Author: Kristine Hughes

My introduction to The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque  came from this old hand-colored etching.  Though I don’t remember when or where I found it, it must have been in a bin of prints at a London dealer — one of several I like to visit when in Town. Something appealed to me and I bought it, brought it home and framed it.  I look at it everyday in my office.

For a number of lines, the good Dr. S thinks about his situation, various unlikely prospects, and of his need for income.

 

This if the times refused to mend,

He to his school must put an end. How hard his lot! How blind his fate!

What shall he do to mend his state?

Thus did poor Syntax ruminate.

After considerable cogitation (and many rhyming lines), his wife returns.  She is not sympathetically described:

Good Mrs. Syntax was a lady

Ten years, perhaps, beyond her heyday;

But through the blooming charms had flown

That graced her youth; it still was known

The love of power she never lost,

As Syntax found it to his cost:

After a discussion in which both husband and wife decry their poverty, Dr. Syntax makes his proposal to earn a fortune.  His reference to Dr. Pompous is a barely disguised reference to Gilpin.

 

“I’ll make a tour—and then I’ll write it.

You well know what my pen can do,

And I’ll employ my pencil too:–

I’ll ride and write, and sketch and print,

And thus create a real mint;

I’ll prose it here, I’ll verse it there,

And picturesque it everywhere.

I’ll do what all have done before;

I think I shall—and somewhat more.

At Doctor Pompous give a look

He made his fortune by a book:

And if my volume does not beat it,

When I return, I’ll fry and eat it.

Dr. Syntax Setting out on his Tour to the Lakes, Rowlandson, 1812

Mrs. Syntax eagerly enters into his preparations for his tour and in a few weeks he is ready to depart.  Ralph is his stableman, and Grizzle is his horse (the gray palfrey, later an important character in the story).   

At length the lingering moment came

That gave the dawn of wealth and fame.

Incurious Ralph, exact at four,

Led Grizzle, saddled, to the door;

And soon, with more than common state,

The Doctor stood before the gate;

Behind him was his faithful wife;–

“One more embrace, my dearest life!”

Then his gray palfrey he bestrode,

And gave a nod, and off he rode.

“Good luck! Good luck!” she loudly cried,

“Vale! O Vale!” he replied.

Thus ends Canto One. We will continue with more of the poem in weeks to come.

Dr. Syntax was produced by the famous Rudolph Ac
kermann (1764-1834), who published a number of periodicals, including his famous Repository of the Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashion and Politics from 1809 to 1828.

Rudolph Ackermann, 1814, by Francois Mouchet, NAG, London

The pictures were by artist Thomas Rowlandson and the copy was written by a fascinating character, William Combe, who had an intriguing career  We will bring you more about them in the next installment.

Victoria here.  Today, I want to explore — or at least skim over — the concept of the Picturesque — as a sort of introduction to bringing a few scenes from The Tour of Dr. Syntax to this blog. 

I am sure that like me, you have your own personal idea of what “picturesque” means. My ideas were formed before learning of the particular theories of Rev. William Gilpin in the 18th Century.  Before consulting the dictionary, I found this picture of a quaint cottage which I would call picturesque. In fact, in my mind,  I guess picturesque is almost a synonym for quaint. Or pretty, charming, old fashioned, etc.

But this is not what Gilpin and meant by “Picturesque.”  His theory was more sweeping (pretentious???).

Many 18th century theorists wrote on aesthetics.  They differentiated among definitions of “beauty” (instinctively attractive and pleasing) and “sublime” (inspiring awe, perhaps even fear or terror).  They argued among themselves about nuances of various meanings.

With the benefit of hindsight, we can identify signposts on Western culture’s journey from the Age of Enlightenment to the Age of Romanticism, from the emphasis on classical ideals to nature’s sometime-chaos.  This aesthetic debate was part of it, from the balanced proportions of classicism to the wild torrents of the romantic in art.

Here are two examples of what I mean, not necessarily what ANYONE else means.

The extremes of the two styles are perhaps even more evident in architecture.

At Queen’s College, Oxford, before being ordained as an Anglican clergyman, Gilpin wrote of landscape and what he believed made a scene picturesque, that is worthy of sketching or painting.  He liked wild scenes, craggy mountains, twisted trees, a general sense of unquiet in nature. In the last quarter of the 18th century, his travel writings and the engravings of his nephew became widely read and studied.  These trips were taken in the intervals between his terms as headmaster of a school for boys.

