ART
“4” “2”-DAY 03 July
v.8.60 |
| BIRTH:
1738 COPLEY |
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Born on 03 July 1738: John
Singleton Copley, Massachusetts English Realist
painter, specialized in Portraits,
who died on 09 September 1815. — He was the greatest artist in the British colonies in America, active as a portrait painter in Boston from 1753 to 1774. After a year of study in Italy and following the outbreak of the US War of Independence, in 1775 he settled in London, where he spent the rest of his life, continuing to paint portraits and making his reputation as a history painter. — John Singleton Copley is considered to be the foremost artist of colonial English America. He is also one of its most prolific. Copley was born in Boston, and was trained by his stepfather, a mezzotint engraver. Copley's early work shows the influence of the Boston painter John Smibert and of English rococo portraitists. From the latter he learned the device of the portrait d'apparat, in which artifacts used by the subject are included in the portrait, as in Paul Revere, an intense likeness of the patriot-silversmith holding one of his silver teapots. By 1760 Copley's distinctive style had crystallized, characterized by meticulous technique, clear verisimilitude, and a vivid, balanced palette. His sitters included famous politicians (John Hancock, 1765) and wealthy New Englanders (Mrs. Sylvanus Bourne, 1766). Copley sent his painting The Boy with a Squirrel (1765) to London, where it was exhibited. Impressed by the painting, the English portraitist Sir Joshua Reynolds and the expatriate American painter Benjamin West urged Copley to immigrate to Europe. In 1774 Copley followed their advice, touring Italy and then settling in London in 1775. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in the following year and a full member in 1779, the same year he exhibited his protoromantic Watson and the Shark (1778), a virtuoso rendering of an actual incident in Havana Harbor. Under West's influence, Copley turned to history painting, with such splendid large canvases as The Death of the Earl of Chatham (1781), a dramatically composed version of a timely event. Copley died in London. — Copley's students included Henry Sargent. — LINKS –- Self-Portrait (1769, 60x44cm; 750x591pix, 55kb) –- Self-Portrait (1784; 675x600pix, 22kb) — Sarah Allen, née Sargent [1729-1792] (1763, 12x10cm; 603x480pix, 180kb _ ZOOM to 1170x930pix _ ZOOM+ to 2270x1804pix, 2173kb) _ Nathaniel Allen was a member of the new wealthy class in the mercantile and shipping business in Boston, and his wife, Sarah, was 34 at the time this work was painted. When commissioning portraits, successful American colonists wished to be portrayed in the manner of English and European aristocrats. This was accomplished by copying contemporary English portraits of ladies and gentlemen of fashion. In this instance, Copley adapted his composition from a mezzotint after William Hogarth's painting of Frances, Lady Byron. John Singleton Copley was the first great internationally renowned American painter. This work belongs to his most prolific period between 1762 and 1770, and coincides with the emergence of revolutionary ideas in Boston. Largely self-taught, he was the first full-time painter in the colonies. Excelling at capturing texture and surface details, Copley was also known for his uncompromising realism. Working in a meticulous painting technique, he gave the same attention to psychological and formal details. With no attempt at idealization, Mrs. Allen is presented as a masculine-looking middle aged woman, appearing sturdy and confident as she daintily pulls on her glove. –- My Family (1776, 185x230cm) –- Samuel Adams –- John Hancock — Brook Watson and the Shark (1778, 184x230cm; 646x800pix, 90kb _ ZOOM to 1284x1591pix, 316kb) _ Copley departed from Boston in 1774 and traveled to Europe, where he spent a year studying Renaissance and Baroque paintings and classical sculpture. After settling in London in 1775, he continued to paint portraits but he also attempted more complex compositions. Watson and the Shark was the first large-scale history painting he made. The dramatic composition depicts the attack of a shark on 14-year-old cabin boy Brook Watson in the waters of Havana Harbor in 1749. The heroic rescue was ultimately successful, but only after the youth lost the lower part of his right leg; Watson went on to become a prosperous merchant and hold