Boilly: Scenes of Parisian Life

Apr11

Boilly: Scenes of Parisian Life, National Gallery, (Room 1), Trafalgar Square, London WC2, until 19^th May 2019

A Carnival on the Boulevard du Crime 1832

Louis-Léopold Boilly A Carnival Scene, 1832 Oil on canvas 60.3 × 106.5 cm The Ramsbury Manor Foundation Photo © courtesy the Trustees

It wasn’t that this exhibition was free or the first of its kind in this country that impelled me to make a special trip to London to come and see it, it was the skill and talent of the artist Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761 – 1845) that was my driving force.

I had often seen the three Boilly paintings in the Wallace Collection, depicting scenes from everyday life in the more upper-middle class homes of late 18^th century France but in this exhibition at the National Gallery one sees how he “triumphed” as an artist in the ever-changing world of Paris from the French Revolution to the July Monarchy of Louis Philippe.

Boilly’s paintings are a revelation whether genre scenes whose style recalls Dutch artists of the 17^th century or a trompe l’oeil painting that looks exactly like a print. He set a trend with his small portraits and his everyday street scenes. I chose the image above because it represents elements of his work from all periods. Most importantly look at it closely for the elements of humour that can be found in such works by him.

What makes this ravishing, must see exhibition particularly special are the twenty works from an English private collection which are both being shown and published for the first time. The collection was put together by the late Harry Hyams (1928-2015) and I count myself fortunate that I met him at a porcelain exhibition in London in 2010 and could appreciate the knowledge and connoisseurship he had of art and antiques during our enjoyable conversation.

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk

http://www.wallacecollection.org

ENVOI

**Among the exhibitions this year at Waddesdon Manor is Brought to life: Eliot Hodgkin Rediscovered (25 May – 20 October) which will feature paintings from Mr Hyams’ collection.**

The Maids Room Eliot Hodgkin © The Estate of Eliot Hodgkin © Photo: The Ramsbury Manor Foundation, photo by AJ Photography

waddesdon.org.uk

From the Bowes to the Wallace

Oct25

El Greco to Goya – Spanish Masterpieces from The Bowes Museum, The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, W1, until 7th January 2018

Jose Antolinez
The Immaculate Conception, 1650-75
Credit @ The Bowes Museum

While we usually think of the Wallace Collection as a haven of French 18^th century art and taste it is of course much more than that as its works by Murillo and Velazquez testify. It is therefore appropriate that this group of Spanish paintings, spanning three centuries, should come on loan from the Bowes Museum in County Durham and mark the start of a partnership between these two remarkable places. The museums have similar origins as they are both the gifts of illegitimate sons of aristocratic fathers to the British nation.

Francisco Jose Goya
Interior of a Prison, 1793-94
Credit @ The Bowes Museum

Xavier Bray, Director of the host museum says: “El Greco to Goya is not only an unprecedented opportunity to see Spanish art of extraordinary power and significance in London, but also the beginning of an exciting relationship between the Wallace Collection and The Bowes Museum. Both institutions share a commitment to making great art accessible to wider audiences and we are looking forward to working closely together to develop a long term connection between London and the North East.”

Domenikos Theotokopoulos ‘El Greco’
The Tears of St Peter, 1580-89
Credit @ The Bowes Museum

His counterpart at the Bowes Museum, Adrian Jenkins, says: “In 1892, when The Bowes Museum first opened its doors to the public, it had the largest public collection of Spanish paintings in the UK. As we mark 125 years since the creation of the museum, it is highly appropriate that the key works from this collection should be shared with London audiences, in keeping with John and Joséphine Bowes’ belief that great art should be made accessible to all. Neither John nor Joséphine Bowes survived to realise their vision, and they would be delighted to think that the best of their acquisitions would be shown at the Wallace Collection during this anniversary year, recognising that their gift to the people of County Durham is also a gift to the nation.”

Well worth a peek!

Antonio Pereda y Salgado
Tobias Restoring his Father’s Sight, 1652
Credit @ The Bowes Museum

wallacecollection.org / @WallaceMuseum / #ElGrecotoGoya

BOOK REVIEW: Gilded Interiors: Parisian Luxury and the Antique

Aug25

Gilded Interiors: Parisian Luxury and the Antique

Helen Jacobsen

Imprint: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd
Publisher: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd

£19.95

ISBN: 9781781300589

This book is far more than just a souvenir of the recent seriously good exhibition at The Wallace Collection which focused on their gilt-bronze as it includes even more of the wonderful bronzes d’ameublement that are an important part of The Wallace’s justly famous collections of French eighteenth-century art.

