Sunday, February 2, 2020

Human and/or Divine Figures in Paint (1810-1820)

George Sanders
Mary Elizabeth Egerton, Lady Sykes
(dressed in so-called Van Dyck costume)
ca. 1810
oil on canvas
National Trust, Tatton Park, Cheshire

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Monsieur de Norvins
1811-12
oil on canvas
National Gallery, London

William Hilton
Christ restoring Sight to the Blind
1812
oil on canvas
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Anne-Louis Girodet
Portrait of Napoleon in Coronation Robes
ca. 1812
oil on canvas
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham

"Napoleon poses triumphantly as Emperor of France.  He extends a hand over the Civil Code, the orb and the hand of justice that rest on the table.  He wears the grand collar of the Legion of Honour and holds a sceptre surmounted by the Imperial eagle.  Gold bees, associated with the ancient kings of France, decorate his mantle, adding legitimacy to his rule.  In 1812 Girodet was commissioned to paint 36 identical portraits of the Emperor.  When Napoleon abdicated [two years later], 26 had been completed, and they remained in Girodet's studio until after the artist's death."

– from curator's notes at the Bowes Museum 

Étienne-Jean Delécluze
Emperor Augustus rebuking Cornelius Cinna for his Treachery
(scene from Corneille's Cinna)
1814
oil on canvas
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham

Richard Westall
The Honourable Mrs. Abbot Upcher née Charlotte Wilson
1814
oil on canvas
National Trust, Sheringham Park, Norfolk

Henry Raeburn
Portrait of Mrs William Urquhart
1814-15
oil on canvas
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

Thomas Lawrence
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
ca. 1815-16
oil on canvas
Wellington Collection, Apsley House, London

Jacques-Louis David
Portrait of the Comtesse Vilain and her Daughter
1816
oil on canvas
National Gallery, London

Peter von Cornelius
Joseph reveals himself to his Brothers
ca. 1816-17
fresco
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin

Jacques-Antoine Vallin
Madame Bigottini (ballet dancer) as a Bacchante
1817
oil on canvas
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham

Samuel Woodforde
Scene from Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus
ca. 1817
oil on canvas
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Jozef Geirnaert
Phaedra and Hippolytus
1819
oil on canvas
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham

"Phaedra, the daughter of Minos, a king of Crete, married Theseus, a king of Athens.  The goddess Venus maliciously imbued Phaedra with an unconquerable passion for her stepson, Hippolytus.  Under this spell, Phaedra attempted to seduce Hippolytus, and on failing to do so, accused him before Theseus of attempts on her virtue.  Hippolytus fled from Athens and was killed when his chariot overturned.  On hearing of this tragedy, Phaedra confessed the truth and hanged herself out of shame."

– from curator's notes at the Bowes Museum

James Northcote
Edmund Kean as Brutus
1819
oil on canvas
National Portrait Gallery, London

"The actor Edmund Kean was engaged by the Drury Lane Theatre for three years in 1814, making a triumphant first appearance as Shylock; he was unrivalled in tragic parts, most notably Richard III.  Kean is seen here in the title role of Howard Payne's Brutus (1818) which he performed to considerable success.  Northcote has chosen to depict the final scene when Brutus speaks with his son Titus whom he has condemned to execution.  It was painted for Kean's close friend, S.W. Reynolds, who engraved and published a mezzotint of the picture."

– from curator's notes at the National Portrait Gallery

John Downman
A Late Princess personifying Peace crowning the Glory of England reflected on Europe
1819
oil on canvas
National Museum Cardiff, Wales