numerous important political posts in London. Copley's choice of subject was innovative, for tradition held that history painting was limited to themes from the Bible or mythology. Even when artists selected subjects outside the bounds of religious or classical narrative, they typically celebrated events of national rather than personal significance, such as military victories. Copley's boldness paid off, and Watson and the Shark established his reputation in England. His dramatic rendering of the climax of Watson's story-the sailor thrusting a boat hook at the shark lunging with jaws agape at the helpless, terrified boy in the water while other sailors struggle to reach him-appealed to the English public. That Copley drew on Old Master paintings by Raphael and Rubens for his composition likewise found favor with his contemporaries. He was elected to full membership in the Royal Academy in 1779. The popular painting was made into a print for wider distribution to the public in 1779 and, proud of his accomplishments, Copley himself made a second full-scale version (shown here) that he kept in his studio for the rest of his life. — Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Izard (Alice Delancey) (175x224cm; 625x800pix, 71kb _ ZOOM to 1264x1618pix, 317kb) _ Copley left America on 10 June 1774, as the increasing political turmoil in the colonies placed the artist in a precarious position between his Whig and Tory patrons. After spending several weeks in England, Copley made his way to Italy. There he was sought out by Ralph Izard, a wealthy merchant from Charleston, South Carolina, who desired to have his portrait painted by the young American artist. Copley and the Izards traveled together to Naples, where they toured Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Paestum. Returning to Rome, Copley began this monumental double portrait of the Izards, building on the traditional repertoire of formal portraiture to depict the Izards as connoisseurs on the Grand Tour. Seated opposite each other ar a polished porphyry table, Mr. and Mrs. Izard are surrounded by opulent furnishings and classical references that connote their wealth, discriminating taste, and cultural sophistication. The high-style table abd elaborately carved chairs are Roman in design, while the column and plinth behind Ralph Izard are faced with "verde antiqua," a rare green marble from Thessaly. The distant view includes the Colosseum, symbol of ancient Rome and the most important monument for early American travelers to Italy. Ralph Izard holds a drawing of the sculptural group located directly behind them. The inclusion of this sculpture, often identified as Orestes and Electra, and the fifth century BC Greek vase at the upper left, are important reminders of the Izards' interest in art and antiquities. The antique objects also communicate themes of erotic and fraternal love, a reference by Copley to the Izards' love for each other. The Izards never took possession of their portrait, having left Rome late in 1775 to return to London, and moved to Paris during the Revolutionary War. Copley completed the painting, which he then took to London; it may have been the picture exhibited at the Royal Academy, London in 1776, titled A Conversation. — Mrs. Richard Skinner (1772, 101x77cm; 740x566pix, _ ZOOM to 1046x800pix; 124kb _ ZOOM+ to 1635x1251pix, 316kb) _ detail (834x550pix, 100kb _ ZOOM to 1214x800pix; 181kb _ ZOOM+ to 1761x1161pix, 316kb) face and hand — Joseph Green (58x46cm; -1017x-800pix, 109kb _ ZOOM to -1613x-1269pix, 237kb) — Galatea (1754, 94x133cm; -581x-800pix, 121kb _ ZOOM to 1219x1680pix, 425kb) — Nicholas Boylston (127x101cm; 991x800pix, 91kb _ ZOOM to 1591x1285pix, 199kb) — Mrs. Samuel Henley (Katherine Russell) (58x46cm ; 1010x800pix, 98kb _ ZOOM to 1608x1273pix, 213kb) –- Paul Revere (1770, 88x72cm) –- William Vassall and His Son Leonard (1772, 127x104cm) –- Henry Pelham aka Boy with a Squirrel (1765) –- 3 Youngest Daughters of George III (1785) –- Girl With Dog And Bird –- Joshua Henshaw (1770, 128x102cm; 730x738pix, 37kb _ .ZOOM to 1093x1107pix, 49kb) –- Mrs. Daniel Sargent (Mary Turner Sargent) (1763, 126x100cm; 782x622pix, 55kb _ .ZOOM to 1173x932pix, 146kb) _ .detail 1 (860x1008pix, 53kb) head and shoulders _ .detail 2: face (863x798pix, 56kb) _ Is that a waterfall gushing out from between two stone blocks in the wall? and what is she holding out under the edge of it to get wet? –- Mrs. Rufus Greene (Katherine Stanbridge Greene) (1760, 61x52cm; 937x864pix, 48kb) — John Quincy Adams (1796, 76x63cm) — Samuel Reading to Eli the Judgments of God Upon Eli's House (1780, 197x152cm) 1 Samuel 09~18: When Samuel went to sleep in his place, YWH came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” YWH said to Samuel: “I am about to do something in Israel that will cause the ears of everyone who hears it to ring. On that day I will carry out in full against Eli everything I threatened against his family. I announce to him that I am condemning his family once and for all, because of this crime: though he knew his sons were blaspheming God, he did not reprove them. Therefore, I swear to the family of Eli that no sacrifice or offering will ever expiate its crime.” Samuel then slept until morning, when he got up early and opened the doors of the temple of YWH. He feared to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!” He replied, “Here I am.” Then Eli asked, "What did he say to you? Hide nothing from me! May God do thus and so to you if you hide a single thing he told you.” So Samuel told him everything, and held nothing back. Eli answered, ”He is YWH. He will do what he judges best.” — Saul Reproved by Samuel for Not Obeying the Commandments of the Lord ( 1798, 170x217cm) 13 Samuel 07~18: ... Saul ... at Gilgal ... waited seven days, the time Samuel had determined. When Samuel did not arrive at Gilgal ... he then said, “Bring me the holocaust and peace offerings,” and he offered up the holocaust. He had just finished this offering when Samuel arrived. Saul went out to greet him, and Samuel asked him, “What have you done?” Saul replied: “When I saw that ... you had not come by the specified time, and with the Philistines assembled at Michmash, I said to myself, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet sought YWH's blessing.’ So in my anxiety I offered up the holocaust.” Samuel's response was: “You have been foolish! Had you kept the command YWH your God gave you, YWH would now establish your kingship in Israel as lasting; but as things are, your kingdom shall not endure. YWH has sought out a man after his own heart and has appointed him commander of his people, because you broke YWH's command.” Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went his own way ... — The Collapse of the Earl of Chatham in the House of Lords aka (prematurely) The Death of the Earl of Chatham (1780, 228x307cm) _ On 07 April 1778, William Pitt [15 Nov 1708 – 11 May 1778], the 1st Earl of Chatham, rose to speak in London’s House of Lords. In the midst of a debate about the colonial revolutionaries, Pitt suffered a stroke and died one month later. His death removed one of Britain’s leading political moderates during the critical years of the US War of Independence. In the painting, sunbeams pour through a roundel window over the throne canopy, spotlighting the stricken Pitt. In 1781, the painting was displayed to popular acclaim in a private pavilion. How Copley had managed to persuade fifty-five noblemen to sit for their portraits became the talk of British society. _ Preparatory sketch (1779, 53x64cm) _ This small oil painting is the compositional sketch. Following proper academic procedure, Copley first used browns and grays to work out the overall distribution of the scene before considering the color scheme and details. The pencil lines drawn over this study create a proportional grid (“squaring”) that enabled the artist to transfer and enlarge the design. — The Death of Major Pierson, and the Defeat of the French Troops in the Market Place of Saint Helier in the Island of Jersey, Jany. 6th 1781 (1784, 229x365cm) _ A dramatic painting showing the heroic death at the moment of victory of Major Francis Pierson [1757-1781]. Pierson is shown in the center of the picture, falling back into the arms of his soldiers, beneath the British Standard, while on the right women and children flee the fighting in terror. Pierson entered the army at an early age, rising to the rank of major in April 1780, when he was appointed to the 95th regiment, which was shortly afterwards stationed in Jersey. At this period the Channel Islands were subjected to the constant danger of attacks from the French, who made several futile attempts to gain possession. By far the most important of these raids was that of 6th Jan. 1781, known as the ‘Battle of Jersey,’ when some 700 French, under the Baron de Rullecourt, landed under cover