Painting of the Day: A Portrait of Mary Stuart, 1804

Mary Stuart
Denis Brownell Murphy, 1804
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mary Stuart (1542-87) succeeded to the Scottish throne in 1542. She was only six days old at the time. Mary’s life wasn’t a whole lot of fun after that. She had some family issues, you could say. She had a rocky relationship with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, and, also had some troubles with her husband for the one year that she was Queen Consort of France. Battles for the Scottish throne forced Mary flee to England in 1568. She had asked Elizabeth I for sanctuary and Elizabeth said, “Sure, honey. Come on over.” But, you see, Mary had already claimed Elizabeth’s throne as her own, so by the time she asked to “crash on Elizabeth’s couch,” Elizabeth was thinking that perhaps her cousin was a threat. So, by the time Mary arrived in England, she was effectively a prisoner of the English Queen. This ended with Mary being was executed in 1587, having been found guilty of plotting to overthrow Elizabeth.

Good times. 

This attractive enamel miniature depicts Mary Stuart—centuries after her death. It was made during a time in the Nineteenth Century when artists and jewelers were combining their skills and remembering the Seventeenth Century notion that enamel lasted much longer, and without fading, than oil paint. It’s the work of Denis Brownell Murphy who painted a series of images illustrating the lineage of the House of Stuart, beginning with Mary Queen of Scots. Mary is shown wearing a red embroidered dress with a high ruff, a gold cap and a cross at her neck. The frame is papier-mâché with ormolu mounts formed to resemble shells and a crown.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Tombeau de Lipsius. Pyramide. Chefren. 1880-1890

Click on image to enlarge
"Tombeau de Lipsius"
Pierre Henri Theodore Tetar van Elven
1880-1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painted in Egypt between 1880 and 1890 by the monumentally-named Pierre Henri Theodore Tetar van Elven (1828-1908), this work of watercolor over pencil is accented with white oil paint.

Titled, “Tombeau de Lipsius,” the image actually depicts a scene from Giza of the Pyramid of Khufu. Such a painting would have satisfied the growing desire for exotic images of Egypt which developed from late Nineteenth Century archaeological finds.

Painting of the Day: The Stray Kitten, 1835

Click Image to Enlarge
"The Stray Kitten"
William Collins, 1835
The Victoria & Albert Museum

William Collins (1788-1847) a student of the Royal Academy of Arts quickly became a celebrated and fashionable painter whose landscapes and rustic genre paintings (especially those of children—a favorite subject of Collins) were eagerly collected. The art-buying public gobbled up Collins’ scenes, drawn-in by his ability to convey emotion and feeling without being overtly sentimental. Prints created after Collins’ paintings were big sellers. Collins remained popular even after his death due, in large part, to the loving biography written by his equally famous son, author Wilkie Collins.

Here’s one of Collins’ typical works. This one is the second version of the same scene. The original was commissioned by one Mr. Holden and first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1833. This 1835 version is nearly identical to the original painting. Since the original had been so well-received, Collins knew he had a hit. However, Mr. Holden was not keen on continuing to exhibit the original version, preferring to keep it in his own collection. And, so, Collin’s created this second canvas to display at the Royal Academy. I don’t think anyone really ever noticed the difference. 

Called “The Stray Kitten,” (happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr)  both versions of the painting drew large crowds who were attracted to its easily-relatable theme and content. In May of 1833, “The Athenaeum” critic wrote of the original version of the painting that it was, “in his best manner; it is a picture that many will covet, for it cannot but be felt by all.”

Painting of the Day: A Jack in Office, 1833

A Jack in Office
Sir Edwin Landseer, 1833
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Ha!  Early Nineteenth political humor (humour).  You see, when this painting was finished, a slang expression for a pompous government official was "a jack in office." And, that’s what this painting is called.  But, it's not a governmental official...no, it's a doggie.  A Jack Russell Terrier!  Ha!  Oh, Edwin Landseer, you slay me with your canine antics.

All teasing aside, I do like this painting by the always wonderful Landseer and I think it's quite clever.  Completed in 1833, a critic at the time  described how "the well-fed and much caressed dog…keeps others from testing the food of which he has had too much." Sounds like a politician to me.