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Gilpin’s work was very influential among aesthetic theoreticians and artists.  Perhaps one of his most famous “pupils” was the landscape designer Humpry Repton, who often “improved” on Capability Brown’s classical English landscape to include a grotto or a hermitage, for example.

Gilpin’s writings and drawings were well known to Jane Austen, who referred to his views in several of her novels, sometimes in a rather satirical vein.  For an excellent discussion of JA and WG, see the excellent blog AustenOnly here.

The contrast in approach can be easily seen in the two pictures above (perhaps enlarged for clearer viewing), with Dr. Syntax falling backward into the river in front of the castle, in one of the many illustrations for the series done by artist Thomas Rowlandson.

I hope you enjoy the excerpts I choose from Combe’s lines and the wonderful illustrations by Rowlandson, to start soon.

Victoria here. I have been eagerly awaiting this exhibition of great paintings from London’s Kenwood House.  While the magnificent mansion near Hampstead Heath is being refurbished, a selection of the finest paintings from the Iveagh Bequest, usually on display there, are traveling around the U.S.  First stop was Houston, and now it is in my front yard until January 13, 2013.  Hurrah!!

The Milwaukee Art Museum has a home equally stunning to Kenwood, if diametrically opposed in style. 

The MAM mounted the paintings in a stunning series of  rooms, the walls colored to enhance enjoyment of the works, from delicate blues to vivid crimson.  Accompanied by  excellent text panels, brochures, audio guides, and catalogues, the exhibition will also feature lectures, gallery talks and book signings.  The full schedule can be found here.  I wrote about the traveling exhibition and Kenwood House on this blog in August, and you can read it here.

Entering the exhibition preview day, along with hundreds of other eager members, I had to put away my camera since no photos were allowed within.  You will see many of the paintings below, from more official sources, until I make my very predictable way to the Gift Shop.

Undoubtedly the premier painting to most viewers is this moving self-portrait Rembrandt painted about 1665 at age 60.  Other outstanding paintings from the low countries include portraits by Franz Hals, Anthony Van Dyke, and Ferdinand Bol, and landscapes by Cuyp and others

Joshua Reynolds, Mrs. Musters as “Hebe,” 1782 Iveagh Bequest

 I remember attending an exhibition at the Tate Britain a few years ago, Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity, in which the following portrait of Kitty Fisher, a courtesan, as Cleopatra, was shown. Reynolds painted many women who were actresses and/or courtesans, adding to their celebrity.

I will return to the exhibition soon and share with you more of its contents.  Until there, here are a few shots in the busy Gift Shop.

Canterbury Auctions in Kent will be hosting a two day sale beginning Tuesday, October 23 2012 and, once again, we just couldn’t resist perusing their catalog. Below are just a few of the fabulous items on offer:

Late 19th/early 20th Century School – Three miniature paintings on ivory – Shoulder length portraits of an aristocratic gentleman and two ladies (possibly members of the Hapsburg Royal Household), ovals 1.5ins x 1.25ins, indistinctly signed, in single gilt metal mounted mahogany rectangular three division frame, 4.75ins x 7.75ins – Guide Price: £200-300

A late 19th Century French papier-mache pull-along Bulldog with opening mouth and growling action, the head inset with glass eyes, with bristle trimmed collar for same, 21ins overall x 11.75ins high (front paws somewhat worn, various damage around chain to rear of neck, appears scuffed and marked) – Guide Price: £500-700

A George IV gilt brass Colza oil lamp of two-handled urn shape with plain arm, on stepped triangular weighted base, by Smethurst of 138 New Bond Street, 15.75ins high (converted to electricity)

 

Colin Colahan (1897-1987) – Bronze bust – “Freya Stark” (1893-1993), 19.75ins high, signed, with attached lead seal Note : Dame Freya Stark was a well known British Explorer and Travel Writer. Writing more than two dozen books about her travels in the Middle and near East, she was one of the first non-Arabs to travel through the Southern Arabian Deserts – Guide Price: £500-700

A late Victorian 15ct gold mounted seed pearl and amethyst set pendant, the central amethyst within seed pearl set scrolling leaf pattern borders with oval amethyst suspended below, 60mm x 40mm overall (grammes 6.5 grammes), contained in original brown leather covered case retailed by Wales & McCulloch Ltd, 59 Cheapside and 20 Ludgate Hill, London) – Guide Price: £250-300