Dr Jacobsen introduces us to the late 18^th century Parisian interiors and the taste for the Antique setting the stage for these superbly designed and executed objects. You will find clocks, firedogs, candelabra, mounted porcelain and even tables – which are then individually discussed in detail. It is beautifully illustrated with a combination of new photography and copies of original designs and proposals for both objects and interiors. The book is a great celebration of 18^th century connoisseurship and taste revealing the world of figures such as Marie Antoinette and the comte d’Artois and their circles. It is an absolute must for all interested in the interiors and the ‘douceur de vivre’ of the Ancien Régime.

www.ibtauris.com

The Collection of Raine, Countess Spencer

Jun30

The Collection of Raine, Countess Spencer (1929-2016), Christie’s King Street, London SW1, Old Masters Evening Sale (6^th July 2017) and The Collection of Raine, Countess Spencer (13^thJuly 2017)

Interior
From the property of Lady Spencer © Christie’s Images Limited 2017

I count myself fortunate in having encountered Raine, Countess Spencer several times over the years and she was always the epitome of elegance and charm. That sense of style is very much reflected in her home, the contents of which are to be found in these sales. While the paintings, furniture and objects contributed to the glamour of the rooms they were not mere ‘background’ objects but were bought because Lady Spencer liked them and wanted to live with and use them.

Interior
From the property of Lady Spencer © Christie’s Images Limited 2017

She was very much drawn to the arts of 18^th century France and numbered works by Boucher, Fragonard and Greuze among the pictures she collected. On some purchases she was advised by Sir Francis Watson (former Director of the Wallace Collection) who also advised the Wrightsmans with their legendary collection. Regency furniture was another love and it blended well with her French pieces. Her last dining room recalled the Art Deco period and there was also a collection of French Art Nouveau lithographs.

Interior
From the property of Lady Spencer © Christie’s Images Limited 2017

From her birth – she was the daughter of the novelist Dame Barbara Cartland – onwards Lady Spencer was the focus of media interest whether through her marriages or her work as a Westminster City Councillor and in the conservationist campaigns she supported. In later years she was a director of Harrods and had a hands-on approach. The thread of perfectionism that runs through her life is also reflected in her clothes, jewellery and other accessories in the 13^th July auction. This is very much an opportunity to appreciate, enjoy or even acquire a piece of the elegant perfection that was Lady Spencer’s way of life.

Claude Joseph Vernet (Avignon 1714-1789 Paris)
A Mediterranean sea-port with fishermen unloading cargo
oil on canvas
Estimate: £300,000-500,000
© Christie’s Images Limited 2017

A LOUIS XVI COMMODE
CIRCA 1770-75, ATTRIBUTED TO ANTOINE-PIERRE FOULLET
Estimate: £60,000-90,000
© Christie’s Images Limited 2017

Interior
From the property of Lady Spencer © Christie’s Images Limited 2017

AN 18 CARAT GOLD, RUBY AND DIAMOND PARURE, BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
Comprising a necklace, designed as a graduated series of ruby cabochon and brilliant-cut diamond clusters
Estimate: £100,000-150,000
© Christie’s Images Limited 2017

One of several ‘Lady Dior’ handbags, this one of black leather with studwork decoration.
Estimate: £1,000-1,500
© Christie’s Images Limited 2017

http://www.christies.com

Stunning objects!

May27

Gilded Interiors: French Masterpieces of Gilt Bronze, The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, W1, until 30^th July 2017

F292: Perfume Burner,
Pierre Gouthière, 1774 – 1775, detail.
© The Wallace Collection

We probably all have a vision of what an 18^th century French interior may look like – white and gold panelling, commodes, chairs, sumptuous fabrics, tapestries or paintings, and gilded objects such as clocks or candelabra. The latter are probably the items we pay least attention too but you most certainly won’t after visiting this SUPERB exhibition.

F269: Mantel clock,
Jean-Baptiste Lepaute, 1781, detail.
© The Wallace Collection

We are able to study these objects closely and see the great attention to detail and the exquisite chasing and gilding techniques used. Two of the items on show belonged to Marie Antoinette. The comte d’Artois, the duc d’Aumont and the Prince Regent are other important patrons and clients from the 18^th century whom you will discover. Only one of the wondrous pieces does not come from the Wallace Collection and that is a pair of firedogs bought by the future George IV. They are included because they are the same model as a pair owned by the 4^th Marquess of Hertford in his Paris home*.

