Friday Fun: Historical Footage of Punch and Judy at the Seaside

The Ceredigion Museum created this montage of historical footage of Punch & Judy at the Seaside in honor of his recent 350th birthday.  As the film shows at the end, our Mr. Punch and his friends are just as appealing today as ever.

Painting of the Day: Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth, 1847

Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth, 1847
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In this painting by Carl Johann Lasch from 1847, we see “Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth.” The scene takes place in a well-appointed dining room with a guard in armor and two men in medieval costume who sit around a table. The older, bearded man cuts the tablecloth with a knife while the younger man is looking down at a dog.

This sort of historical scene was typical of the paintings produced by the Munich School, one the two main artistic centers in Nineteenth-century Germany. The scene here is a retelling of a famous take as the Count Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg (1315-92) cuts the tablecloth to show his anger with his son. This concept was inspired by a ballad by the poet Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862). Lasch, the artist, has a keen interest in history and the origins of families.

Carl Johann Lasch (1822-1888) was born in Leipzig and was a pupil of the Academy in Dresden and of Schnorr and Kaultach in Munich. After travelling the world, he became a painting instructor in Munich by the 1860s.

Painting of the Day: Portrait of a Woman: A Romantic Heroine, c 1715

The Romantic Heroine
Britain, c. 1715
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The subject of this Eighteenth Century painting has been the subject of a fair amount of gossip and buzz for almost three hundred years. A young woman is depicted here, dressed in an Eighteenth-Century reimagining of Tudor-style dress. She’s a woman of some means, as we can see from the ermine edge of her collar. A strand of pearls adorns her hair and she h as donned dramatic earrings.

But, who is she? When the painting hung in the Queen’s Dressing Room at Kensington Palace in 1734, it was described as being “The Fair Rosamond”—a reference to Rosamond Clifford who was the mistress of King Henry II. The Kensington Inventory of 1818 named the subject as being Lady Jane Grey, one of the wives of Henry VIII. That’s quite a difference.

We may never know who she’s intended to be. We can only say for certainty that it was painted by a British artist between 1715 and 1725. Now, wisely, the Royal Collection refers to her simply as “A Romantic Heroine.”

Painting of the Day: Queen Katherine and Patience, 1842

Queen Katherine and Patience
Robert Charles Leslie
1842

The popularity of historically-themed paintings began to wane during the Nineteenth Century and was soon replaced by an increase in commissions for oil paintings based on scenes from popular literature. Very often, history and literature overlapped. Here’s one such instance.


Charles Robert Leslie was one of the most prolific painters of the Victorian era and was a favorite of Queen Victoria herself. In this canvas from 1842, Leslie depicts Act III, Scene 1 from Henry VIII by William Shakespeare which was obviously based on the portly regent’s life. The painting shows Henry's first wife, Katherine of Aragon (Shakespeare's “Queen Katharine”), as she bemoans Henry’s growing estrangement. When the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1842, Leslie included a quotation from the play.

Leslie’s representation of Queen Katherine was not strictly archaeological. In fact, as he did with most of his paintings, he combined the visual aspects and costumes of several periods. The depiction of Queen Katherine owes more to 1842’s fashions than it does the style of her own time, but her sense of distress is not hampered by her anachronistic costume. 

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth, 1847

Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth, 1847
The Victoria & Albert Museum

As we prepare for Thanksgiving in the U.S., let’s take a look at the sort of scene we don’t want to develop around the steaming bird. In this painting by Carl Johann Lasch from 1847, we see “Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth.” The scene takes place in a well-appointed dining room with a guard in armor and two men in medieval costume who sit around a table. The older, bearded man cuts the tablecloth with a knife while the younger man is looking down at a dog.


This sort of historical scene was typical of the paintings produced by the Munich School, one the two main artistic centers in Nineteenth-century Germany. The scene here is a retelling of a famous take as the Count Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg (1315-92) cuts the tablecloth to show his anger with his son. This concept was inspired by a ballad by the poet Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862). Lasch, the artist, has a keen interest in history and the origins of families.

Carl Johann Lasch (1822-1888) was born in Leipzig and was a pupil of the Academy in Dresden and of Schnorr and Kaultach in Munich. After travelling the world, he became a painting instructor in Munich by the 1860s.

Card of the Day: The Champion of England

I like that the Silver Jubilee of 1935 card series by Churchman’s Cigarettes includes scenes not just from the life of King George V and Queen Mary, but also important scenes which show the historic progression of the coronation ceremony in general.


This card shows, “The Champion of England,” which refers to the King’s (or Queen’s) Champion. The King’s Champion is an office bestowed upon an individual by the Sovereign which makes him the “Standard Bearer of England.” Traditionally, this honor is granted to the holder of Manor of Scrivelsby and was first offered to Robert Marmion in 1066. The Champion was to act as a protector to the Sovereign in the unlikely event that someone challenged his accession to the throne. The Champion was required to ride in full armor into Westminster Hall during the coronation banquet. He is escorted by the Earl Marshal and the Lord High Constable who are adorned in full dress robes and coronets. Together, they await the challenge to all comers. You see, as part of the coronation, the monarch could not fight in single combat against anyone except an equal.

The tradition includes a ceremonial challenge which continues to this day, last seen at the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. We’ll learn more about this tradition in the coming days.

Painting of the Day: Queen Katherine and Patience, 1842

Queen Katherine and Patience
Robert Charles Leslie
1842

The popularity of historically-themed paintings began to wane during the Nineteenth Century and was soon replaced by an increase in commissions for oil paintings based on scenes from popular literature. Very often, history and literature overlapped. Here’s one such instance.


Charles Robert Leslie was one of the most prolific painters of the Victorian era and was a favorite of Queen Victoria herself. In this canvas from 1842, Leslie depicts Act III, Scene 1 from Henry VIII by William Shakespeare which was obviously based on the portly regent’s life. The painting shows Henry's first wife, Katherine of Aragon (Shakespeare's “Queen Katharine”), as she bemoans Henry’s growing estrangement. When the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1842, Leslie included a quotation from the play.

Leslie’s representation of Queen Katherine was not strictly archaeological. In fact, as he did with most of his paintings, he combined the visual aspects and costumes of several periods. The depiction of Queen Katherine owes more to 1842’s fashions than it does the style of her own time, but her sense of distress is not hampered by her anachronistic costume.