Enfilade

Press release from château de Versailles, via Art Daily (28 May 2022). . .

Unidentified artist, Portrait of Catherine Duchemin, oil on canvas (Palace of Versailles Dist RMN, C. Fouin).

The Palace of Versailles has just acquired an oil on canvas painting of Catherine Duchemin (1630–1698, the first woman to be admitted as a painter to France’s Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture) in 1663. Acquiring this rare painting serves to further enrich Versailles’ collection of Académie artists’ portraits, which until now has featured men exclusively.

Catherine Duchemin was one of the rare few female painters working in 17th-century France and known to us today. She stands out from her fellow female artists in her achievement in being the first woman admitted to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture on 14 April 1663 upon presenting a painting of flowers that prompted the academy to feel it was a “duty” and an “honour,” “in accordance with the King’s wishes […] to spread her grace among all those who excel in the arts of painting and sculpture […] without regard to differences between the sexes.”

Catherine Duchemin was born in 1630, the daughter of a Parisian painter and decorator who may well have taught her the basics of painting. At the age of 27 in 1657, she married the sculptor François Girardon. Despite a number of pioneering examples at the time, female artists were relatively rare in those days: it would take a further generation for their artistic careers to flourish in Paris. This first admission of a woman to the Académie was of paramount importance, serving as an event that would prompt change beyond Catherine Duchemin’s own life, as others followed in her footsteps up until the early 18th century.

The model’s steady gaze meets the viewer’s eyes as she readies herself to begin painting a bouquet of double-flowered anemones and poppies in a vase. The format of the canvas, the opulence of the armchair, and the elegance of the colourful, black ribbon-embellished clothing are all highly ambitious.

Although the painting is unsigned, cross-referencing it with portraits from the Palace of Versailles’ collection and notably those produced by Académie members may allow for this remarkably well-executed piece to be attributed to a named artist. Catherine Duchemin may have painted the floral composition herself, which would make this portrait the only remaining example of her work. Indeed, the artist “excelled at painting flowers” to the extent that “so real were they, you might almost smell them,” according to her first biographer, Florent Le Comte. The three flowers—one budding, the other in full bloom, and the third a poppy used to symbolise slumber—may be read as an allegory for life.

Once it has been restored, this portrait will fit seamlessly in with the exceptional collection of Académie member portraits that now hang in the Louis XIV rooms. These 17th-century artworks are invaluable testimonies to how the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture would once have worked: a key component in Louis XIV’s arts promotion policy.

Press release (5 May 2022) from Sweden’s Nationalmuseum in Stockholm:

Antoine-André Ravrio, Table Clock with Allegory of the Poet’s Art, ca.1810, gilt and patinated bronze, griotte d’Italie marble (Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, photo by Viktor Fordell).

Nationalmuseum has recently acquired several significant French figurative table clocks dating from the early 19th century. These were an obligatory feature of the interior decoration style that developed during the Empire period, adorning many a mantelpiece and console table. Their primary function was not timekeeping, but rather to serve as covert but elegant propaganda for the French Empire and, later, for the restored Bourbon monarchy. They are described as figurative because the clock forms part of an ensemble including sculptures and decorative elements in gilt bronze.

A taste for bronze ostentation of this kind, which first developed in Paris in the second half of the 18th century, flourished in the Empire period. The luxury goods industry employed over 10,000 people in the French capital. For Napoleon, this was a source of pride for France, demonstrating its superiority to other European nations. But the emperor’s ambitions were equally motivated by economic gain: “Every time you beautify a palace, you should consider how this can benefit the arts and manufacturing.” The year after making this pronouncement, Napoleon launched the Continental Blockade. Although Britain was the target of this trade embargo, the French luxury goods industry was severely affected, and costly state subsidies were needed to prevent the Parisian bronze manufacturers from going out of business.