F131: Candelabrum,
Possibly François Rémond, France, 1783 – 1786
© The Wallace Collection

These gilded wonders, which were such an important and integral part of the homes of the great and wealthy 18^th century patrons, are the creation of artists such as Pierre Gouthière, François Rémond and Claude Pition and are important examples of 18^th century French taste and stunning works of art in their own right.

F164: Candlestick,
Claude-Jean Pitoin, 1781, detail.
© The Wallace Collection

The exhibition is curated by Dr Helen Jacobsen, Senior Curator and Curator of French Eighteenth-century Decorative Arts at the Wallace Collection who has also written a book on this aspect of the Collection which I shall return to later. She has also borrowed 18^th century drawings from the Bibliothèque Municipale in Besançon which are by the noted architect and designer of interiors Pierre-Adrien Pâris and they reveal how Ancient Rome was a source of inspiration while others show how that inspiration was enacted upon.

F317: Table,
attributed to François Rémond, 1785 – 1787, detail.
© The Wallace Collection

I have now visited the exhibition three times but will return again and again because each time you see new details and appreciate even more the perfection of 18^th century French decorative arts.

F258: Mantel clock, The Avignon Clock,
Pierre Gouthière, France, 1771
© The Wallace Collection

* This was not part of Sir Richard Wallace’s bequest and they are now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

http://www.wallacecollection.org

Tom Ellis at the Wallace Collection

Oct23

The Middle – Tom Ellis at the Wallace Collection, The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, W1, until 27^th November 2016

The Middle- Tom Ellis at the Wallace Collection

This intriguing exhibition starts on this prestigious Museum’s front lawn and then inside occupies the Front State Room and the downstairs exhibition gallery. The Museum’s own collections have inspired contemporary artist Tom Ellis (b1973) to create these site specific works. His large-scale paintings with their recurring motif of a shoemaker are inspired by work by Teniers the Younger while his furniture is inspired by those 18^th century French examples in the Collection which have transformative elements.

Front State Room
The Middle- Tom Ellis at the Wallace Collection

The installation’s title reflects the unresolved nature of the works and the idea that the museum is neither a fully domestic or public space. The third inspiration comes from the writer Samuel Beckett who was interested in the idea of the unresolved and open-endedness that can be found in art. Beckett, a frequent visitor to the Wallace in 1935, also shared Ellis’s love of Dutch paintings.

Exhibition Room
The Middle- Tom Ellis at the Wallace Collection

http://www.wallacecollection.org

The Wallace Collection on Canvas

Nov10

Alan Kingsbury RWA ‘The Charms of Life’, Panter & Hall, 11-12 Pall Mall, London SW1, 11th – 27th November 2015

Alan Kingsbury RWA
The Charms of Life
oil on canvas
60 x 40 ins (152 x 102 cms)
Photography by Simon Cook

The viewers and the lucky purchasers of these works can have no doubt that Alan Kingsbury has a warm affection for the treasures of art which make up the stunning Wallace Collection here in London.

Alan Kingsbury RWA
Sevres through Red and Gold
oil on canvas
54 x 50 ins (137 x 127 cms
Photography by Simon Cook

Kingsbury has been a fan of the Collection since he was a student and he has most evocatively translated his admiration for the rooms, furniture, porcelain, bronzes and paintings into these large-scale works. They capture a spirit of intimacy which reminds us that indeed Hertford House was a family home, albeit enriched with great treasures.

Alan Kingsbury RWA
Mercury
oil on canvas
70 x 50 ins (178 x 127 cms)
Photography by Simon Cook

While in many ways to me this is a perfect show, for I too love the Wallace Collection, I shall leave the last word to Matthew Hall: ‘For me, Alan is undoubtedly one of the greatest figurative paintings of his generation. In an age when the London commercial art scene is annually suffocated by the numbing homogeneity of the latest Florentine graduates, Alan’s paintings and talent scream integrity and substance.’

