The recent AGM of the Jane Austen Society of North America gave me a welcome opportunity to browse the excellent Cleveland Museum of Art and view, in person, Lady Manners by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830). Last February10, I wrote on this blog describing my interest in seeing the portrait.
I quoted the museum's description: "The Irish poet Lady Manners rejected as 'unflattering' this portrait representing her as the goddess Juno, symbolized here by the peacock. Thomas Lawrence exhibited the painting at the Royal Academy in 1794 with the label 'to be disposed of [sold],' but it was still in the artist’s collection when he died. Though it offended Lady Manners, the painting displays all the hallmarks of Lawrence’s flamboyant style: dazzling, fluid brushwork and an innovative use of unconventional colors that helped secure his role as the most fashionable portrait painter in turn-of-the-century Britain."
I have no idea what Lady Manners looked like, though Lawrence was usually said to flatter his sitters. But looking at the portrait, perhaps I would have made the same judgement and rejected the canvas. Would you have wanted this view for posterity? I wonder if she ever imagined it would hang in a place of honor in a 'colonial' museum and even be featured on advertising banners? Nearby portraits seem far less controversial. Below, left, a portrait of Lady Leneve, c. 1617, by Peter Lely (1618-1680); right George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers, by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788). Please click on the pictures for larger versions.
Above left, Portrait of Charlotte and Sarah Carteret-Hardy, 1801-1806, also by Sir Thomas Lawrence. The label notes, "There was a seemingly insatiable demand for Lawrence's portraits representing stylish English society, but he was notoriously slow working." Charlotte's face is almost as moon-like as Lady Manners, but sweeter.
Right, a nearby sculpture of Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry) by Antonio Canova (1757-1822).
Below, left, Portrait of Hugh Hope, c. 1810, by Scottish artist Henry Raeburn (1756-1823); Hugh Hope was the second son of Sir Archibald Hope, 9th Baronet Hope of Craighall, and served the East India Company; right, a Settee, c.1802-07, by Thomas Hope (1768-1831), the influential Regency furniture maker and author of the 1807 work, Household Furniture and Decoration. The museum states, "The acorn finals, ram's heads and clusters of stylized honeysuckle are typical of Hope's neo-classical designs." Although the last names are the same, Hugh and Thomas were not related, Thomas having been born in the Netherlands.
Right, a nearby sculpture of Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry) by Antonio Canova (1757-1822).
Below, left, Portrait of Hugh Hope, c. 1810, by Scottish artist Henry Raeburn (1756-1823); Hugh Hope was the second son of Sir Archibald Hope, 9th Baronet Hope of Craighall, and served the East India Company; right, a Settee, c.1802-07, by Thomas Hope (1768-1831), the influential Regency furniture maker and author of the 1807 work, Household Furniture and Decoration. The museum states, "The acorn finals, ram's heads and clusters of stylized honeysuckle are typical of Hope's neo-classical designs." Although the last names are the same, Hugh and Thomas were not related, Thomas having been born in the Netherlands.
Above, left, The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 6 October, 1834, by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851). The view is from downriver on the southwest bank of the Thames. Another version of the event by Turner is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, viewed from Westminster Bridge. The Cleveland Museum writes, "Although Turner based the painting on an actual event, he magnified the height of the flames, using the disaster as the starting point to express man’s helplessness when confronted with the destructive powers of nature. Brilliant swathes of color and variable atmospheric effects border on abstraction."
Above, right, Portrait of Mary Anne Jolliffe, after 1788, by Gainsborough Dupont (1754-1797). Mr. Dupont was his uncle's only assistant, and "apprenticed with Thomas Gainsborough before setting up his on studio. It is often difficult to distinguish the late works of both artists."
Below, left, Portrait of Mary Wise, c. 1774, by Thomas Gainsborough; The museum writes, "Mary’s modest and contemplative demeanor is a counterpoint to a rather elaborate ensemble consisting of a gown embroidered with gold flower sprigs, trimmed with lace and pearls, and tied with a gold sash, as well as a gold-striped veil and a bracelet with eight gold bands. Gainsborough’s compact oval format and the sitter’s informal pose lend this portrait an air of intimacy."
Below, right, Portrait of George III, 1783, by Benjamin West (1738-1820); the Gallery label states "George III commissioned more than 80 paintings from West... (this one) likely was intended to bolster George III's reputation which had been tarnished the previous year when he was forced to formally recognize American independence." West, born in Philadelphia where he began his artistic career, took a grand tour to Italy and arrived in London in 1763, never returning to the US. His many successes lead to his choice as second president of the UK's Royal Academy of Art.
Above, right, Portrait of Mary Anne Jolliffe, after 1788, by Gainsborough Dupont (1754-1797). Mr. Dupont was his uncle's only assistant, and "apprenticed with Thomas Gainsborough before setting up his on studio. It is often difficult to distinguish the late works of both artists."
Below, left, Portrait of Mary Wise, c. 1774, by Thomas Gainsborough; The museum writes, "Mary’s modest and contemplative demeanor is a counterpoint to a rather elaborate ensemble consisting of a gown embroidered with gold flower sprigs, trimmed with lace and pearls, and tied with a gold sash, as well as a gold-striped veil and a bracelet with eight gold bands. Gainsborough’s compact oval format and the sitter’s informal pose lend this portrait an air of intimacy."
Below, right, Portrait of George III, 1783, by Benjamin West (1738-1820); the Gallery label states "George III commissioned more than 80 paintings from West... (this one) likely was intended to bolster George III's reputation which had been tarnished the previous year when he was forced to formally recognize American independence." West, born in Philadelphia where he began his artistic career, took a grand tour to Italy and arrived in London in 1763, never returning to the US. His many successes lead to his choice as second president of the UK's Royal Academy of Art.
Above, left, Portrait of Elizabeth Shewell West and her son Raphael, c.1770. "West was the first American artist to study in Italy, where he spent three years before permanently settling in London. He so admired the artistic ideals of the Italian Renaissance master Raphael that he named his eldest son after him, and he imitated Raphael’s celebrated Madonna of the Chair when composing this tender double portrait of his wife and child."
Right, Portrait of Jean Terford David, 1813, by Thomas Sully (1783-1872); From the label: "According to his own inventory, the astonishingly productive Sully painted more than 2,600 works during his career. Most of these paintings were commissioned portraits, including this one of John Terford David, who had just recently married. French-born David was an American officer who served as a paymaster during the War of 1812. His rank is indicated by the fringed epaulet on his left shoulder and the lack of one on his right. In composing the portrait, Sully ingeniously positioned David's body on an angle to emphasize the single epaulet and downplay the uniform's lack of symmetry."
Right, Portrait of Jean Terford David, 1813, by Thomas Sully (1783-1872); From the label: "According to his own inventory, the astonishingly productive Sully painted more than 2,600 works during his career. Most of these paintings were commissioned portraits, including this one of John Terford David, who had just recently married. French-born David was an American officer who served as a paymaster during the War of 1812. His rank is indicated by the fringed epaulet on his left shoulder and the lack of one on his right. In composing the portrait, Sully ingeniously positioned David's body on an angle to emphasize the single epaulet and downplay the uniform's lack of symmetry."
More from Cleveland Museum of Art and the JASNA AGM SOON.
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