Art as Personal Branding in 18C England - Garden Conversation Pieces by William Hogarth (1697–1764)

William Hogarth (1697-1764)  The Fermor Children The House of Cards. Children playing in a garden.

Pioneered by William Hogarth (1697–1764) & Philip Mercier (1689-1760) in the early 18C, & continued by Arthur Devis (1712-1787), George Stubbs (1724-1806), Johan Zoffany (1733–1810) & others, the Conversation Piece was a new form of portraiture, depicting groups of traditional & aspiring gentry (2-3 or more in this series) in country house garden landscape settings. A large newly affluent middle class emerged as Britain’s colonial empire prospered in the 18C, & its Industrial Revolution began. Often socially spurned by the established aristocracy, these newly wealthy merchants, industrialists, & colonial landowners developed more natural & casual manners enlivening both novels & group portraits. These new Conversation Pieces & novels, like Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice & Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders, attempted to portray a more relaxed, more humorous "real life" of the newly wealthy middle class rather than the stiff allegories & heroic epic poems preferred by earlier aristocrats. Painters were commissioned to hold a mirror to this emerging English society & its still sought-after environment of the proper activities expected of the "natural leaders" at their "country houses" & elegantly planned landscape gardens. No longer were families simply rather stiffly painted in gardens & personal landscapes, as they were in the 17C, when budding science was promoting man as the "interpreter of Nature." Now the newly-privileged yearned to appear in complex multi-figured compositions & intricate narratives, filling their paintings with more humorous & relaxed representations of socially precise proper customs. Paintings were commissioned by families or friends to portray them sharing common activities such as hunts, meals, or musical parties.The vibrant (& at times wholly fabricated) settings in these works reflect the aspirations of the emerging material culture of Georgian Britain. Artists painting Conversation Pieces portrayed a group, often in their country house garden landscape, apparently engaged in some informal genteel conversation or some acceptable elite activity. Typically those depicted were members of a family, but friends & important colleagues could be included; & sometimes, important deceased relatives also appeared. Many groups in Conversation Pieces are united by connections spurred the marriage of members of 2 families. Occasionally, artists depicted organized groups of elite gentlemen discussing new science or scholarship. The settings of Conversation Pieces reflected the image the client wanted to portray, including the ideal landscape or garden, which he wanted to reflect as the upper-class setting for his everyday activities. And so, these Conversation Pieces are a great way to see what those in the early 18C aspired to have in their planned, personal landscapes. The subjects of Conversation Pieces were depicted in a variety of genteel pastimes, whether or not they really could do the activities, they were portrayed enjoying. Elites, aspiring or long-established, were painted sharing common activities such as hunting, fishing, or outdoor meals & musical parties. Dogs & horses were also frequently included as proper gentry accessories.

Madonnas attributed to Jan Gossaert or Jan Mabuse 1478-1532

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child with White Lily and Cherries

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Madonna

 Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) The Malvagna Altarpiece (centre panel, detail)

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Mother and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532)  Virgin and Child with Veil

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) The Holy Family

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Adoration of the Kings

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Holy Family

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Luke painting the Virgin and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Madonna and Child

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) St Luke Painting the Madonna

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin and Child with Musical Angels

Jan Mabuse was the name adopted (from his birthplace, Maubeuge) by painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut) (Flemish artist, 1478-1532) Virgin with Child

In this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were a large part of the core of early Western art.  In the 4C, as the Christian population was rapidly growing & was now supported by the state, Christian art evolved & became grander to suit new, enlarged public spaces & the changing contemporary tastes of elite private clients.

Art as Personal Branding in 18C England - Garden Conversation Pieces by William Hogarth (1697–1764)

William Hogarth (1697-1764) Woodes Rogers (c.1679–1732) and his Family.  Conducting family business in the garden.

