18th century Art Archives - Page 2 of 2

Photo of the 2019 Exhibition Becoming a Painter in 18th-Century Boston: Copley and Others. Copley’s Portrait of Paul Revere and the "Sons of Liberty Bowl," created by Paul Revere Jr. and commissioned by 15 members of the Sons of Liberty in 1768

John Singleton Copley’s Portrait of Paul Revere

July 3, 2022

by Amalia Spiliakou 18th century Art American Art Teaching Resources

John Singleton Copley, 1738 – 1815
Portrait of Paul Revere, 1768, oil on canvas, 89.22 x 72.39 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA, USA — **John Singleton Copley,** 1738 – 1815
Portrait of Paul Revere, 1768, oil on canvas, 89.22 x 72.39 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA, USA https://collections.mfa.org/objects/32401

Listen, my children, and you shall hear / Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, / On the eighteenth of April in Seventy-Five; / Hardly a man is now alive / Who remembers that famous day and year. / He said to his friend, –“If the British march / By land or sea from the town to-night, / Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch / Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light— / One if by land and two if by sea; / And I on the opposite shore will be, / Ready to ride and spread the alarm / Through every Middlesex village and farm, / For the country-folk to be up and to arm… / So through the night rode Paul Revere; / And so through the night went his cry of alarm / To every Middlesex village and farm,— / A cry of defiance, and not of fear, / A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, / And a word that shall echo forevermore! / For, borne on the night-wind of the Past, / Through all our history, to the last, / In the hour of darkness and peril and need, / The people will waken and listen to hear / The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed, / And the midnight message of Paul Revere. Thus, begins and ends Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.” On the 4^th of July 2022, I want to remember and honour the man, the brave Massachusetts Minuteman, and the talented silversmith… by looking at John Singleton Copley’s Portrait of Paul Revere! https://poets.org/poem/paul-reveres-ride

By 1867 Paul Revere was a member of the Massachusetts Minutemen, a group of patriots ready to act against the British army at a moment’s notice, had joined the Sons of Liberty group and was an active political figure. He was also famous for his considerable talents as a silversmith. Today his fame springs from Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.”, a work that was first published in the January 1861 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, his remarkable portrait of 1768 by John Singleton Copley, and a select group of silverware like the “Sons of Liberty Bowl,” commissioned by 15 members of the Sons of Liberty in 1768, and made by the artist.

John Singleton Copley, 1738 – 1815
Portrait of Paul Revere (detail- face), 1768

John Singleton Copley, 1738 – 1815
Portrait of Paul Revere (details), 1768 — **John Singleton Copley,** 1738 – 1815
Portrait of Paul Revere (details), 1768, oil on canvas, 89.22 x 72.39 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA, USA https://smarthistory.org/john-singleton-copley-paul-revere/

It is interesting how John Singleton Coplay portrayed Paul Revere in his traditional job as a silversmith, and not as the important revolutionary figure he was. He stands behind his highly polished table, holding a silver tea-pot, tools of his trade in front of him, modestly dressed… showing an industrious and humble character. It is no surprise that Revere was portrayed this way, for the revolutionary Americans, especially those of the north, were very proud of their industrial nature. https://gschmittleinushistory.weebly.com/mfa-project.html

Copley’s portrait of Paul Revere is, according to Dr. Bryant Zygmont, striking in many ways. The way he is dressed is one of them… Revere, shown by Copley in half-length, wigless, holding his chin with his right hand and regarding the viewer as if he has just looked up, is not portrayed wearing his “Sunday’s Best” clothing, as was the custom of the time. Revere wears, for example, no Jacket or Coat, as every Colonial American man would have worn if they could afford to do so. Instead, he wears simple working attire, a decision that underscores his artisan, middle-class status. Details not to be missed are… the open-collared shirt, made from plain white linen, the lack of cravat, a kind of formal neckwear, the open undershirt peeking from underneath his linen shirt, and a wool (or perhaps a dull silk) waistcoat, unbuttoned as well, yet featuring two gold buttons. https://smarthistory.org/john-singleton-copley-paul-revere/

There are more details to notice. Revere’s, for example, open white shirt and the blue-green waistcoat is worn without a jacket are associated with work clothes. Yet, the cleanliness of his attire, the golden buttons of his vest, the nearly completed silver tea-pot in his left hand, and the polished, pristine table in front of him, do not reflect the garments Revere actually wore to ply his trade, nor the craftsman’s workbench. Is John Singleton Copley’s Portrait of Paul Revere an idealized image of the American artisan at work? One can only wonder! https://collections.mfa.org/objects/32401

Happy 4^th of July

Information for my short presentation was sourced in https://smarthistory.org/john-singleton-copley-paul-revere/ and https://collections.mfa.org/objects/32401

For a Student Activity, please… Check HERE!