Prominent manufacturers included Antoine-André Ravrio (1759–1814), one of the bronze founders who had started out before the French Revolution of 1789. Despite difficulties during the revolution, he soon established a successful bronze foundry, specialising in gilt bronze. His table clocks often formed part of a set with other components such as candelabras, urns and perfume burners. The interior decoration style of the time prized the mass effect of brilliant metal artefacts placed in close proximity.

One of Nationalmuseum’s new acquisitions, Table Clock with Allegory of the Poet’s Art, dating from around 1810, is a product of Ravrio’s firm. It is made of gilt and patinated bronze, with a base of red griotte d’Italie marble. The clock features the well-known ancient Greek bust of Homer incorporated into a narrative tableau along with the Roman poet Virgil.

Ravrio often took inspiration from the classical world for both form and subject matter, but in other cases ancient Rome merely served as a disguise for the contemporary world. The anonymous maker of the table clock depicting Caesar made no attempt to conceal the fact that the figure was more like Napoleon than Caesar. Despite the 1814 regime change, table clocks of this kind seem to have been so popular that they remained in production, albeit with the eagles removed and replaced with a wreath of stars, as in this case.

In other cases, the figure of the emperor was simply switched out for the new regime’s mascot, King Henri IV of the House of Bourbon. In troubadour-style painting and the decorative arts, Henri was a popular figure, symbolising a return to the ‘good old days’.

The last of the figurative table clocks portrays another misfortune that befell the House of Bourbon. It features a tableau of Carolina, Duchess of Berry, with her newborn son Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, and her daughter Louise, saying their evening prayers. Atop the clock sits a weeping putto, reminding us of the absent father, the Duke of Berry, who was murdered seven months before his son’s birth. The infant duke, better known as the Count of Chambord, was a pretender to the French throne until his death in 1883. The clock was made by Jean-André Reiche (1752–1817), originally from Leipzig, who opened a bronze foundry in Paris in 1785.

“By acquiring these four superb figurative table clocks, all of which are outstanding examples of the French Empire style of interior decoration, we have significantly enhanced the museum’s collection of a genre that straddles the boundaries between sculpture and applied art, between art and politics,” said Magnus Olausson, head of collections at Nationalmuseum.

The newly acquired mantel clocks are on view in one of the galleries of 19th-century art at Nationalmuseum.

From the press release (7 April 2022). . .

George Romney, Painted Screen, ca. 1760s (Kendal: Abbot Hall Art Gallery and Museum).

Lakeland Arts has received a four-paneled painted screen created by English portrait painter George Romney (1734–1802). The work has been allocated to Lakeland Arts for the nation through HM Government Acceptance in Lieu of Inheritance Tax Scheme by the Estate of Patricia Jaffé, administered by Arts Council England. The painted screen now enters the Abbot Hall Collection permanently, alongside several other Romney pieces acquired by Lakeland Arts throughout its 65-year history.

Dated by Alex Kidson as belonging to the early stages of the painter’s career, the screen is believed to have been painted during Romney’s early years in London, from 1762 onwards. The work takes its inspiration from the publication of engravings of wall paintings discovered in Pompeii in 1749 and circulated throughout Europe in Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte (Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed), first published in 1757. Romney has reworked the antique figures into poses of his own devising which echo their classical source. In doing so, the screen anticipates his later preoccupation with classical subject matter.

George Romeny, The Gower Family, The Children of Granville, 2nd Earl Gower, 1776–77, oil on canvas, 203 × 235 cm (Kendal: Abbot Hall Art Gallery and Museum).

Abbot Hall is home to one of the finest collections of Romney paintings in Britain, including the 1759–60 portrait of Captain Robert Banks, the 1796 group portrait The Four Friends, a pastel portrait of the Romantic poet Charlotte Smith, and several sketchbooks. Most significantly, the Collection holds claim to Romney’s masterpiece, the 1776–77 depiction of The Gower Family, the Children of Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower. A direct line can be drawn between the dancer bearing a tambourine in the second leaf of the painted screen and Lady Anne’s posture in The Gower Family.

