IngAUG

The Arts Society, Brentwood District
(formerly Brentwood & District Decorative and Fine Arts Society)
The English have long had a taste for portraits. When the National
Portrait Gallery opened in London in 1856, it was the first such
gallery in the world.
In our June talk Looking at Portraits - A very English Taste, Val
Woodgate explored why and how this English passion has
influenced painting in this country. An early Italian commentator
remarked that portraits were regarded as more special in England
than any country due to “our self-love”. Val’s explanation was more
prosaic. Before the Reformation in the 16th century, artists – and
their patrons – concentrated on religious paintings. After the
Reformation, these paintings were no longer acceptable. For the
next 200 years, portraiture took their place. Indeed, religious art did
not simply go out of fashion. From the establishment of the Church
of England by Henry VIII in 1534 to the Restoration of Charles II in
1660, 95% of English religious art was destroyed.
Until relatively recently, artists needed patrons to make a living.
William Hogarth in the 18th century was the first to be self-financing
and thrive without a patron. So, after 1534, artists had to find a new
topic for paintings that would attract patrons. And they found
portraiture. At first, portraits, like those of earlier kings, were drawn
from earlier records, descriptions, sketches or just imagination. The
father of painting from real life in England was Hans Holbein, a
German painter who came to live in England. His portrait of Henry
VIII from real life set the standard. As did his The Ambassadors
painted in 1533. It had amazing realism, vivid colours and no visible
brush strokes. The closer you get, the more you see.
Portraits can have many purposes. Bequeathing a likeness to
posterity is only one of them. For Royals, politics has often been the
primary purpose. Particularly at a time
when paintings were a key medium
for messages. Take the time of
Elizabeth I. When she came
to the throne, she decreed
that no more portraits were
to be painted of her until a
portrait design had been
approved. Portraits were
an important political tool.
It was six years before
Nicholas Hilliard, the Court
miniaturist, painted the first
portrait of her as Queen. One
of the design rules was that no
shadows should be shown, so her
portraits are difficult to date. Each
portrait carried political statements, whether to
do with the defeat of the Armada or her role as the Virgin Queen.
Only a few were painted from real life. But many were copied from
approved paintings onto a large number of objects and widely
circulated to meet a strong demand.
Anthony Van Dyke, a Flemish painter who became Court Painter to
Charles I, became another powerful influence on English portraiture.
His very different brush strokes from Holbein gives a sense of
movement. His portrait of a mounted Charles I became a template
for many later paintings.
But iconic portraits were not just for Royals. By the 18th century,
when English masters of the portrait really came into their own, it
was the gentry and the successful business leaders who became
patrons. Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds put English
8
portraiture on the map. Gainsborough’s Mr and Mrs Andrew’s
became a painting classic. As did Reynolds’ Captain Robert Orme.
Portraiture has continued to play a leading role in English painting up
to the present day. Portraits of the Queen by Pietro Annigoni and
Lucien Freud hit the headlines. David Hockney’s Mr and Mrs Clark
and Percy became one of his best-known paintings. Someone
selling a flat shown in the background of this portrait made that a big
selling point. The National Portrait Gallery is always packed. The
country is still in love with portraits.
Our next talk is on Wednesday 19
September 2018, when Hilary
Williams’ subject will be William
Hogarth – a Harlot, a Rake and a
Marriage. Hilary was formerly Print
Room Superintendent at the British
Museum and is now the Art History
Education Officer. She lectures for
the British Museum, London
Borough of Bexley and the Wallace
Collection. She is also Liaison
officer at the British Museum with
The Arts Society. As well as being
Founding Artistic Director of The
Arts Society of North Kent Evening
she guides Special Interest Private
Tours of State Apartments at
Buckingham Palace.
Left:
Gainsborough’s
Mr and Mrs
Andrews.
Below:
Annigoni’s1955
Portrait of the
Queen.
Hilary's lecture will be about Hogarth, born in London, the son of an
unsuccessful schoolmaster and writer from Westmoreland. After
apprenticeship to a goldsmith, he began to produce his own
engraved designs in about 1710. He later took up oil painting,
starting with small portrait groups called conversation pieces. He
went on to create a series of paintings satirising contemporary
customs, but based on earlier Italian prints, of which the first was
The Harlot's Progress (1731), and perhaps the most famous The
Rake's Progress. In 1743 he painted the series famously entitled
Marriage A-la-Mode His engravings were so plagiarised that he
lobbied for the Copyright Act of 1735 as protection for writers and
artists.
Our talks are at the Community Hall, Ingatestone at 7.30 for 8pm,
usually on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Visitors are always
welcome. The entrance fee for visitors is £7. There is plenty of
parking. Full details of our future talks and other activities are on our
website http:// tasbd.org.uk . If you’d like more information or to
ask about our activities, call our Membership Secretary Diana
Bandy on 01277 353178 or our Deputy Chairman Strachan
Heppell on 01277 353418.
The Journal