For a Student Activity on Copley’s Portrait of Paul Revere, Check the Teachers Resource Book of Picturing America by the National Endowment for the Humanities, pp. 10-11 https://web-archive-2017.ait.org.tw/zhtw/PUBS/PicturingAm/PA_TeachersResource_Book_en.pdf

The Death of Socrates by Jacques Louis David

April 5, 2022

by Amalia Spiliakou 18th century Art French Art Teaching Resources

Jacques-Louis David, French Artist, 1748-1825
The Death of Socrates, 1786, Pen and black ink, over black chalk, touches of brown ink, squared in black chalk, 27.9 × 41.6 cm, the MET, NY, USA — **Jacques-Louis** **David,** French Artist, 1748-1825
**The Death of Socrates,** 1786, Pen and black ink, over black chalk, touches of brown ink, squared in black chalk, 27.9 × 41.6 cm, the MET, NY, USA
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/679783?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=Jacques+Louis+David&offset=20&rpp=20&pos=40

Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman (February 17 – May 15, 2022 – the MET, NY) is the first exhibition devoted to works on paper by the celebrated French artist who navigated vast artistic and political divides throughout his life – from his birth in Paris in 1748 to his death in exile in Brussels in 1825. His iconic works captured the aspirations and suffering of a nation, while addressing timeless themes that continue to resonate today. Among the works exhibited at the MET, in New York City, The Death of Socrates by Jacques Louis David, a most delicate and fragile drawing of 1786, is a priceless treasure in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum. Every time I see the drawing or the oil painting of the same theme, I remember my senior High School year… reading The Apology of Socrates by Plato, on the quest for Wisdom, on piety and the corruption of youth… and the acknowledgment that philosophy begins with an admission of ignorance. https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2022/jacques-louis-david-radical-draftsman and http://www2.hawaii.edu/~freeman/courses/phil100/04.%20Apology.pdf

In 1786, on the verge of the French Revolution, Jean Charles Philibert Trudaine de Montigny, French administrator, scholar, and scientist, commissioned David to paint The Death of Socrates, a theme inspired by a pivotal moment in ancient Greek history, when the ideals of Athenian Democracy were questioned and challenged. David was fascinated by Antiquity, Greek or Roman. The recipient of the coveted Prix de Rome, the artist first traveled to Italy in October 1775. By 1786, he was familiar with the dynamics of Classical Art, and although he declared, the Antique will not seduce me, it lacks animation, it does not move, he kept twelve sketchbooks with drawings of antique sculptures that he and his studio used as model books for the rest of his life. He was also acquainted with the German artist Raphael Mengs, who advocated the rigorous study of classical art. He was familiar with the writings of the German scholar, and many considered to be the founder of modern Art History, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and in 1779, had visited the ruins of the newly discovered city of Pompeii. David, a great admirer of the High Renaissance, Raphael in particular, and Classical Culture was ready to render a theme of ancient Greek origin, The Death of Socrates, and do it justice. https://www.biography.com/artist/jacques-louis-david

Jacques-Louis David, French Artist, 1748-1825
The Death of Socrates, ca. 1782, Pen and black ink, with brush and gray wash over black chalk, with light squaring in black chalk 24.4 × 37.8 cm, the MET, NY, USA — **Jacques-Louis** **David,** French Artist, 1748-1825
**The Death of Socrates,** ca. 1782, Pen and black ink, with brush and gray wash over black chalk, with light squaring in black chalk 24.4 × 37.8 cm, the MET, NY, USA
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/426600

Two drawings on paper, one in the Metropolitan Museum and the other in a Private Collection, testify to the fact that David was intrigued by the circumstances of Socrates’s Death, as early as 1782. Both these drawings were a starting point for the final version of the theme, an impressive oil painting, dated 1787, in the MET Collection as well. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436105

