Centuries later, Stuart’s portrayal of Washington remains the best-known image of the United States’ first president-as writer and critic John Neal wrote in 1823, “So, Stuart painted him and though a better likeness of him were shown to us, we should reject it for, the only idea that we now have of George Washington, is associated with Stuart’s Washington.” Over the course of his career, Gilbert Stuart painted at least 100 portraits of George Washington, most of them also copies of the 1796 painting. Each portrait reflects Stuart’s knowledge of anatomy and his belief in theories of physiognomy, which hold that a study of the outward body can reveal a person’s character. The work demonstrates Stuart’s extraordinary ability to capture an individual’s likeness, which was based on a gift for assessing each sitter’s personality through conversation and on his close observation. Here, Washington is shown looking to the left, wearing a black velvet suit and a white shirt with a ruffle of lace or linen. One of four Stuart portraits of George Washington owned by the National Gallery, this 1821 work is derived from Stuart’s second life portrait from 1796 (now jointly owned by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the National Portrait Gallery). Attracting commissions from prominent patrons in the colonies and abroad, Stuart’s portraits of Washington were a success from the start, and two more such sittings would occur over the next several years. Portraits of ancestors hung in plantation homes and provided historical legitimization of family status.Gilbert Stuart’s ambition when he left Dublin in 1793 was to paint the first president of the United States – he supposedly declared to a friend: “I expect to make a fortune by Washington.” After the artist traveled to Philadelphia in the late autumn of 1794 with a letter of introduction from Chief Justice John Jay, the president sat for Stuart sometime the following year. Colonial portraits were commissioned and amassed as family groups that spanned generations. The paintings of Martha and her children hung in the front parlor of Mount Vernon. For the three Custis portraits Wollaston received fifty-six pistoles, a Spanish gold coin that was common coin in Virginia until the 1760s. Wollaston, who was trained as a drapery painter, introduced the British rococo portrait style to the colonies with rich fabrics and elegant poses based on British mezzotints. It was commissioned from the English artist John Wollaston (1710-1775) as one of a group of three family portraits. This is the only known portrait of Martha as a young woman, painted when she was 26. When Custis died in 1757, Martha became a very wealthy widow, which led to her introduction and marriage to George Washington, as well as to another figurative “White House.” They lived with their children in both Williamsburg and at Custis’ White House Plantation along the Pamunkey River. At the age of 19, Martha married Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy plantation owner and vestryman at her church. Destined to be the nation’s first First Lady, Martha Dandridge (1731-1802) was the oldest child of Frances and John Dandridge, a moderately successful and well-respected planter who owned 500 acres and about twenty slaves in New Kent County west of Williamsburg.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |