SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST

IRISH ARTS REVIEW
SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST
benevolence of heart he mingled a dash of
eccentricity which not infrequently drew on him
the animadversion of his friends who mistook
that for caprice, what was unhappily
a
constitutional infirmity and what settled, a short
time before his death, into confirmed insanity"13
In 1786, Roch left Dublin to work in
Cork, where he was living when his
family arranged his marriage to his first
cousin. The bride, who brought
a
handsome dowry, was Melian Roch, the
only daughter of his uncle, James Roch,
by his first wife, Isabella Odell, of Odell
Lodge, Ardmore, County Waterford.
They were married on Tuesday May
29th 1787. The register of marriages of
St. Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal,
recording the marriage adds:
"N.B. A vety disagreeable and in my mind
event
distressing part of a clergyman's duty to perform
the office of matrimony where one of the parties
is dumb, as was the case in this union."14
The Cork Evening Post records this
more
dispassionately:
"Married in Youghall last Tuesday, Sampson
Roch of this city Esq. to Miss Roch only dau. of
James Roch of Odie Lodge co. Waterford with a
handsome fortune."15
Roch returned to Dublin in 1788,
when he issued the following
advertisement in the Dublin Evening
Post.
"Mr. Roch, miniature painter, informs his friends
and the public that he has returned to Dublin
and lodges at ? 52 Capel Street; his improvement
in painting and taking likenesses encourages him
to solicit the support of a generous public whose
bounty he has hitherto amply experienced."16
The year 1788 is the date on his
portraits of Lady Gwendoline Spencer,
of Mrs. Morgan, and of his own brother,
William. From 1789-92, Roch lived in
Grafton Street, and seems to have been
well patronized. In Dublin, he painted
members of the bourgeoisie; several of
these survive such as the portrait
miniatures of Mrs. Morgan (n?e Hoey),
(1788) and Mrs. Thorp, (both in the
National Gallery of Ireland).
Roche left Dublin in 1792 to take up
residence in Bath where he remained
until 1822, working there successfully as
a miniaturist. Bath had become a
fashionable resort after the discovery of
the Roman baths there in 175517. The
aristocracy and the upper classes
provided the miniaturists with the sort
of patronage they required. Roch, in
order to avail himself of this
opportunity, had made an early visit to
England before actually settling in Bath
in 1792, as another Irish miniaturist,
Samuel Collins (?-1786), had done
before him.
In 1817, from his address at 11
Pierpoint Street, Bath, Roch sent two
miniatures, his only contribution, to the
R.A. In 1819-1822 his address is
recorded as 12 Pierpoint Street18.
While at Bath, he won valuable
commissions from the aristocracy and
royalty including a portrait of H.R.H.
Princess Amelia (1783-1810), (Private
Collection), the youngest daughter of
George III. Such a commission certainly
helped Roch to establish his reputation.
The amusements at Bath were pre
sided over by two Masters of
Ceremonies, one for the upper rooms
and one for the lower. They were
elected to that office by the subscribers
to the assemblies and balls. Roch
painted the portraits of two of the most
renowned Masters of Ceremonies,
Charles Le Bas and James King, (both
now in the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath).
The naval and military services were
valuable sources of commissions, for
example, the portrait of Admiral
Fellowes, (Private Collection), and the
portrait of 4an Officer' with interwoven
hair on the reverse, (Private
Collection), both of which date from
this period.
One of Roch's most interesting sitters
was Hester Thrale, n?e Lynch, later Mrs.
Piozzi (1741-1821)19. Roch painted
two portraits of this lady; the first is
dated 1782, and the second, 1816. The
difference between the two paintings is
instructive20. At the time of the
painting of the first picture, she had
recently been widowed by the death of
Thrale, an elderly brewer. With regard
to this first picture, Mrs. Thrale insisted
on a good likeness; she wished to be
painted with her face deeply rouged,
and with the trivial deformity of her,
lower jaw evident. This miniature may
well have been painted as a dissuasive
memento for Dr. Johnson, who wanted
to marry her, but whom she wanted to
shake off.
Alternatively, and perhaps this is the
more felicitous conjecture, it might
have been painted
as an imtimate token
for Gabriel Piozzi, whom she wished to
marry? a wish gratified only after his
departure to, and subsequent
return
from, Italy.
Indeed, her involvement with Piozzi
explains something about the character
of society to be found in Bath at the
time. Mrs. Thrale went to Bath in 1793
as a result of family pressure and public
disapproval of her wish to marry Piozzi.
Later she divided her time between
London and Brighton, and it was
probably there that Roch painted her
later portrait of 1816. By contrast to the
earlier picture, the portrait of 1816
shows her in a dark bonnet and dress,
an
elderly
woman. She gave a copy of
this portrait to a Mr. Maginn in 1818 as
a gift in a special case, containing lines
of her own composition, demonstrating
the important "keepsake" nature of
miniatures21.
The final period of Roch's career
covers his return to Ireland and his
subsequent retirement, during which he
continued to paint portraits and sketch
local life. He returned to Ireland in
1822. It is believed that he worked in
Cork, and then eventually went to live
with his relations in County Waterford.
His wife died on September 21st 1837.
Ten years later, Roch died at the family
house; he was buried on February 20th
1847 in the family plot at Ardmore, Co.
Waterford, although the exact site of
his grave remains unknown.
Roch's work is characterized by the
excellence of his technique and style,
which vary little throughout his long
career, and the superb quality of his
handling of detail such as jewellery,
hair, costume, and the overall finish and
minuteness of brushstrokes. All these
are evident in the portrait of J.P.
Kemble, (Private Collection). Kemble,
the most celebrated actor of the day
and brother of the famous actress Sarah
Siddons, also sat for Horace Hone and
Gilbert Stuart.
The features of Roch's sitters are
always clearly defined and his sitters are
particularly well-posed, in the sense that
the painter has exercised care with the
way in which his subjects are seated,
and in the way the face is positioned,
whether in profile
or otherwise. These
characteristics are exemplified in the
portrait of 'Lady in a Hat With Flowers',
(Private Collection). Roch's technique
involves a particularly deliberate and
successful use of colour. His use of
brightly coloured costume contrasts
admirably with the delicate tones of the
skin and other facial details of the sitter.
Thus, both in the portrait of 4An
Officer', (Private Collection), and 'Boy
-18