Romney was one of the most fashionable and sought-after artists of his time and is known for his engagement with classical themes. The son of a cabinet-maker, Romney was born in Dalton-in-Furness in Lancashire (now Cumbria) and received informal artistic training in his youth. His career began in earnest when he moved to Kendal aged 21 to begin an apprenticeship under the Cumbrian portraitist Christopher Steele and later established his own studio in the town. Romney married the daughter of his landlady, who remained in Kendal with their family when he moved to London to pursue his ambitions. Although he returned sporadically to Cumbria, he moved back permanently towards the end of his working career and was nursed by his wife through two years of ill health before passing away in 1802.

The permanent allocation of the screen will provide an unrivalled opportunity for Abbot Hall visitors to see the development of this important aspect of Romney’s art throughout his working life. The screen may be the earliest surviving piece to illustrate Romney’s exploration of antique themes, and The Gower Family is considered his finest example of this genre, in any UK public collection. It is therefore fitting for both works to be in the care of Lakeland Arts.

Rhian Harris, Chief Executive at Lakeland Arts, said: “We are absolutely delighted the Romney screen has been acquired by Lakeland Arts on a permanent basis. Our thanks go to Arts Council England, the Acceptance in Lieu panel and the Trustees of the Patricia Jaffé Estate for recognising the important connection between George Romney and Kendal in allocating this important piece to Abbot Hall.”

Edward Harley OBE, Chairman of the Acceptance in Lieu Panel said: “I am delighted that this remarkable piece dating from the early stages of George Romney’s career has been allocated to Lakeland Arts for Abbot Hall in Kendal. It is fitting that it returns to the town in which the artist spent the early years of his career. It will allow the work to be compared alongside his masterpiece The Gower Children.”

The screen was accepted in lieu of inheritance tax in the 2020–21 financial year but permanently allocated to Lakeland Arts for Abbot Hall in March 2022. In 2020–21, £54 million worth of objects—paintings, archives, and items of cultural importance—were accepted for the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu and Cultural Gifts Schemes and allocated to museums across the UK.

From the press release (30 March 2022) . . .

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, Teapot and cover (théière Asselin) with portraits of Anne of Austria (1601–1666) and Christina of Sweden (1626–1689) by by Marie-Victoire Jaquotot, 1811–12, hard-paste porcelain (The Clark Art Institute, 2021.3.1a-b).

The Clark Art Institute recently acquired an extremely rare tea service that is noted both for the exceptional craftsmanship on the part of the woman artist who was central to its creation and for its subject matter, a remarkable collection of portraits of women noted in European history. The Tea Service of Famous Women (Cabaret des femmes célèbres) is now on view in the Clark’s permanent collection galleries. With miniature portraits painted by Marie-Victoire Jaquotot between 1811 and 1812 for the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, the service is one of only three known sets and features portraits of women noted for their achievements within governance, literature, philosophy, and international relations.

One of the most successful porcelain painters of her time, Marie-Victoire Jaquotot (1772–1855) was both an artist and entrepreneur, achieving great professional success at a time when opportunities for women artists were limited. She was awarded the title premier peintre sur porcelaine du Roi (first porcelain painter to the King) in 1816, which allowed her to open her workshop to students. Jaquotot specialized in miniature portraits and reproductions of famous works of art at a time when these subjects were avidly collected and appreciated across Europe, both as prints and on porcelain. She used engraved portraits as sources for her portraits of the women on the tea service.

Jaquotot painted the three tea services over a five-year period from 1807 to 1812. The porcelain sets were produced by the legendary Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory outside Paris, in a complex process involving multiple specialists, including painters and gilders. The Sèvres factory employed many porcelain painters, both men and women, but few achieved the level of fame and success of Madame Jaquotot, who painted the portraits of the femmes célèbres on all three services at her Paris workshop.