Pioneered by William Hogarth (1697–1764) & Philip Mercier (1689-1760) in the early 18C, & continued by Arthur Devis (1712-1787), George Stubbs (1724-1806), Johan Zoffany (1733–1810) & others, the Conversation Piece was a new form of portraiture, depicting groups of traditional & aspiring gentry (2-3 or more in this series) in country house garden landscape settings. A large newly affluent middle class emerged as Britain’s colonial empire prospered in the 18C, & its Industrial Revolution began. Often socially spurned by the established aristocracy, these newly wealthy merchants, industrialists, & colonial landowners developed more natural & casual manners enlivening both novels & group portraits. These new Conversation Pieces & novels, like Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice & Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders, attempted to portray a more relaxed, more humorous "real life" of the newly wealthy middle class rather than the stiff allegories & heroic epic poems preferred by earlier aristocrats. Painters were commissioned to hold a mirror to this emerging English society & its still sought-after environment of the proper activities expected of the "natural leaders" at their "country houses" & elegantly planned landscape gardens. No longer were families simply rather stiffly painted in gardens & personal landscapes, as they were in the 17C, when budding science was promoting man as the "interpreter of Nature." Now the newly-privileged yearned to appear in complex multi-figured compositions & intricate narratives, filling their paintings with more humorous & relaxed representations of socially precise proper customs. Paintings were commissioned by families or friends to portray them sharing common activities such as hunts, meals, or musical parties.The vibrant (& at times wholly fabricated) settings in these works reflect the aspirations of the emerging material culture of Georgian Britain. Artists painting Conversation Pieces portrayed a group, often in their country house garden landscape, apparently engaged in some informal genteel conversation or some acceptable elite activity. Typically those depicted were members of a family, but friends & important colleagues could be included; & sometimes, important deceased relatives also appeared. Many groups in Conversation Pieces are united by connections spurred the marriage of members of 2 families. Occasionally, artists depicted organized groups of elite gentlemen discussing new science or scholarship. The settings of Conversation Pieces reflected the image the client wanted to portray, including the ideal landscape or garden, which he wanted to reflect as the upper-class setting for his everyday activities. And so, these Conversation Pieces are a great way to see what those in the early 18C aspired to have in their planned, personal landscapes. The subjects of Conversation Pieces were depicted in a variety of genteel pastimes, whether or not they really could do the activities, they were portrayed enjoying. Elites, aspiring or long-established, were painted sharing common activities such as hunting, fishing, or outdoor meals & musical parties. Dogs & horses were also frequently included as proper gentry accessories.

Madonnas attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521)

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and perhaps Cecilia with Two Angels, c. 1505 -1510

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Adoration of the Child, c. 1490-1500

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Alexandria, Peter and John the Evangelist with Angels, completed by 1493

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with Saints Dominic, Nicholas of Bari, Peter and John the Baptist (Pala del Pugliese), c. 1481-1485

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist, Margaret, Martin, and Angels, c. 1515 -1518

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with Saints Lazarus and Sebastian, c. 1480-1485

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with Saints Mary Magdalen and John the Baptist, c. 1495

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with Saints Onophrius and Augustine, c. 1480

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist, c. 1490-1500

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) Madonna and Child with Two Musician Angels, c. 1504-1507

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) The Adoration of the Child, c. 1505

Attributed to Piero di Cosimo (Italian artist, 1462-1521) The Nativity with the Infant Saint John, c. 1495-1500

In this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were a large part of the core of early Western art.  In the 4C, as the Christian population was rapidly growing & was now supported by the state, Christian art evolved & became grander to suit new, enlarged public spaces & the changing contemporary tastes of elite private clients.

Art as Personal Branding in 18C England - Garden Conversation Pieces by William Hogarth (1697–1764)

1738 William Hogarth, (English artist, 1697-1764) The Hervey Conversation Piece The Holland House Group  Intellectual meeting in a garden with fine furniture & garden roller.

