The other Prince George of Cambridge

Image: Royal Collection

Rooting through the Royal Collection online archive, I stumbled upon this charming portrait of the young Prince George of Cambridge (1814-1904) painted by John Lucas in 1836. George was born in Hanover but lived in England from 1830 to 1836. He lived with William IV and Princess Adelaide, who acquired this picture after it was supposedly painted for his tutor, the Reverend John Ryle Wood. In 1836 Wood wrote to Lucas 'I am sorry it was not in my power to send Prince George's portrait yesterday. The delay however has afforded me the opportunity of its being seen by the Princess Augusta and the Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg- and it is but just that I mention that their Royal Highnesses expressed themselves in the warmest terms of admiration for your picture'.

The year before this portrait was painted George was bestowed the Order of the Garter, which is depicted here. Very shortly after this picture was finished George left England where he entered the Hanoverian army.The sumptuous coming of age portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1838. The portrait was so successful that Lucas was then commissioned to paint a full-length portrait of George's father.

I wonder whether this George will show any resemblance to the new heir when he grows up...

Image: mirror.com

Launching BiographyUK

Please click on the link to my new blog:
http://biographyuk.wordpress.com/

Current biographies include:
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
General Alex Dumas
Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Coutts
Percy Bysshe Shelley (kindly contributed by Joe Gardner)

Please email me if you would like to contribute. Enjoy!

CALLING ALL BIOGRAPHERS.

I am setting up a NEW BLOG which will celebrate all the most awesome people in history, and why their lives are worth remembering.

If you would like to write a short piece on your favourite:
iconic public figure
history changing artist
scandalous politician
ground breaking historian
notorious musician
famous nurse
infamous criminal (who said they had to be nice people?!)
etc. etc.
Then please do get in touch. There really are no limits to the people that you can write about!
I suggest a word limit of 600-800 words.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Will post link to new blog soon, just fine tuning!

Forget David Bowie- the V&A’s 'Treasures at the Royal Courts' exhibition is is where the real magic is…

Queen and Lover are Re-united at the V&A’s Latest Show

By A. Crossland

The Victoria and Albert's new exhibition ‘Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and Russian Tsars’ chronicles centuries of Royal extravagance in gifts, gifts which  often travelled thousands of miles in order to impress foreign dignitaries in far away lands. From Ivan the Terrible, through the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and ending with the Stuart monarchs, this exhibition displays some 150 exhibits from both Russian and English Royal courts. On exclusive loan from the Moscow Kremlin Museum is an extensive collection of disgustingly ornate silverware given to the Russian Tsars by English monarchs. The skill displayed in the execution of these colossal wine jugs, platters and serving dishes fills the red walled rooms of the V&A with a shining, glittering light. Surely no modern machinery could ever make works of art such as these.

 The glamour of the Elizabethan joust is displayed in the detailed designs for the head to toe armour worn by such men as Sir Christopher Hatton, in honour of their most beloved Virgin Queen.

A beautifully executed drawing of armour made for Sir Christopher Hatton. Unfortunately the original does not survive. Image: Royal Armouries

A portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton, with exquisite detail to the luxurious cloth used for his clothes. In his hand he holds a miniature, with the profile of his beloved Queen Elizabeth on it. Inside the outer casing of the miniature would be another painting of the Queen. Miniatures were considered to be very precious and intimate gifts.

Henry VIII’s armour is also on display, catching in the eye in a different way, as it confirms the King’s rather excessive lifestyle; and waistband.

 



Queen Elizabeth I, Image: Philip Mould

Portraits in this exhibition highlight how the painted form was used in a conscious way to confirm the sitters’ power status. In the days before any formal propaganda or public representation existed, portraits were the language of social power. Works copied and engraved were shipped across the continent to inspire and impress foreign counterparts. This dialogue of works helped to inspire artists and spread artistic development across the world.