Jacques-Louis David, French Artist, 1748-1825
The Death of Socrates (Detail), 1786, Pen and black ink, over black chalk, touches of brown ink, squared in black chalk, 27.9 × 41.6 cm, the MET, NY, USA — **Jacques-Louis** **David,** French Artist, 1748-1825
**The Death of Socrates (Detail),** 1786, Pen and black ink, over black chalk, touches of brown ink, squared in black chalk, 27.9 × 41.6 cm, the MET, NY, USA
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/metcollects/the-death-of-socrates-video

Thanks to the MET Exhibition Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman, we can closely examine David’s 1786 preparatory Drawing of the theme of Socrates’s Death. Perrin Stein, an expert on the subject par excellence, emphasizes how David’s drawing in the MET, is a working drawing, that sheds light on the artist’s main concerns. For example, the perspective lines in the lower left recede toward a vanishing point just above the head of Plato, the somber figure seated at the foot of the bed. In this subtle way, Perrin Stein explains, David calls attention to the special role of Plato, who was not present in Socrates’ prison cell, but who described the scene in Phaedo, one of his Dialogues. Another interesting feature is Socrates’s gesture toward the heavens which suggests that Socrates’s final moments were spent describing to his disciples his notions on the immortality of the soul. It is also interesting to note the ancient lyre, lightly sketched, just behind Socrates’s right leg. The musical instrument in David’s drawing figures—metaphorically—in Plato’s text as a proposed analogy for the relationship of the human soul (music) to the body (instrument). Finally, it is important to notice the many visible pentimenti, or changes, in the disciple’s hand holding the cup, in Socrates’s hand pointing up, and in both of Socrates’s legs, all indications of the artist’s exacting focus on the nexus of forms and gestures that would become the resonant and haunting focal point of the final oil painting.

Jacques-Louis David, French Artist, 1748-1825
The Death of Socrates, 1787, oil on canvas, 129.5 x 196.2 cm, the MET, NY, USA — **Jacques-Louis** **David,** French Artist, 1748-1825
**The Death of Socrates,** 1787, oil on canvas, 129.5 x 196.2 cm, the MET, NY, USA
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436105

For a PowerPoint on Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Socrates, please… Click HERE!

Jacques-Louis David, French Artist, 1748-1825
The Death of Socrates, after 1787, Oil on canvas, 133 x 196 cm, Princeton University Art Museum, NJ, USA — **Jacques-Louis** **David,** French Artist, 1748-1825
**The Death of Socrates**, after 1787, Oil on canvas, 133 x 196 cm, Princeton University Art Museum, NJ, USA
https://puamsab.princeton.edu/2019/11/death-of-socrates-anika-yardi-21/

An interesting MET Video titled: “What is the path to a masterpiece?” by Dr. Perrin Stein, who presents and analyzes the dynamics of Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Socrates drawing… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgWouRo_1hw

The Legacy of Jacques Louis David (1748–1825) is a short MET presentation worth reading… https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jldv/hd_jldv.htm

The Exhibitions Catalogue… Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman by Perrin Stein with more contributions by Daniella Berman, Philippe Bordes, Mehdi Korchane, Louis-Antoine Prat, Benjamin Peronnet, and Juliette Trey, is published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9781588397461/jacques-louis-david

The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques-Louis David

July 13, 2021

by Amalia Spiliakou 18th century Art Teaching Resources

Jacques-Louis David, 1748 - 1825
The Tennis Court Oath, 1791, oil on canvas, 65 × 88.7 cm, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France — **Jacques-Louis David,** 1748 – 1825
**The Tennis Court Oath**, 1791, oil on canvas, 65 × 88.7 cm, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Serment_du_Jeu_de_Paume_-_Jacques-Louis_David.jpg

One of the two representations of the historic The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques-Louis David is exhibited in the Musée Histoire de Paris Carnavalet. The Museum experts describe the painting as… An emblematic work of the revolutionary period, this historical representation illustrates a key moment in 1789: “the year without equal”. While the States General have been gathered in Versailles since their convocation on May 5, the debates trample around an essential issue: that of deliberation by order or by head. Soon, the elected officials of the third estate formed a National Assembly and were joined by the majority of those of the clergy, then by a very active minority of gentlemen. Gathered in a tennis court near the royal palace following a ban on sitting, the deputies of the Nation solemnly swear not to separate before having established a Constitution. The oath, read by the President of the Assembly Jean-Sylvain Bailly, is signed by all representatives except one, whose freedom of opinion was respected. The actors, none of whom are turning their backs, seem to play their role as on a stage. But this is the theater of history… https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/collections/serment-du-jeu-de-paume-le-20-juin-1789