The painting was given to the V&A by John Sheepshanks in 1857

This is one of Sir Edwin's most clearly anthropomorphic treatments of human matters in canine terms.  A other critic said that the piece was "enormously popular, providing fable, parody, humour, and narrative in a single image." 

Painting of the Day: Matthew Prior, c. 1700

Matthew Prior
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1700
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Well, well, here’s a fella who looks like he’s trouble. He also looks like he’d benefit from a good sandwich. Mmmm…sandwich. But, I digress. Who is this impish bloke?

He’s Matthew Prior (1664-1721). You’ve heard the name, I’m sure. Or, not.  I don't know what you have heard and haven't.  Prior was a celebrated poet, diplomat and politician, as well as a fellow of St. John’s College Cambridge. Most likely, you know his name from reading his translations from Horace and Ovid, or, perhaps you’re familiar with his poetry. Prior is also known to museum-types like me for his collection of important paintings and prints.

A chum of King William and Queen Mary, Prior was considered a superb diplomat. He’s buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey. I remember seeing his monument which features a rather startlingly descriptive inscription:

"Matthew Prior Esq. A fever, gradually creeping up on him, as he meditated upon the history of his times, broke together the thread of his life and of his labours on Sept.18th A.D.1721 in the 57th year of his age.”

This painting was executed in 1700 by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) during a time when portraits of literary types were quite popular.

The painter, Sir Godfrey, was born in Germany where he studied mathematics and military fortification (yawn), and, then, at some point, for some unknown reason, he was apprenticed to Rembrandt and began to travel to Rome and Venice. By 1676, Kneller secured Royal patronage to King William III, and, of course, settled in England. He was knighted in 1692 and was considered one of the most fashionable of portrait painters. He was especially known for his series of portraits of ladies at the Royal Court which is known now as “The Hampton Court Beauties” (which for some reason reminds me of Kathie Lee Gifford who, early in her career was a Hee-Haw Honey). He’s also the artist of the “Kit-cat Portraits” of members of the famed “Kit-cat Club.” Lest you think that’s more portraits of “beauties,” I should tell you that they’re gents—none of whom are particularly attractive, sadly. The Kit-cat Club was a group of Eighteenth Century Whigs who gathered at Christopher Catling’s Inn and feasted on the innkeeper’s famous mutton pies which he had playfully called “Kit-Cats.”

And, now, you can say that you read about mutton pies today. I’ll bet it’s the only time.

Pets of the Belle Époque: “A Girl with Dogs” by Charles Burton Barber, 1893

Girl with Dogs
Charles Burton Barber, 1893
The Lady Lever Art Gallery
Liverpool

A popular subject matter of the late Nineteenth Century was the sentimental portrait of a child and his/her pets. Near the end of his life, painter Charles Burton Barber painted several such paintings, not so much out of a deep love for the subject, but because he knew they’d sell. And, sell they did.


Soap magnate Lord Leverhulme purchased this painting in 1901 for the purpose of using it in advertisements for Lever Brothers soap. The image of the little girl projected an innocent quality as she struggled to carry two puppies in her skirts while their nervous mother and sibling look on. As was often the case with Lord Leverhulme, he purchased the painting for business, but kept it for pleasure. It still resides in the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool. 

Masterpiece of the Week: Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi, 1620

Judith Slaying Holofernes
Artemisia Gentileschi, 1620
Uffizi Gallery

The Biblical figure of Judith has often been used to represent Judaism itself. A Jewish widow, Judith was a noblewoman in the town of Bethulia which was under siege by an Assyrian army led by a tyrant called Holofernes. One night, Judith enchanted Holofernes with her great beauty as she and her maid, Abra, got the man intoxicated with wine. When Holofernes, passed out, Judith seized the opportunity to murder him so that she could protect her people. With Abra’s help, Judith used a sword to decapitate Holofernes—bringing his head as a trophy to Bethulia. Her people, so encouraged by the display, battled the Assyrians and won.


The story of Judith was a favorite of Artemisia Gentileschi who painted the subject twice. She was intrigued by the idea of a powerful woman. The first version, painted in Naples, is an excellent painting. However, her 1620 version, painted in Florence, is a superior work. Artemisia portrayed Judith in her trademark Artemisia gold—a symbol of strength. The strength of the women seems to reflect Artemisia’s personal fortitude.