Yet portraits could also speak the language of love. Reunited on the walls of the V&A are two figures forever bound by their historic passion for each other. I am talking of course about Queen Elizabeth I and her most beloved and adored Courtier- Lord Robert Dudley, 1^st Earl of Leicester. 

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl Leceister. The two heraldic devices inform the viewer of Dudley's fine pedigree. The dog symbolises fidelity and loyalty.



Having seen and studied these paintings separately for so long, it seems rather odd to force them together in the naturally contrived space of the exhibition. It becomes hard to imagine the real people that lived and breathed under those restrictive court costumes and behind those frozen faces. Yet the life of opulence and luxury that the Royal Court acted out during these times lives on in the objects they left behind. The gifts traded across nations speak volumes: about the style of the time, about impressive native craftsmanship, and about the cultural, political and even personal messages that they carried with them.

The Drake Jewel. Image: elizabethan-portraits.com

The same can be said for the exquisite jewels, miniatures and gems on display here, especially the Drake Jewel, which is undoubtedly one of the nation’s most precious treasures.

My only regret about the execution of this exhibition is the inclusion of rather rudimentary and simply worded descriptions to the objects. The V&A could have gone a lot further in discussing the symbolic nature of many of the elements in the paintings, jewels and other objects on display. The symbolic language of Court life during these times is surely one of the most fascinating elements of this historical period. To leave these signs unaddressed means that the underlying message of these diplomatic gifts is lost to a society that can no longer read the signs themselves.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/treasures-of-the-royal-courts/about_the_exhibition/
'Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and Russian Tsars' runs from 9th March-14th July 2013.
TICKET PRICES:
General admission: £14
Student: £7
Art Fund: £4.70
 

'Manet: Portraying Life' at the Royal Academy

A Review, by A. Crossland.

Edouard Manet’s artistic mission was to radicalise artistic production and make it relevant to the rapidly modernising world of Paris in the later part of the nineteenth century. Although Classically trained under the grand history painter Thomas Couture, Manet did not need to conform to the strict hierarchy of genre that usually defined artistic success at this time (do look at my entry on Alexandre Cabanel to see what kind of art usually made waves at the annual Salon). Manet had a private income of considerable means; he was a member of the affluent bourgeoisie class whose ‘leisure time’ would become one of the main and most important themes in the artist’s work.

Without needing to paint for money, Manet had the freedom to paint what he dared. He also had the means to support other artists who he felt shared his modern and progressive values. This is crucial to the knock on effect Manet would have, because without these components the building blocks of the artistic and literary world which Manet helped to foster could not have been built. Working together, supporting each other, posing for each other, buying each other’s works, buying each other drinks, by sharing this lifestyle their image of the modern world could be projected onto canvas and paper. The stagnant and repressive world of the Salon would not know what hit it. What is even more impressive is that Manet’s work was actually seen in these upper class elitist spheres that his works sought to contradict. They weren’t hidden away in the backwater atelier of an impoverished artist; Manet’s paintings were making headline news.



The Luncheon, 1868, one of the stars of the R.A.'s new show



Manet’s brashness, and his fearless application of the human form on canvas, would pave the way for artists representing the modern world for generations to come. Usually saying someone is the ‘Father of modern art’ is a rather clichéd overstatement, but in Manet’s case, it is more than likely to be true. Impressionists like Monet and Degas owe a lot of their subject matter and technique to Manet. The fact that Manet, although repeatedly asked, never exhibited with the Impressionists, undoubtedly set him apart. Perhaps he could foresee the great impact his work would have in the wider artistic sense, and did not want to be grouped into any specific artistic movement. Or perhaps he just could not bear to give up his use of black, something the Impressionists did not believe in.