Jacques-Louis David, 1748 - 1825
The Tennis Court Oath, 1791, pen, ink, wash and heightened with white on pencil on paper, 65.5x101 cm, Palace of Versailles, France — **Jacques-Louis David,** 1748 – 1825
**The Tennis Court Oath**, 1791, pen, ink, wash and heightened with white on pencil on paper, 65.5×101 cm, Palace of Versailles, France
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tennis_Court_Oath_(David)#/media/File:Le_Serment_du_Jeu_de_paume.jpg

David’s canvas at Carnavalet’s Museum is unfinished, just a step in colour, compared to the sketch in Versailles, of the same theme, and few preparatory drawings. The importance of the theme is momentous. David was commissioned to do a huge painting on the Oath of the Jeu de Paume, held in Versailles on June 20, 1789, by the Society of Friends of the Constitution. His aim was to represent very recent history, and real people in contemporary costume, thus posing a real challenge to the public traditional history painting. This drawing was exhibited in the Salon of 1791 with the intention to raise money and finance, at first, an engraving and in the end, the final painting of the historic Tennis Court Oath, which, unfortunately, was never completed. David’s drawing entered the Louvre collection in 1886 and on April 5, 1939, was deposited at the Versailles Museum, where is currently exhibited. http://collections.chateauversailles.fr/#310a5e1d-d66e-4101-8358-463f4746b06a and https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/royal-tennis-court

The artist of both artworks, Jacques-Louis David, is the finest representative of Neoclassicism in At and one of the most important French artists of all times. Seeking inspiration in the work of Nicolas Poussin and antiquity, David gained immediate success when in 1785 he displayed, at the Parisian Salon, his painting Oath of Horatii, a portrayal of his artistic and political beliefs… classical and revolutionary to their core. David proceeded in painting the important events of the French Revolution, right from its very beginning… the Tennis Court Oath taken by the Third Estate, Marie Antoinette led to her Execution and his most influential revolutionary painting of all, The Death of Marat in 1793.

For PowerPoint on Jacques-Louis David’s oeuvre, please… Click HERE!

Lansdowne Portrait of George Washington

July 3, 2021

by Amalia Spiliakou 18th century Art American Art Teaching Resources

Gilbert Stuart, American Artist, 1755–1828
Portrait of George Washington, the Lansdowne Type, 1796, oil on canvas, 243.8x152.4 cm, National Portrait Gallery , Washington, DC — **Gilbert Stuart,** American Artist, 1755–1828
**Portrait of George Washington, the Lansdowne Type,** 1796, oil on canvas, 243.8×152.4 cm, National Portrait Gallery , Washington, DC https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2001.13

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth… George Washington once said… and every 4^th of July I think how foresighted he was… every 4^th of July the Lansdowne Portrait of George Washington comes to my mind and I pay my respects to a great man! https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_washington_118910

Sarah Goodridge, American Artist, 1788-1853
Portrait of Gilbert Stuart, c. 1825, watercolour on ivory, 83x71 mm, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, USA — **Sarah Goodridge,** American Artist, 1788-1853
**Portrait of Gilbert Stuart,** c. 1825, watercolour on ivory, 83×71 mm, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, USA

When I can net a sum sufficient to take me to America, I shall be off to my native soil. There I expect to make a fortune by [portraits of] Washington alone. I calculate upon making a plurality of his portraits, whole lengths, what will enable me to realize; and if I should be fortunate, I will repay my English and Irish creditors. To Ireland and English, I shall be adieu. What a plan Gilbert Stuart had… and he was fortunate to accomplish it! It was early May of 1793 when the artist arrived in New York City, and he immediately put his plan to work. In 1794 a letter of introduction by John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, an old acquaintance since Stuart’s London days, and a close political confidant to George Washington, was provided, and the rest is history. Gilbert Stuart painted three different types of portraits of the 1^st American President and dozens of subsequent copies. The “Vaughan Type” shows Washington facing slightly to his left, the “Athenaeum Type” shows the first president facing to his right, and the “Lansdowne Type” is a full-length portrait. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/british-colonies/early-republic/a/gilbert-stuarts-lansdowne-portrait