Pioneered by William Hogarth (1697–1764) & Philip Mercier (1689-1760) in the early 18C, & continued by Arthur Devis (1712-1787), George Stubbs (1724-1806), Johan Zoffany (1733–1810) & others, the Conversation Piece was a new form of portraiture, depicting groups of traditional & aspiring gentry (2-3 or more in this series) in country house garden landscape settings. A large newly affluent middle class emerged as Britain’s colonial empire prospered in the 18C, & its Industrial Revolution began. Often socially spurned by the established aristocracy, these newly wealthy merchants, industrialists, & colonial landowners developed more natural & casual manners enlivening both novels & group portraits. These new Conversation Pieces & novels, like Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice & Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders, attempted to portray a more relaxed, more humorous "real life" of the newly wealthy middle class rather than the stiff allegories & heroic epic poems preferred by earlier aristocrats. Painters were commissioned to hold a mirror to this emerging English society & its still sought-after environment of the proper activities expected of the "natural leaders" at their "country houses" & elegantly planned landscape gardens. No longer were families simply rather stiffly painted in gardens & personal landscapes, as they were in the 17C, when budding science was promoting man as the "interpreter of Nature." Now the newly-privileged yearned to appear in complex multi-figured compositions & intricate narratives, filling their paintings with more humorous & relaxed representations of socially precise proper customs. Paintings were commissioned by families or friends to portray them sharing common aristocratic activities. The vibrant (& at times wholly fabricated) settings in these works reflect the aspirations of the emerging material culture of Georgian Britain. Artists painting Conversation Pieces portrayed a group, often in their country house garden landscape, apparently engaged in some informal genteel conversation or some acceptable elite activity. Typically those depicted were members of a family, but friends & important colleagues could be included; & sometimes, important deceased relatives also appeared. Many groups in Conversation Pieces are united by connections spurred the marriage of members of 2 families. Occasionally, artists depicted organized groups of elite gentlemen discussing new science or scholarship. The settings of Conversation Pieces reflected the image the client wanted to portray, including the ideal landscape or garden, which he wanted to demonstrate as the upper-class setting of his everyday activities. And so, these Conversation Pieces are a great way to see what those in the early 18C aspired to have in their planned, personal landscapes. The subjects of Conversation Pieces were depicted in a variety of genteel pastimes, whether or not they really could do the activities, they were portrayed enjoying. Elites, aspiring or long-established, were painted sharing common activities such as hunting, fishing, or outdoor meals & musical parties. Dogs & horses were also frequently included as proper gentry accessories.

Madonnas attributed to the Workshop of Rogier van der Weyden

Workshop of Rogier van der Weyden, Diptych Madonna with St. Cathrine. Madonna and Child

Workshop of Rogier van der Weyden Madonna Enthroned

In this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were a large part of the core of early Western art.  In the 4C, as the Christian population was rapidly growing & was now supported by the state, Christian art evolved & became grander to suit new, enlarged public spaces & the changing contemporary tastes of elite private clients.

20C SPRING Celebration in Central Park by Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924)

1901-03 Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American artist, 1858-1924) May Day in Central Park. Girls dance around colorful ribbon Maypole.  The artist sometimes includes babies in carriages in his Springtime images.

Madonnas attributed to Stefan Lochner 1400-1451

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Adoration of the Christ child by the Virgin Mary

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Madonna of the Rose Bush, ca 1440, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Adoration of the Magi 1440s

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Madonna and Child in Garden

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Presentation of Christ Child at the Temple 1447

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Presentation at the Temple

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Adoration of the Christ Child

Stefan Lochner (German artist, 1400-1451) Madonna mit dem Veilchen 1450

In this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were a large part of the core of early Western art.  In the 4C, as the Christian population was rapidly growing & was now supported by the state, Christian art evolved & became grander to suit new, enlarged public spaces & the changing contemporary tastes of elite private clients.

20C SPRING MAYPOLES on Magazine Covers