The Swallows, 1873

The exhibition at the Royal Academy, ‘Manet: Portraying Life’ states that it is the first exhibition focusing solely on the role of portraiture in Manet’s oeuvre. To begin with I found this strange, as for me the main bulk of Manet’s work has used models and muses, sometimes solo and sometimes, as in ‘The Luncheon’, in groups. By default that would make any major retrospective on Manet  about portraiture. Having visited the exhibition, I actually think this was a clever way of highlighting just how much Manet was obsessed with displaying people, jobs, social positions and hierarchies, all with the aim of showing just how false a façade of the modern world this created. The inclusion of photographs of many of the sitters in Manet’s works was perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibition for me. Although it is not clear whether Manet ever worked directly from photographic stills, it is clear that he was inspired by their ‘snapshot’ quality, their ability to capture the essence of a pose, a costume, an action, and seal it forever in a two-dimensional space.

The Amazon, c.1882. This work was also at the Manet retrospective in Paris a few years ago, and so was a welcome face to me.

Critics of this exhibition have been raving about ‘The Luncheon’, which includes his son/brother/newphew/godson Léon-Edouard Köella Leenhoff. For me this works seems rather static and overworked in comparison with the exquisite ‘The Swallows’, in which Manet has perfectly captured the wind gently sweeping over the meadow, turning the windmill and making the two ladies sitting on the ground bow their heads. Or in complete comparison my other favourite from this exhibition is ‘The Amazon’, a fantastically poised portrait of a strong and confident woman. In this work black is used not to hide Manet's muse but to accentuate her feline figure and her glamorous top hat. Her reddened lips pursed, perhaps holding an even blacker whip against her blacked out body, she is the ultimate nineteenth century upper class dominatrix; and a total showstopper.

'Manet: Portraying Life' runs at the Royal Academy, London from the 26nd January to 14th April 2013. Adult gift aid £17, OAP £14, Student £10 http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/

 

The National Portrait Gallery Heinz Archive, a must-know-about for all art professionals.

The National Portrait Gallery Archive dates back to the foundation of the gallery itself in 1856. It was initially set up to assist those who worked in the gallery in their research endeavours. The new modern building for the archive is in the street behind the main building, on Orange Street. It is now open to the public, by appointment.

The archive concentrates on cataloguing the production of works surrounding eminent British men and women who either produced, or sat for the printed image. Icono-graphically rich in every direction you turn, the archive contains over 6,000 reproductions of images from collections all over the world. They are arranged in boxes of sitters and artists, each box crammed with rare reproductions, and details of where the work is currently located. This is a process continually being updated, and working there you can often see volunteers (some I recognise from university!) helping to catalogue the never-ending conveyer belt of works being sold at auction houses.

The National Portrait Gallery. The Heinz Archive is to the right of the main building, down Orange Street.

Alongside this resource is a reference collection which boasts more than 800,000 items, drawings, prints and caricatures among many others. If that’s not enough to interest you, then the library also stocks over 35,000 reference books, catalogues and periodicals. One of the best things about the archive is that, unlike many of the other reference libraries in London, you do not have to fight tooth and nail for a copy or wait two days for it to be taken out of stores. It is there ready at your fingertips.

Finally, I must say that the Heinz Archive is a lovely place to work, quiet and full of interesting professionals to work alongside. It is well laid out and easy to navigate. If you find your mind wandering, there is a nice Hoppner on one wall, and a portrait of Shelley on another, both there to interest and inspire. No drab concrete walls here. The staff are friendly and always go out of their way to help you and make your job easier (which is more than I can say for the staff at the British Library). So, calling all art students, researchers, and professionals, do not miss out on this fantastic resource in the heart of London!

The Heinz Archive is open to anyone needing to study works relating to British portraiture. Open by appointment only.