Indicative of her quest for realism, Judith shows the veins and muscles of the dying man as he struggles—his legs tangled in his blood-red bed clothes—against the sword at his throat. Blood spurts from his wound onto the two women. Judith’s determination is readily apparent in her face and the tension in her arms as she wields the heavy sword is palpable.

This work is indicative of the power of Artemisia’s painting. Seeing this scene makes her historic induction as the first woman in the Academia seem very fitting indeed. Her talent knew no gender.

Painting of the Day: War and Victory: Model for a Title Page, 1645-1635

War and Victory
Rubens, 1634-1635
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome work is a model for a title page  for a book which was published in Antwerp by Jan Cnobbaert in 1635.  The painting is from the masterful hand of Rubens (1577-1640).

This piece is one of only three known oil sketches in grisaille (monochrome painting) that Rubens designed for use as title pages. Rubens' work represents the finest hallmarks of  the Italian High Renaissance.  He wedded these ideals, with which he became acquainted during an extended visit to Italy, with northern realism. 

The oil sketch depicts, on the right, a male allegorical figure who is carrying the trophies of war, and, on the left, a winged female allegorical figure.  She offers upward a laurel wreath to a rather busy eagle who holds serpent in its talons.  At the top two Genii crown a coat of arms adorned with wreaths.  A blank cartouche anchors the bottom of the composition.

Painting of the Day: A Masquerade at the King's Theatre, Haymarket, 1724

Click image to enlarge.
Masquerade at the King's Theatre, Haymarket
Giuseppe Grisoni, 1724
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Flanders-born* Giuseppe Grisoni (1699-1769) studied in Florence under the artist Tommaso Redi (1665-1726). After a brief sojourn to London with the painter John Talmann (1677-1726), Grisoni returned to Florence where he remained until 1740, working as a teacher at the Academy and turning out portraits and historical paintings. After 1740, Grisoni lived in Rome until the end of his life.

Though this painting is not as finely painted as most of Grisoni's work, it has been attributed to him nonetheless on the basis of a recorded remark, dated May of 1724, by George Vertue which suggests, "Mr Grisoni painter of Florence… has made a fine picture representing the masquerade with various habits."

The canvas depicts a masquerade on the stage of the King's Theatre in Haymarket. This was an opera house which was built by Sir John Vanbrught in 1704-05. The masquerades at the King's Theatre, often emulating the Venetian Carnival, became a tradition after a popular debut in 1711. This work achieves its primary goal of preserving the opulence of the event--showing the luxurious cakes and foods, the gleaming chandeliers and the sumptuous fancy dress.

*

Painting of the Day: The Misers, 1548-1551

The Misers
A Follower of Marinus can Reymerswaele
c. 1550
Acquired by Queen Anne
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Historians believe that Queen Anne (the second daughter of King James II) added this handsome and strange painting to the Royal Collection. The scene was painted between 1548 and 1551 by an unknown student artist who is believed to have been a follower of Marinus van Reymerswaele (c. 1490/95-c. 1567). Painted on board, the painting also mimics a 1440 work by Jan van Eyck which depicted a banker in conference with his client. While this painting by van Eyck is believed lost, it is credited as having launched a genre of works which showed businessmen in Fifteenth Century dress engaged in money matters. Of the sixty variations of the scene, most of them are composed in a style which hints at a strong Dutch influence. Most of these compositions can trace their stylistic roots to the works of van Eyck. Still, others are clearly inspired by the paintings of van Reymerswaele and, also, another Dutch master Quinten Massys.

Let’s take a closer look at this piece which is entitled, “The Misers.” This follower of van Reymerswael has taken great pains to show the nature of the men. Their faces are masks of avarice and greed and their claw-like hands nod at the common conception of those involved in the changing of money. The scene is meant to be amusing and the visages of the men purposefully lean toward caricature. Despite the piles of coins in front of them, we’re reminded that this wealth will not aid them for long. The brevity of life is suggested by the candle which burns near them—it is almost spent, just as their lives are. 

What I find most interesting about this work is that the ledger on the table has been inscribed in French, indicating that this piece was likely a copy by a student—commissioned by a French patron who much admired the original by van Reymerswaele.

Mastery of Design: An Eye Miniature, 19th C.

Miniature of watercolor on ivory
Nineteenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at quite a few of these jewel-framed miniature portraits of eyes. Eye miniatures were a curious but brief anomaly in miniature painting that enjoyed a short turn in fashion at the end of the 18th century.