of night and took possession of the town of St. Helier, making the lieutenant-governor, Major Moses Corbet, a prisoner in his bed. Under these circumstances the command of the troops devolved upon the youthful Peirson. Rullecourt succeeded in inducing Corbet to sign a capitulation, and Elizabeth Castle was summoned to surrender, but the officer in command boldly refused to obey the order. Meanwhile the regular troops and the island militia, under the command of Major Pierson, advanced in two divisions towards the Royal Square, then the market-place, where a vigorous engagement took place, resulting in great loss to the French, who, though fighting with great obstinacy, became disordered and were compelled to retire. The victory was complete, but had been gained at the heavy price of the life of a promising young officer, for in the very moment of victory the gallant Pierson was shot through the heart, and fell dead in the arms of his grenadiers. Rullecourt himself was mortally wounded, and most of the French soldiers were taken prisoners. Pierson, was interred in the parish church of St. Helier with all the honors of war, and in the presence of the States of the island, who caused a magnificent monument to be erected to his memory. — The Victory of Lord Duncan aka Surrender of the Dutch Admiral DeWinter to Admiral Duncan, 11 October 1797 (1799, 282x373cm; 793x1049pix, 144kb) _ On 11 October 1797 the British fleet of Admiral Adam Duncan [01 Jul 1731 – 04 Aug 1804] encountered Jan W. De Winter and his fleet off the coast of England between the villages of Egmont and Camperdown. An engagement of the most sanguinary and brilliant character ensued. Admiral Duncan formed his line of battle so as to get the principal Dutch ships between him and the shore, but in such a position as enabled him to send a portion of his own fleet to leeward to prevent them receiving support from the coast. The Dutch maintained the contest with great bravery for five hours, but they were so closely engaged, and their loss was so excessive, that De Winter was at last compelled to surrender, and gave up his sword to Admiral Duncan on board the Venerable. _ Compare: _ Duncan Receiving the Surrender of de Winter at the Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797 (1797, 152x201cm) by Daniel Orme _ Admiral Duncan receiving the sword of the Dutch Admiral de Winter at the Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797 (1827; 574x750pix, 141kb) by Samuel Drummond [1765-1844]. _ See also /S#*>The Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797 (46x74cm; 510x867pix, 137kb) by a painter from the circle of Dominic Serres, and another picture of the battle (528x800pix, 43kb) — Midshipman Augustus Brine (1782, 127x102cm) — The Gore Children (1755, 125x131cm) — Mrs. Elizabeth Coffin Amory (1775, 77x64cm) — Thomas Flucker (1771, 73x61cm) _ The sitter seems to be looking very sternly at the viewer, perhaps out of suspicion that we might be thinking of omitting the L in his surname, something which would never enter our minds. — Mrs. John Winthrop (1773, 90x73cm) — Daniel Crommelin Verplanck (1771, 126x102cm) — Gulian Verplanck (1771, 91x71cm) — Samuel Verplanck (1771, 76x63cm) — Ebenezer Storer (1769, 61x46cm) — Joseph Sherburne (1770, 127x102cm) — Mrs. Ebenezer Storer (Mary Edwards) (1769, 61x46cm) — Mrs. Sylvanus Bourne (1766, 128x102cm) — Mrs. Jerathmael Bowers (1763, 127x101cm) — Hugh Hall (1758, 40x33cm) — The Return of Neptune (1754, 70x113cm) — 115 images at the Athenaeum —(060702) |
| ^Died
on 03 July 1929: Pascal-Adolphe-Jean
Dagnan-Bouveret, French Realist
painter and photographer born on 07 January 1852. — Dagnan-Bouveret was born in Paris; he died in Quincey, Haute-Saône. He refused to leave France when his father Bernard Dagnan, a tailor and businessman, moved to Brazil in 1868. So, in Melun, he was taken in by his maternal grandfather Gabriel Bouveret, whose surname he added to his own in gratitude. Dagnan-Bouveret was trained at the École des Beaux-Arts (beginning in 1869) in the ateliers of Alexandre Cabanel [1823-1889] and then of Gérôme [11 May 1824 – 10 Jan 1904]; the latter's teaching remained the most dominant influence on Dagnan's work, though he also studied under Corot [1796-1875]. One other artist, and a slightly older colleague, whose work had an impact on Dagnan's was Jules Bastien-Lepage [1848-1884], who taught Dagnan the significance of using rural life as a contemporary theme. Although