Alan Kingsbury RWA
New Age
oil on canvas
50 x 60 ins (127 x 152 cms)
Photography by Simon Cook

Alan Kingsbury RWA
Cornucopia
oil on canvas
52 x 50 ins (132 x 127 cms
Photography by Simon Cook

Alan Kingsbury RWA
Constellation II
oil on canvas
50 x 40 ins (127 x 102 cms)

Alan Kingsbury RWA
Room in Pink and Gold
oil on canvas
70 x 50 ins (178 x 127 cms)
Photography by Simon Cook

http://www.panterandhall.com

‘Experiments in Paint’

May10

Joshua Reynolds:’Experiments in Paint’, The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1, until 7th June 2015

Joshua Reynolds, Sir Joshua Reynolds, c. 1747-49, © National Portrait Gallery, London

I have to admit to being a fan of the work of Sir Joshua Reynolds, a founder and the first president of the Royal Academy, indeed my first holiday project at school was on him. So imagine my delight in the current exhibition at the Wallace Collection and, like many others, I have visited it more than once and will certainly return again.

Joshua Reynolds, The 4th Duke of Queensberry ('Old Q') as Earl of March, 1759 © The Wallace Collection

Although many of his clientele were establishment figures of the day, Reynolds was keen to experiment with materials and the methods of creating his paintings as the twenty on view, together with X-ray images and archival sources reveal. You will discover compositional changes, his sometimes unusual choices of materials and how he built up the image on canvas.

Joshua Reynolds, Studio Experiments in Colour and Media © Royal Academy of Arts, London.

As well as works from the Wallace collection there are also loans from the UK, Europe and the USA so that one can gets a wide survey of his works, whether portraits, historical or “fancy” subjects. As Reynolds said in 1784 “A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts”

The Strawberry Girl
Joshua Reynolds,
The Strawberry Girl, 1772-3,
© The Wallace Collection,
Photo: The National Gallery, London

Hopefully see you there!

Joshua Reynolds, Mrs Mary Robinson, 1783-4, © The Wallace Collection, Photo: The National Gallery, London

wallacecollection.org

BOOK REVIEW: Gods and Heroes

Jan5

Gods and Heroes Masterpieces from the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris

Emmanuel Schwartz, Emmanuelle Brugerolles and Patricia Mainardi

Published by GILES in association with the American Federation of Arts
Price — UK£39.95/US$59.95
ISBN — 978-1-907804-12-0

This book, which records an eponymous touring exhibition in the USA, is a great celebration of the important role that the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris had on European art in the 17th-19th centuries.
As I explained in my blog (01/12/13) about the Wallace Collection’s exhibition The Male Nude: Eighteenth-century drawings from the Paris Academy the École’s role was to prepare the most promising artists for their future role in painting for patrons – royal, ecclesiastical or state. Their training included depicting the world of gods, classical or biblical, and heroes, real and mythological and they were taught to reflect the ideology and aesthetic taste of their time.
The École is not only a repository for works by some of the great French artists that studied there but also for those of other great European artists such as da Vinci, Durer, Rembrandt and Van Dyck. It is a book which is a visual and informative delight for all who are interested in painting, drawing and sculpture.

The Wallace Collection

Sep29

The Great Gallery Reopened!

Do you know that feeling you can get when you see something that so impresses you that you actually have to go back to see it again? Well that is what happened with me and the re-opening of the Great Gallery at the Wallace Collection and believe me it is looking fantastic.

The new ceiling which once again allows natural light in is a huge bonus, evoking Sir Richard Wallace’s days. He had the original gallery added between 1872-5 to house his collection which he was bringing over from Paris.

The famous art historian Sir Kenneth Clark described it as “the greatest picture gallery in Europe” and it certainly deserves that appellation. The new hang emphasizes the creative dialogue between the major 17th century centres of artistic endeavor; Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and France. Among the familiar treasures on show are the widely known and loved works – Hals’ The Laughing Cavalier, Rubens’ The Rainbow Landscape, Poussin’s A Dance to the Music of Time and Velázquez’ The Lady with a Fan.

The striking new crimson silk damask on the walls reflects the way 19th century collectors displayed their paintings while the new decorative wainscot panelling captures the spirit of the 18th century as arranged against it is some of the Collection’s superb Boulle furniture. Indeed the noted collector the Marquis de Marigny (Madame de Pompadour’s brother) said that the best way to display Boulle furniture was against white and gold panelling and he is certainly proved right in this gallery. By the 1770s it had become fashionable in France to place Boulle pieces in the same rooms as Old Masters.

So following the two year refurbishment, thanks to the generous support of the Monuments Trust who made it possible, the 18th, 19th and 21st centuries have come together in a glorious symphony of art. I did wonder looking at the portrait of George IV what he would think were he able to visit the gallery and I could imagine that on leaving he would call his architects and ask them to create as great a room for him at Buckingham Palace!

http://www.wallacecollection.org

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