These sentimental paintings were given as tokens of affection from a woman to a man, typically, in an attempt to capture “the window of the soul” and offer an into the subject’s most intimate thoughts and feelings.

This one was made in the early Nineteenth Century. As usual, the painting is watercolor on ivory. We’re not sure who created it, who the subject is or to whom it was given. The shape of the piece is unusual, elevating the subject into a new elegance. The pearls set into the gold frame indicate that this was meant as an important gift.

Painting of the Day: A Jack in Office, 1833

A Jack in Office
Sir Edwin Landseer, 1833
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Ha!  Early Nineteenth political humor (humour).  You see, when this painting was finished, a slang expression for a pompous government official was "a jack in office." And, that’s what this painting is called.  But, it's not a governmental official...no, it's a doggie.  A Jack Russell Terrier!  Ha!  Oh, Edwin Landseer, you slay me with your canine antics. 

All teasing aside, I do like this painting by the always wonderful Landseer and I think it's quite clever.  Completed in 1833, a critic at the time  described how "the well-fed and much caressed dog…keeps others from testing the food of which he has had too much." Sounds like a politician to me.

The painting was given to the V&A by John Sheepshanks in 1857

This is one of Sir Edwin's most clearly anthropomorphic treatments of human matters in canine terms.  A other critic said that the piece was "enormously popular, providing fable, parody, humour, and narrative in a single image." 

Painting of the Day: "The Hermit" by Charles Landseer, 1841

"The Hermit"
Charles Landseer, 1841
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painted in 1841 by the famed Charles Landseer (1799-1879), this canvas is entitled “The Hermit.”

Given to the V&A in 1859 by John Sheepshanks, the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy the year it was painted. At that exhibition (from where the man who sold it to Sheepshanks purchased it), the painting was displayed with the following narrative poem, also called “The Hermit, which was posthumously published in 1721. It read:
Far in a wild, unknown to public view,
From youth to age a reverend hermit grew;
The moss his bed, the cave his humble cell,
His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well.
Remote from men, with God he passed the days,
Prayer all his business, all his pleasures praise.

David Lucas, the grandson of the famed engraver of the same name, hinted in 1925 that the model for this painting was his grandfather. The elder Lucas was known to have worked as a fortune teller at the Cremorne Gardens where he lived as something of a hermit. It was all an act, of course. Lucas wore a long dressing-gown and false beard rather like the subject of this painting. 

Masterpiece of the Week: The Kitchen at Elmswell Hall, York

Click image to enlarge
The Kitchen at Elmswell Hall, York
Mary Ellen Best, 1834
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mary Ellen Best (1809-1891), a watercolorist, excelled in creating views of domestic interiors and tender genre paintings. She often created the interiors which she painted and was famous for some of the makeshift details in her scenes which were accurate representations of a typical home. She didn’t glamorize her scenes and took great pains in beings a true to life as possible, making sure that the furnishings matched the setting. For example, in this scene, Eighteenth Century chairs are shown, neatly depicting the fact that, in most great homes, the servants’ halls were furnished with pieces which were considered too out of fashion for the main house.

Here, we see one of Best’s creations—a watercolor view of the kitchen of a great country house, showing a woman inspecting bread dough as it is rising in a dough trough which is humorously supported by a chair. The piece was painted in Little Driffield, England in 1834.

Painting of the Day: A Masked Lady, c. 1700

Study for a Masked Lady
Luca Carlevarijs, 1700
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painted around 1700 by Luca Carlevarijs, this image is a study of a woman wearing a pink and white dress with a laced bodice and long sleeves. Notably, she is wearing a type of mask which is known as a “volto” or “larva” and is also holding a fan in her left hand. The mask is unusual in that it was held in place in the mouth by biting on a small piece which protruded from the back.

This is one of fifty-three sketches by Carlevarijs which the artist put together in an album. The group includes figures he appears to have painted in the open air in preparation for inclusion in other formal compositions. This figure is a study for a figure which appears in his painting “The Bucintoro Departing from S. Marco” which is now in The Getty Museum, Los Angeles. 