Open Tuesday- Friday 10.00-17.00

Enquiries: archive@npg.org.uk

'The Black Count'- by Tom Reiss. A tale of the black half-slave hero of the French Revolution

Tom Reiss, an American writer best known for his international bestseller 'The Orientalist: In Search of a Man Caught Between East and West', has succeeded yet again in producing this squash-buckling tale of a man so brave, so strong, and filled with such Revolutionary heroics, that he was immortalised in some of the best loved French novels of all time. I am talking of course of General Alexandre Dumas, the real life inspiration behind his son's novels 'The Three Musketeer’s and 'The Conte of Monte Christo'. Dumas' story is so incredible and so unbelievable that it is hard, at times, to believe it is non-fiction, and that the events that shaped his life really took place.

Alex Dumas's real name was Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie; he was born in a slave colony in Saint Domingue, to a slave mother and a French aristocratic father. Alex’s father, who was for all intents and purposes a total scoundrel, sold Alex's mother and their three other children in order to pay for his own passage back to France. Incidentally, he also sold Alex in this way but arranged for his travel to join him once he had raised the funds, and successfully bought his son back out of slavery. This was in 1776. Slavery was illegal in the forward thinking France of this time, so Alex's colour was no issue in his being educated, or in his decision to join the army.

What was surprising was that Alex chose to shrug off his noble background, which could have secured him a commission and a place in the army as an officer. Instead he enlisted as a common soldier in the Queen's Dragoons. As well as his social position he also shunned his father's name, adopting 'Dumas', which was the surname of his mother, whom he would never see or hear from again.



This is actually Alex Dumas the writer dressed up as his beloved father, but you get the idea of the strength and power of the heroic Revolutionary. Oil portrait by Olivier Pichat.

No one could have been prepared for Alex's meteoric rise through the ranks of the French army, something that could only be facilitated by the social and political upheaval thundering through France at the time. Having joined the army at 23, Alex would become General in Chief of the Army of the Alps by his 31^st birthday; in command of some 53,000 troops. From the Alps Alex went to Italy, and then joined Napoleon’s ill-fated expedition to conquer Egypt in 1798.

 

In Egypt, Alex would soon realise he had a much more dangerous enemy than the Bedouin rebels in the unforgiving landscape of the desert. Napoleon himself quickly took a dislike to the handsome and tall, powerfully built and strong leader. It was easy to see why Napoleon felt threatened, when he stood at just over five foot, and Alex was well over six. The Egyptian campaign was an unmitigated disaster, with huge losses for the French and little ground won. Napoleon soon fled the hell-hole of his failures in Egypt and headed back to France in 1801 to take control of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Paris. Alex managed to arrange passage on a boat which proved to be unsound, and was forced to dock at Naples, which was at this time unforgivingly anti-French. Alex was captured, thrown in a dungeon, and left there to rot for the best part of three years before his release could be arranged.

Finally returning to France in 1803, after many suffering and trials in lands far away from home, Alex was able to settle down with his adored wife Marie-Louise. They had a son, also called Alexandre, who would become one of France’s most beloved novelists. Alexandre hero worshipped his father, who would become the main inspiration for the characters and events in his stories.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Reiss tells a marvellous tale, with never seen before research that he uncovered by blowing up a safe in Villers-Cotterêts, France. Having heard an interview with him on Radio 4, and learning the tale of such a fantastically rich life, I knew I had to know Alex’s exceptional story. My only, very minor, complaint about this book is the lack of images included. I suppose this is a typical grievance for any Art Historian. Granted, images of Alex are few and far between. Reiss does however mention in a special chapter at the end of the book an old statue of the General in Paris. Sculpted by Alfred de Moncel, it showed Alex standing proud, like a ‘resolute patriot, grasping his long rifle like a walking stick’. Before the statue was destroyed by the Nazis in the winter of 1941-2 (I suppose it is easy to see why the Nazi’s would not want a statue of a strong and heroic black man standing proud) a few photographs were taken, and I would simply have loved to have seen one. Hell, I would have even liked to have seen the blown up safe!

Please do read this book if you love history and adventure. Many thanks to my sister for buying me the book for Christmas.

 'The Black Count- Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Count of Monte Cristo' by Tom Reiss was published by Harvill Secker, London, in 2012.