These elaborate porcelain services were intended as special gifts. The set now in the Clark’s collection was originally presented in 1812 by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to his first wife, the Empress Josephine, whom he had divorced in 1810. Josephine rejected the gift and returned the service to the factory. It was then presented by Napoleon’s second wife, the Empress Marie-Louise, to her friend the Countess of Ségur in 1813.

“This exquisite tea service has so many stories to tell, with its of portraits of historic women, its technical expertise, and its association with one of the leading porcelain painters of the day—who just happened to be a woman,” said Kathleen Morris, the Clark’s curator of decorative arts and Marx Director of Collections and Exhibitions. “I am so pleased to be able to add this work by a woman artist who represented the pinnacle of her craft to our collection.”

The women represented on each piece in the set include powerful European rulers including Elizabeth I, queen of England (1533–1603); Christina, queen of Sweden (1626–1689); Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria (1717–1780); and Catherine II, empress of Russia (1729–1796). Medieval warrior and saint Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431) appears on the milk jug. Several cups feature women who were influential in political, literary, and philosophical circles, including Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Madame de Sévigné (1626–1696), Hortense Mancini (1646–1699), and Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde Deshouliéres (1638–1694). The center of each saucer is decorated in gold with antique trophies and musical instruments, reinforcing the theme of power and accomplishment.

Joseph Richardson Sr., The Hannah Emelen Logan Teapot, ca. 1745, silver and wood (Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, The Pollack Collection, gift of Daniel A. Pollack A.B. ’60 and Susan F. Pollack A.B. ’64, 2020.199).

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From the press release(22 March 2022) . . .

The Harvard Art Museums announce a transformative gift of 21 works of 18th-century American silver from the collection of Daniel A. Pollack and Susan F. Pollack. The gift comprises a range of finely made vessels and table implements intended for domestic use, including cups, bowls, spoons, tankards, and teapots crafted by noted silversmiths from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Trenton. There is also a stunning caudle cup, an example of ecclesiastical silver made by Edward Winslow and believed to have been used during communion at First Congregational Church in Milford, Connecticut. The Pollacks’ gift strengthens the museums’ noted holdings of 17th- to 20th-century silver and comes at a time when curators and postdoctoral fellows are working to reimagine the balance among paintings, sculptures, and design objects on view in the galleries.

“The story of silver is in many ways a story of the Americas. Like other commodities such as coffee, mahogany, sugar, and tea, silver helps us unite the known world of the 16th century with our own time,” said Horace D. Ballard, the Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. Associate Curator of American Art at the Harvard Art Museums. “The Pollacks’ generosity allows us to more fully engage the capacious and complex story of European privilege and Afro- and indigenous labor across the Spanish-occupied Americas and British North America during the age of colonialization. It is estimated that 50 to 80 percent of the world’s silver from the 16th to early 19th century came from the infamous silver mines of Potosi in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Silver ore was shipped to China from America’s primary Pacific port in Peru; traded to Europe along with porcelain; melted into coin, plate, or brick; and then traded back to the Americas through the eastern seaboard ports of the Atlantic coast, to be molded, designed, and sold to merchants, religious institutions, and wealthy families. Works by American silversmiths of the 18th and 19th centuries are noted for their innovative silhouettes, turnings, and naturalistic allusions to animals and plants. The Pollack gift and its upcoming installations in our galleries will foreground this global orientation around luxury, leading us to ask new questions about hemispheric identity and aesthetic legacy.”

Paul Revere Jr., Two ragout spoons, 1786, silver (Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, The Pollack Collection, gift of Daniel A. Pollack A.B. ’60 and Susan F. Pollack A.B. ’64, 2020.197.1, 2020.197.2).