Masterpiece of the Week: Bannalist and Pandour, 'Freikorps Trenck', 1748

Bannalist and Pandour
David Morier, 1748
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Created by David Morier (1705?-1770), this work of oil on canvas was commissioned by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765). David Morier was a celebrated Swiss painter, known for his military and sporting scenes. 

Morier had a long association with the Duke of Cumberland, starting in 1747, when he painted a group of canvases of the troops under the Duke’s command. Until 1764, Morier was employed as “limner” (or painter) to the Duke of Cumberland on an annual salary of £100. The painting depicts two soldiers facing the viewer. They are posed in front of a flat, open landscape, holding rifles in their right hands. The one on the right is wearing a scarlet uniform, while the one on the left is clad in blue with red boots. 

Pets of the Belle Époque: Cat and Dogs Belonging to Queen Victoria, 1885

Cat and Dogs Belonging to Queen Victoria
Charles Burton Barber, 1885
The Royal Collection

Throughout her entire life, Queen Victoria was a known animal lover and always enjoyed the companionship of her dogs and the occasional cat and parrot. As often as she had portraits painted of her human family, Victoria commissioned paintings (and photographs) of her beloved pets.


This 1885 painting by Charles Burton Barber shows three scrappy dogs and a rather well-mannered cat belonging to the queen. I’m not quite sure which of the Royal dogs these were, but, they were no doubt very loved. 

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on image to enlarge.

Painting of the Day: Feeding Ducks, c. 1850

Feeding Ducks
Bocion, after 1850
The Victoria and Albert Museum

This handsome genre scene/landscape is a harmony of small figures, naturalism and fancy.  The architecture of the house belies the naturalistic roots of the scene with it's unusual stylistic nod to the medieval.

"Feeding Ducks," is the work of François Bocion (1828-1890) who was born in Lausanne.  Bocion started his career as a history painter, and the architecture of the house may, in fact, be an offshoot of those early stylistic beginnings.  In the 1840s Bocion emerged as a fancier of the rustic subject matter which characterized Realist and Naturalist works, two styles which were quite the mode in France at the time.  By the 1850s, Bocion found his muse, Lake Leman, a them which was repeated frequently in his oeuvre, and is clearly represented here.

Painting of the Day: A View of Snow Hill, Windsor Great Park, 1799

Click image to enlarge.
View of Snow Hill, Windsor Great Park
Benjamin West, 1799
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Benjamin West (1738-1820) is notable as the first American-born artist to gain international renown. He famously was appointed as Historical Painter to King George III and was granted the position of the second President of the Royal Academy.

West was decidedly ambitious and, in many ways, ruthless in his pursuit of prestige. Later in life, both he and his work became affected by a melodramatic grandiosity which was both charming and repulsive.

Upon his death, he left behind a legacy of nearly 750 paintings of which only about thirty were landscapes. Therefore, this canvas from 1799 is particularly special. Entitled, “A View of Snow Hill, Windsor Great Park” depicts West himself, at the left, sketching. He is joined by his friend and companion, James Dyer, a former soldier in the Horse Guards who would later become a life model at the Royal Academy Schools. Furthermore, Dyer served as West's valet for fifty years. This painting is one of a group of seven views in and around Windsor which were created by West. West rented a house in Windsor, circa 1780, in large part because he had been commissioned for a series of paintings in the Royal Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Painting of the Day: Interior of a Tavern with a Five Peasants and a Woman, 1646

"Interior of a Tavern with Five Peasants."
Adriaen van Ostade
Dutch, 1646
Purchased by King George IV, 1814
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The work of Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685), this painting comes from Haarlem and dates to 1646. The canvas was purchased by King George IV from one Sir Thomas Baring and was one of a lot of eighty-six Flemish and Dutch works which the King had wanted for Carlton House in 1814.

Van Ostade, with this work, borrows from the artistic ideals of Adriaen Brouwer who was the first Dutch painter to introduce this sort of interior scene of comical peasant characters in a muddy setting.

These scenes were painted with hasty, loose brushstrokes which the artist used to suggest a variety of details. For example, in this composition, the tavern is obviously set up in a domestic setting as indicated by the bed at the rear of the scene. Furthermore, a child’s potty is visible behind the patron who holds his nose. This sort of appeal to all of the senses was typical of these genre paintings of the early Seventeenth Century. Most often, the senses that were at play were not entirely pleasant, but, rather strove to convey some sense of realism.