Dagnan was a Parisian who kept an atelier in suburban Neuilly-sur-Seine for most of his career, he married into a Franc-Comtois family. He is always mentioned among a group of Franc-Comtois artists including Gustave Courtois [1852-1923] (a cousin of his wife), Louis Girardot [1856-1933], and Jules-Alexis Muenier [1863-1942] all of whom had been students of Gérôme, a painter who was also from the same general region of France. As a naturalist/regionalist Dagnan established his reputation with compositions representing the rural life of the Franche-Comté and of Brittany. These paintings made him one of the most respected members of an international naturalist circle that allowed Dagnan to have a very strong influence over other painters, working in a similar vein on the European continent, in England, and in the US. It is only later in his career, first in the mid 1880s and then more dramatically in the 1890s, that Dagnan turned to religious themes. These became increasingly more visionary and supernatural during the early years of the 20th century. Spiritual themes reflected Dagnan's determined turn toward religious revivalism, a genre that obsessed many painters in the 1890s; it also reflected the powerful influence of his wife whose own devout Catholicism was influential in moving Dagnan toward some of his religious themes. Dagnan's spiritual paintings found strong support in the atmosphere of the Catholic Revival in France; his paintings such as the mystical Supper at Emmaus and the Consolatrix Afflictorum, among others, were exhibited in a separate location at the Paris World's Fair of 1900 at a moment when Dagnan's work was highly praised by the establishment. His paintings were also well recognized in the United States as they were reproduced in US periodicals, and collected by such independent tastemakers as George Baker, Mrs. Potter Palmer, and Henry Clay Frick. Dagnan was also a portraitist of talent and in his later years he divided his activity between portraits and religious scenes. He painted members of some of the best established families of the Third Republic; he also did portraits of actresses (Mme. Bartet) and military leaders (Maréchal Foch). His first popular Salon success came with the anecdotal genre painting Une noce chez le photographe (1879), but the works which established Dagnan-Bouveret's reputation are his naturalist scenes inspired by life in the Franche-Comté and Brittany including Un accident (1880), Chevaux à l'abreuvoir (1885), Le Pardon en Bretagne (1887), Bretonnes au Pardon (1889), Le Concert dans la forêt or Les Conscrits (1890). The latter work reiterated the intense nationalistic fervor of the period by centering the activities of recruitment on the strength and support of the rural areas of France — regions that remained totally behind the central government. The success of these paintings in the 19th century and the impact they still have for us today are in great part due to the influ ence of photography in their creation. As a student of Gérôme, Dagnan-Bouveret with many of his colleagues (from Europe and from the US) learned how to use photography as a tool to arrive at a more naturalistic, decidedly casual, rendering for the scenes of daily life. Dagnan-Bouveret was closely associated with J.-A. Muenier, a painter who also maintained a fervent interest in photography. Both men traveled to Algeria together, in 1887-1888, where they actively photographed numerous scenes in Algiers in order to feed their developing interest in orientalist themes. The photographic record of their trip together provides an extensive documentary foundation for seeing how these artists were able to use this medium. Understandably, Dagnan did not merely take photographs so that he could copy them for his paintings. Rather, he saw the new medium of photography as a creative tool which, when added to the academic tradition of painstaking preparation of a given composition, added significantly to the way in which Dagnan-Bouveret could increase the intricacy and exactitude of his compositions while reinforcing the general interest in reality. Dagnan was also a pastelist and a member of the Société des Pastellistes. In addition to the influence Dagnan-Bouveret exerted on art students through his exhibitions or when they came to his studio in order to request his advice, he came in contact with others at the Académie Colarossi where he taught between 1885-1890 with G. Courtois. — LINKS –- Whitney Warren Sr. (1916, 26x19cm; 1035x812pix, 93kb) –- Le Pardon en Bretagne (1886, 115x85cm; 962x696pix, 93kb _ .ZOOM to 1444x1044pix, 135kb _ .ZOOM+ to slightly cropped at top 2381x2088pix, 449kb) –- Bretonnes au Pardon (1887, 125x141cm; 848x954pix, 86kb _ .ZOOM to 1696x1907pix, 379kb) _ Naturalism’s popularity reached its peak in the late 1880s. Contemporary interest aroused by subjects involving detailed imagery of rural life explains this objective painting’s huge success at the 1889 Salon, where it won an award. As an ethnographic image of pious customs, this painting shows the Pardon ceremony, an indulgence granted by the church to the faithful, and is used as a pretext for an analytical vision of a world that resisted the fin de siècle transformations. At that time, Brittany was the focus of great attention from artists painting in various different styles. Gauguin’s work can be used to establish one of the most striking contrasts with this canvas. Photographs that Dagnan-Bouveret took in Rumengol helped to produce the end result, as did successively reworked portraits of individual models. This work, which the painter assembled in the studio, reveals considerable prior effort to establish the compositional construction and a complex methodology to organize the scene. –- Les Conscrits (1889, 168x146cm; 1063x878pix, 74kb _ .ZOOM to 2126x1755pix, 322kb) –- Une Bernoise (1887; 925x695pix, 61kb _ .ZOOM to 1541x1159pix, 190kb) –- Ophélie (157x104cm; 1000x634pix, 58kb _ .ZOOM to 2000x1268pix, 216kb) –- Une Noce chez le photographe (1879, 82x120cm; 598x840pix, 95kb _ .ZOOM to 1196x1680pix, 233kb) — Hamlet et le fossoyeur (1883; 795x658pix, 75kb) — Le Christ et les disciples à Emmaüs (527x744pix, 83kb) — Mademoiselle Walter (1878; 413x370pix, 36kb) — Consolatrix Afflictorum — Dans l'étable — Marguerite au Sabbat — Une Jeune Bretonne _ The sensitive handling of the young woman's face is not the least bit compromised, despite the robust paint quality. In the thinner areas of paint, a raw umber ébauche can be observed. At first glance the subject's fair skin and stark white Breton hat and blouse against a dark dress and background appear to be somewhat monochromatic. However, upon closer inspection of the light valued areas of the painting, one can see a myriad of spectrally infused strokes rendering the whites and skin tones resplendently colorful. — Childs Frick — The Last Supper — Dans la forêt (1893, 155x125cm) — Une Jeune Aquarelliste au Louvre (1891) — Dans le pâturage (1892, 96x91cm) — Bretons en prière (1888 124x85cm) — Jeune Homme Breton (1887, 42x25cm) — Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (1877) — Gustave Courtois (1884, 122x82cm) almost monochrome — L'accident (89x130cm; B&W image) _ In front of the huge fireplace of a country home, grandma, grandpa, dad, an uncle, a hired hand, a four-year-old boy, and a cat (under the bed) watch the doctor bandage the hand of a twelve-year-old boy. What accident made that necessary is not clear. J.-K. Huysmans, in L'Art Moderne (p.174) commented on the showing of this painting at the 1880 Salon: Un enfant s'est coupé la main. Que de sang ! Il y en a plein une cuvette ! Quelle pâleur de visage, quel mélo, quelle scène dramatiquement composée ! Après la boutique du photographe, le doigt coupé ; après le rire les larmes ! Succès sur toute la ligne. Des dames étouffent devant cette cuvette rouge, devant ces bandelettes de linge taché. Eh ! Ce n' est pas du sang qui devrait sortir de cette poupée blême, c' est du son, du joli son jaune ! La vérité exigeait impérieusement ce sacrifice ; mais comme d' habitude, M. Dagnan s' y est refusé. Ah ! Mm. Bastien-Lepage et Gervex ont un rude partner. Il faudra désormais compter avec celui-là qui me paraît, comme eux, résolu à accaparer, par n' importe quel stratagème, l' affection du bon public. Je ne saurais trop le répéter, toutes ces toiles ne décèlent ni un tempérament, ni un effort quelconque, elles sont le contraire du modernisme. Les indépendants sont décidément les seuls qui aient vraiment osé s'attaquer à l' existence contemporaine, les seuls, -qu' ils fassent des danseuses comme M. Degas, de pauvres gens comme M. Raffaëlli, des bourgeois comme M. Caillebotte, des filles, comme M. Forain, -qui aient donné une vision particulière et très nette du monde qu' ils voulaient peindre. — Le Pain Béni (1885, 33x23cm; 800x568pix, 90kb) —(060630) |
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