Highlights of the gift include, from Boston-based silversmiths, a pair of ragout (serving) spoons from 1786 by Paul Revere, Jr., and a c. 1765 rococo-style cream jug and c. 1775 porringer (small bowl) with a keyhole-pattern handle by Benjamin Burt; a soup ladle with a shell-shaped bowl from c. 1772 and a waiter (small salver) from c. 1765 by the pioneering Jewish silversmith and philanthropist Myer Myers of New York; and an apple-shaped teapot from c. 1745 by Joseph Richardson, Sr., for prominent Quakers Hannah and William Logan, as well as a coffeepot by Richardson’s sons, Joseph Jr. and Nathaniel, both of whom trained with their father in Philadelphia. These are the first works by the Richardsons to enter the museums’ collections. The earliest object from the gift is the aforementioned caudle cup from 1707 by Edward Winslow of Boston.

Over the next six months, select objects from the Pollack gift will be installed in galleries on Level 2 of the museums. By mid-March, the Winslow caudle cup and the Myers soup ladle, among other objects, will be installed in the silver cabinet. By mid-May, the case featuring design objects in the museums’ Atlantic World gallery will highlight a rare two-handled silver punch strainer designed in the 1760s by Daniel Parker of Boston. By late July, the Pollack Arcade gallery on the second floor will host a case of 14 objects from the gift. Interpretive labels for the case will address Daniel Pollack’s longstanding commitment to American art at the Harvard Art Museums while also foregrounding the global threads of racialized labor and colonial trade at the heart of America’s colonization and our national becoming.

This gift of silver follows Daniel Pollack’s passing in October 2019 and builds upon a number of other significant gifts and generous support from the Pollacks over the last 17 years. An ardent supporter of the museums, Daniel was a member of the Director’s Advisory Council and served as chair of the American Art Curatorial Committee. The couple’s commitment also includes contributions toward the renovation and expansion of the Harvard Art Museums (which reopened in the fall of 2014) as well as the naming of four arcade galleries on the second floor overlooking the Calderwood Courtyard.

Edward Winslow, Caudle cup, 1707, silver (Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, The Pollack Collection, gift of Daniel A. Pollack A.B. ’60 and Susan F. Pollack A.B. ’64, 2020.203).

“We are thrilled to be able to honor Dan’s legacy; I’m grateful to Susan for her gracious partnership and support,” said Martha Tedeschi, the Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard Art Museums.

Previous gifts of art include a 2016 gift of three pieces of ecclesiastical silver: a beaker (c. 1670) and two tankards (1690; 1759) used by churches in Salem, Massachusetts, for over 300 years. Other gifts have included prized paintings by American artists: Still Life with Pewter Candlestick and Clarinet (1886) by William Michael Harnett; and the trompe l’oeil-style Hanging Woodcock (1897) by George Cope and Theodore Roosevelt’s Cabin Door (1905) by Richard LaBarre Goodwin, the first works by either of these artists to enter the museums’ collections. Through the establishment of the Daniel A. Pollack, Class of 1960, American Art Acquisition Fund, the couple has supported the purchase of 19 paintings, including the highly detailed Still Life with Watermelon (1822) by Sarah Miriam Peale, one of the first professional female artists in the United States; the kaleidoscopic Ventriloquist (1952) by Jacob Lawrence, a prodigy of the Harlem Renaissance; and a stunning littoral scene of Rhode Island by Canadian-born African American painter Edward Mitchell Bannister—the first acquisition for the museums made by new American art curator Horace Ballard.

Daniel A. Pollack (Harvard College A.B. ’60, University of Oxford M.A. ’62, Harvard Law School LL.B. ’65) was a distinguished lawyer who founded and led the Pollack & Kaminsky law firm in New York City for more than 40 years, before joining the New York office of McCarter & English in 2009. Susan F. Pollack (Harvard Radcliffe Class of 1964, Harvard Law School ’67) has served as general counsel to New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs and as a senior lawyer at Citibank; she has worked with the law firms of Barrett, Smith, Schapiro & Simon as well as Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle.