Titus is in the tradit ion of the famous watercolourists of that century, such as Ducros.
19
Paul-Cesar Helleu 1859-1927
Mme Helleu with Harp
Signed in pencil lower right Sanguine, white and black chalk Unframed: 28V4 x W / , in / 73 x 45 cm Framed: 37V2 x 27 in / 95.2 x 68.5 cm
PROVENANCE
Montesquiou family
Helleu's fame is founded upon his etchings, pastels and drawings of beautiful women such as this. His career as an artist began in 1870 when he entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, studying under Jean-Leon Gerome, a pupil of Ingres. His reputation as an artist was established at the Salons of 1885 and 1886 where he exhibited several large pastels. He was subsequently invited by Degas to show at the Impressionist Exhibition of 1886, but refused because of his dislike for Gauguin's work. The same year Tissot presented Helleu with the diamond that he used to draw drypoints on copper, regarding Helleu as his natural successor. As with Tissot's work, Helleu's depicts a strong influence of Japanese prints, especially in his choice of compositional perspective.
Although based in France, Helleu visited America in 1902, 1912 and 1920, and made regular visits to England where, in 1895, he exhibited fifty-nine works at the Robert Dunthorne Gallery in London. This show was visited by Princess Alexandra who commissioned an etching of herself, and he soon became renowned for his precise portrayals of fashionable beauties and society women including Helena Rubinstein, the Duchess of Marlborough and Belle de Costa Green (the Director of the Pierpont Morgan Library). His favourite model, however, was his wife and the many sketches and drypoints of her and their children are considered to rank among the best examples of his work.
Aside from his etchings and works in pastels, Helleu was an accomplished painter in oils and received much encouragement from his friends, including Sargent, Degas, Whistler and Boldini. In 1904 he was awarded the I^egion d 'Honneur.
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