National Gallery London

This monday, we visited the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. We focused on British Art from 1750-1850. There was an emphasis on portraits and landscape paintings. One uniquely British artist, George Stubb,  represented heroic racehorses in actual sizes. They were very impressive.

Much of this British artwork was influenced by previous artists from Europe, including Ruben and Claude. All of these British artists had special qualities and techniques of their own that made their work uniquely British. Many artists of the time were educated at the same academy, the Royal Academy in London, which was the most prestigious art school at the time. Because everyone was taught similar techniques, many of the works from this time period are similar.

 

Joshua Reynolds 1723-1792

Lady Cockburn and her Three Eldest Sons

 

This painting composition was made of oil on canvas. The background portrayed the family’s wealth with the large pillars and bold, rich curtains blowing in the background. The colors are very bold and bright. The bright red shows their wealth and prestige. The color contrasts with each other, making the artwork bright and noticeable. The main figure in the painting, the mother, is shown looking adoringly at her three children, who are climbing all over her. The three children look lively and obedient, not wild or crazy. The children aren’t dressed but the mother is wearing a thick fur shall and gold jewelry, also portraying the family’s wealth. This painting was inspired by the Van Dyck painting of the same family, Lady Cockburn.

Dyck’s Charity

Although the two paintings have the same subjects and similar backgrounds, the two paintings portray two very different emotions and meanings. The Van Dyck painting portrays Lady Cockburn as a much more stressed out women with much more wild children. The three children look crazy and like they are a handful to watch. In Reynold’s, the children look much more calm and collected. The mother in Dyck’s is also portrayed differently. In Dyck’s the mother is shown looking up to the sky as if praying to god. Dyck’s painting shows more action as the curtains are blowing in the wind more and there is more action in the background. There are finer details and more delicate brush stroke’s in Dyck’s painting.

Both paintings portray the important Christian value of Charity. Although Dyck’s painting is more spiritual and religious (with the reference to god), both paintings exhibit the important Christian value of charity. Reynold’s most likely referenced this painting to improve his reputation. People would have recognized his painting from Dyck’s painting earlier and would associate him with similar respect and style. He set himself up to be remembered and esteemed with the same respect and acknowledgment that Dyck had received.

Lord Heathfield of Gibraltar

Reynold’s other portait, Lord Heathfield of Gibraltar is similarly well esteemed. It portrays Lord Heathfield triumphantly standing in front of a battlefield. He is holding the key to the fortress in which he had just defeated. He portrays an air of aristocracy and wealth. His bright red coat is similar to Lady Cockburn’s bright dress attire. Both portraits portray wealth and prestige.

The portrait of the woman is different from the portrait of the man because the portrait of the woman shows her stationary at home with not as big of a role or influence as a man. The portrait of the man shows that he is successful in his attempts and is able to protect his nation from threats. Like other artists of the time, Reynold’s portrayed men as more significant than women of the time.

Thomas Gainsborough 1727-1788

Mr and Mrs William Hallet

Gainsborough was one of Reynold’s biggest portrait rivals of the time. This portrait portrays a wealthy couple on their wedding day. The couple is shown bright but the background is dark and gloomy. The couple looks somewhat distant from one another. They are dressed ornately in nice clothing and detailed outfits. The dog on the bottom side of the painting looks like he is enjoying himself while the couple nearly looks estranged. The couple is looking off into the distance as if they are waiting for something. It looks like it could be an arranged marriage.

Dr Ralph Schomberg

In this portrait, Gainsborough portrayed a wealthy man who owned an esteemed medical practice. The painting is done with very detailed brush strokes to form the man while the background is composed of longer, more blended brushstrokes giving the background a more blurred look.   Unlike the single man portrait done by Reynold’s the man in this portrait looks less snobby and aristocratic and more professional and modest. There is a noticeable color change from the foreground to the background. The light is very experimental; you can not tell what time of day it is.

Reynold’s portrait is done with more of an aristocratic and rich approach than Gainsborough’s. Gainsborough portrays a more humble man from the country. The color’s in Gainsborough’s portrait is less bold and expressive; everything is portrayed more humbly. Gainsborough’s portrait shows more relatable subjects.

The Watering Place

Gainsborough is also well known for his landscape paintings. One of his most popular paintings is The Watering Place. The painting is done with detailed brush strokes and fine colors. Diagonal lines can be drawn from one corner to the other, splitting the painting in half. The light, like the light in the portrait, comes from a variety of sources, not eluding to what time of day it is. There is a bright light with an unknown source on the cows, bringing emphasis to the animals and not the people in the background. The painting is calm and serene. 16th Century painter Peter Paul Rubens also did a “Watering Place” landscape portrait.

Paul Rudens’ The Watering Place 

  

This painting is much more detailed than Gainsborough’s. The colors are more bright and have more contrast. There are finer brushstrokes everywhere. There are more people and action in this painting but it is still portrayed as calm. Rubens’ approach is more lively and colorful than Gainsborough’s but Gainsborough’s is more calm and peaceful. Both paintings are equally balanced. Rubens’ paintings were Antwerp based. He was very cultured and had influences from all throughout Europe. He lived in Italy and Spain for a couple of years and familiarized himself with the great Renaissance and classical works of the time. He worked to incorporate the techniques of the Renaissance art into his own work.

J.M.W Turner 1775-1851

Turner is most well known for his use of light in his landscape portraits. He is one of the best loved English Romantic artists.