Although I particularly like the Athenaeum Portrait, I find the full-length Lansdowne Type best befitting its purpose… grand and imposing, the portrait of a distinguished representative of the new American Democracy. The portrait was commissioned by Senator and Mrs. William Bingham of Pennsylvania as a gift to the Marquis of Lansdowne, an English supporter of American independence. Standing in front of the Lansdowne Portrait remember that the Smithsonian experts ask the viewer to consider three filters exploring this American treasure. Each one of these three different filters – symbolic (consider the represented objects surrounding the Portrait), biographic (Washington’s achievement and character are of the utmost importance), and artistic (let us not forget Stuart’s artistic abilities and personality) – will provide unique information and a distinct interpretation. https://www.georgewashington.si.edu/portrait/non-flash.html

Gilbert Stuart, American Artist,1755–1828
Portrait of George Washington, the Lansdowne Type - Details, 1796, oil on canvas, 243.8x152.4 cm, National Portrait Gallery , Washington, DC, USA — **Gilbert Stuart,** American Artist,1755–1828
**Portrait of George Washington, the Lansdowne Type – Details,** 1796, oil on canvas, 243.8×152.4 cm, National Portrait Gallery , Washington, DC, USA
https://georgewashington.si.edu/portrait/sword.html
https://georgewashington.si.edu/portrait/inkwell.html
https://georgewashington.si.edu/portrait/chair.html

In an advertisement for the first exhibition of the Lansdowne portrait in 1798, we read… He (George Washington) is surrounded with allegorical emblems of his public life in the service of his country, which are highly illustrative of the great and tremendous storms which have frequently prevailed. These storms have abated, and the appearance of the rainbow is introduced in the background as a sign. No doubt, all embellishments presented by the artist were chosen to further stress symbolic ideas to viewers.

He is the best and the greatest man the world ever knew… Neither depressed by disappointment and difficulties nor elated with temporary success. He retreats like a General and attacks like a Hero. Wrote the composer Francis Hopkinson as a reference to the president’s character. All you have to do is look at his relaxed posture, his expended hand, and unpretentious attire to understand Washington’s character and political strength.

Finally, let’s not forget the artist of the Portrait, Gilbert Stuart… the man Abigail Adams described as… Genius and Eccentric, the man you do not know how to take hold of… nor by what means to prevail upon him to fulfill his engagements.

For a PowerPoint, please… Check HERE!

Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock

October 29, 2019

by Amalia Spiliakou with No Comment Rococo Art Teaching Resources

Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock was inspired by the Getty Museum Activity: http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/decarts/decarts_lesson05.html. It has developed into a RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project) much liked by my students.

How fascinating can a Rococo Clock be to a High School student today? I am always surprised to discover that students respond positively and enthusiastically to the enjoyable, cheerful and carefree style of the 18th century we call Rococo. “Artists working in this frivolous aesthetic built upon the flamboyance of the Baroque period, adapting its awe-inspiring aesthetic to produce equally extravagant yet distinctively playful works of art.”

Do you know that “The term Rococo is derived from rocaille, a special method of decorating fountains and grottoes that dates back to the Italian Renaissance?” Artists using this technique “would mix seashells, pebbles, and other organic materials with cement, culminating in a naturalistic, under-the-sea-inspired medium.”

Rococo Decorative Arts are equally important and fascinating to painting and sculpture. They “often incorporate intricate, asymmetrical forms.” Their “serpentine silhouettes are inherently naturalistic yet undoubtedly exaggerated and are found in a range of objects, including intricate tables and eye-catching candelabra…” and Tick-Tock Clocks… I would add.

All quotations come from April 29, 2018, well-written to say the least article titled Celebrate the Elegance and Exuberance of French Rococo Art at MY MODERN MET https://mymodernmet.com/rococo-art/ site.

For more examples of student work, please… check HERE!

The Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock student Worksheet is… HERE!

A PowerPoint on Rococo Clocks is… HERE!

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