Ulysses deriding Polyphemus- Homer’s Odyssey

This painting illustrates the story of Odysseus crossing through the sirens on his journey home from the Trojan war. The sun setting in the background gives off an air of triumph and success. The Greeks had just defeated the cyclops Polyphemus and escaped the tragic island. At first glance at the painting, the boat looks as if it is lacking detail and not done with very fine strokes. As you get closer to the painting, you can tell that the small colors on the boat are actually very detailed people and that the blue tones on the underside of the boat are the sirens they are trying to escape. Upon first glance at this painting, you can see the boat is emerging from the dark and entering the bright, hopeful light of the sunset. Your eye is drawn to the opening between the two islands, where the boat is heading, by the bright lights of the sunset.  There is an evident contrast between the boat and the sunset. There are horses portrayed in the sunset. These horses represent Apollo and his chariot, heading off into the sunset. This is symbolic of Apollo being present at the significant event of the blinding of the cyclops.

The Fighting Termeraire

Another one of Turner’s famous works is The Fighting Temeraire. Like in his other painting, there is a bright sunset with bright contrasting colors that the eye is immediately drawn to. The somber colors of the ship and the half dark sky half sunset sky in the background make the boat appear to be moving forward. The boat was actually a boat returning from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. This painting depicts its triumphant return. It was used to portray the decline of Britain’s naval power; its glory days were behind them. The composition was meant to give off a sense of loss, not show the exact recording of the event. The beautiful sunset is directly parallel to the ship, highlighting the objects in between. The painting makes us feel proud but slightly sad that the naval powerhouse is over. It gives off an air of the calm after the storm. This painting was influenced by the works of a Dutch marine painter Willem van der Velde and the French landscape painter Claude. Turner most likely got most of his influence and techniques for different uses of light from the elements used in Claude’s paintings.

Claude’s Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba 

This painting is extremely detailed. It is balanced by land on either side of the painting and various ships and people on either side. The sun is directly centered. There is a lot of movement in the foreground. Movement comes towards the observer through the movement of the waves splashing on the shoreline.  The background looks realistic and details are drawn very clearly. It gives off a soothing feel despite all the movement.

Claude’s The Mill

In this painting, there is a balanced mix of people and animals. The painting is evenly balanced. The light in the background gives off a calm feel and illuminates the foreground. Like his other painting, despite the action of the people, the painting has a generally soothing and serene feel. The picture looks unrealistic because you can not tell where the single light source is. You can not tell where the sun is in the sky. There is light coming from multiple sources. Turner has a similar painting to Claude’s Seaport Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba.

Turner’s Sun Rising Through Vapour: Fishermen Cleaning and Selling Fish

It is visible that Claude’s painting style and use of light influenced Turner’s. They both use light sources from different source destinations and light from all over. They are both bright and colorful due to the multiple light sources. Turner’s painting has lots of people and movement in the foreground as well. The sun balances the picture as well. The sun reflection is bright and colorful, just as Claude’s was. Similar emotions are portrayed. There is movement with water coming towards the shoreline in both pictures as well. Claude’s weakness in his paintings is that is light source is unreliable and inconsistent. It is hard to tell where it comes from, which gives the painting an unrealistic feeling. Claude had been influenced by other northern painters in Rome like Elsheimer and Bolognese artists like Annibale Carracci. These influences helped him balance his classical landscapes.

Claude’s Landscape with Narcissus and Echo

Shows fine details, detailed, short brush strokes, and lots of sources of light.

John Constable 1776-1837

Constable was a notable British painter but was more accepted in France than in England at the time. His oil sketches elevated the portrayal of light at the time.  He focused on the Suffolk landscape, where he spent most of his life. He was influenced from Dutch artists like Jacob van Ruisdael. His color scheme and techniques were influenced by Rubens and Claude as well. Despite all of these influences, his work is extremely original as it portrays different senses of realism and life.

Stratford Mill

In Stratford Mill, the subject of the painting is an old men and little boys fishing in a river. The light on the far right of the scene, reflecting off the water in the center, and streaming through the trees on the left illuminate the picture from all angles. The nature and wildlife in the painting is really detailed. The flora and fauna is really finely painted with short brush strokes. We were very impressed with the detail of the logs and weeds by the water as they contained very intricate details.

Salisbury Cathedral

In Salisbury Cathedral, the subject of the painting is the people and events on the banks of the river. The Cathedral is also highlighted with the different light sources. This painting is not as detailed and appears more blurred and artistic. There are longer brush strokes. The composition of the painting is very spread out and shows many different stories happening on the riverbank. The painting in this painting differs from all the other previous paintings we have analyzed today because the brushstrokes are longer and not as detailed. They are more colorful and have more blended colors.

The subject matter in Constable’s paintings differ from the subject matter in Turner’s paintings because they are less detailed and less realistic. The people in Constable’s painting are not very clear and are very vague. The details in Turner’s are more realistic and more focused. Constable’s have more depth but Turner’s has more lights and colors. Turner’s are brighter. Constable’s paintings portray a mood of tranquility but also some sadness. The dark undertones in the sky on both paintings make the picture appear sad.

Constable was quoted talking about how no one in England likes his paintings because they seem too average. “My limited and abstracted art is to be found under every hedge, and in every lane, and therefore nobody thinks it worth picking it up.” Its not that his paintings were too common or average but that his paintings were not as detailed and intricate as others of the time were. He started to do landscape painting in a different way than anyone else, which is why the design was not as thoroughly accepted at the time. His work was considered “avant-garde” or “experimental and innovative” for the time. After a couple of years though, the work was more accepted and took landscape painting to a new level and direction. The new kind of landscape paintings done by Constable influenced French artists of the time.