The Milwaukee Art Museum is showing Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London   through January 13, 2013.    Victoria here, reporting about my several visits to this outstanding exhibition.  I wrote about it previously  here.  And I have attended a number of programs associated with the exhibition.

Four particular interests of Lord Iveagh guided his choice of paintings and these four are used to arrange the paintings at the MAM. They are: Dutch and Flemish artworks, long valued by the British aristocracy; Portraits of Women, particularly by the great 18th century British portraitists; Portrayals of Children; and Landscapes and Maritime pictures.

Foremost in the first group is, of course, Portrait of the Artist, 1665, by Rembrandt van Rijn, among many other outstanding works by Van Dyke, Hals, and others. 

 

The children’s portraits vary widely from the skipping miss of Sir Thomas Lawrence to the dramatic candlelit image by Joseph Wright of Derby. 

Mr. Lloyd characterized the personalities and gifts of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723 – 1792) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), a study in contrasts. Though both came from modest beginnings in the country, their approaches to their work could hardly have been different. Though both excelled at portraiture, they held entirely different attitudes toward the theory and practice of painting. Reynolds, founding president of the Royal Society of Art, was the ultimate insider, friend and colleague of the greatest men in literature, government and society. He studied and followed traditional methodology and utilized classical ideals by which to organize his works. Mr. Lloyd recommended reading Reynolds’ collected lectures on the theory and practice of painting, Discourses on Art.

Gainsborough, said Mr. Lloyd, was an outsider, on the edges of the art establishment, always (in today’s terminology) pushing the envelope when it came to poses, techniques and even subject matter, though his popular portraits financed his life. Where Joshua Reynolds was official portrait painter to King George III, Gainsborough was more likely to favor – and be favored by – the raffish circle of George, Prince of Wales, who disagreed with his father on everything: his behavior, his friends and his taste in art.

Reynolds and Gainsborough definitely were rivals though when the latter was nearing death, Reynolds reconciled with him and praised Gainsborough’s achievements. They were men of great, but very different, skills and temperaments. Mr. Lloyd suggested that visitors to the exhibition look for the great contrasts in the styles and techniques of the two artists; Six pictures by Gainsborough and nine by Reynolds are on display.

More from The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque

In Canto I, Syntax conceives his project and takes off on his quest on his mare Grizzle, leaving his wife behind. Canto II finds Syntax confronting, instead of a sublime scene of wild beauty, a pack of braying donkeys. As he mourns the scene, he is attacked by highwaymen who steal his purse and his mare, leaving the poor Syntax tied to a tree.

He is rescued in Canto Three and remembers his good wife had sewn some of his money into his clothes, so he is not without funds. He finds his way to an inn and Grizzle is found, though the poor horse has had her ears and tail docked.

Excerpts from Canto IV

He finds sleep in the inn refreshing:
…Thus wrapt in slumber Syntax lay —
Forgot the troubles of the day:
So sound his sleep, so sweet his rest.
By no disturbing dreams distrest;
That, all at ease, he lay entranced.
Till the fair morn was far advanc’d. …

After his morning ablutions and a hearty breakfast…

“…And when the well-fed meal was o’er,
Grizzle was order’d to the door;
Betty was also told to say.
The mighty sum there was to pay:
Betty, obedient to his will,
Her court’sy makes, and brings the bill.
Down the long page he cast his eye,
Then shook his head, and heav’d a sigh,
“What! am I doom’d, where’er I go.
In all I meet to find a foe?
Where’er I wander, to be cheated.
To be bamboozled and ill-treated!”
Thus, as he read each item o’er,
The hostess op’d the parlour door;
When Syntax ‘rose in solemn state.
And thus began the fierce debate:—
“Good woman; here, your bill retake,
And, prithee, some abatement make;
I could not such demands afford. …
Were I a bishop or a lord.”

… Hostess: “The charges all are fairly made;
If you will eat, I must be paid.
My bills have never found reproaches
From lords and ladies, in their coaches…”

Finally Dr. Syntax makes an offer:

“I’m in haste to get away,
Though one pound three I will not pay:
So, if you’ll take one-half th’ amount,
We’ll quickly settle the account.
There is your money — do you see ?
And let us part in charity.”

The hostess agrees, and Canto IV ends with Dr. Syntax waiting for his mare, Grizzle..

Excerpts from Canto V:

Once on his way, Dr. Syntax reflects on his quest.

“It seems to be my luckless case.
At ev’ry point, in every place.
To meet with trouble and disgrace.
But yesterday I left my home.
In search of fancied wealth to roam;
And nought, I think, but ills betide me
Sure, some foul spirit runs beside me;
Some blasting demon from the east,
A deadly foe to man and beast.
That loves to riot in disaster,
And plague alike both horse and master.”

Dr. Syntax seeks out some help for his horse’s wounds, and once she is treated, goes on to stay at another inn. The next morning he goes down for breakfast.

“In spirits from his calm repose;
And while the maid prepar’d the tea,
He look’d around the room to see
What story did the walls disclose
Of human joys, of human woes.
The window quickly caught his eye,
On whose clear panes he could descry
The motley works of many a Muse:
There was enough to pick and choose;
And, “Faith!” said he, “to strive to hook
Some of these lines into my book:
For here there are both grave and witty,
And some, I see, are rather pretty.”
From a small pocket in his coat
He drew his tablets, — when he wrote
Whate’er the pregnant panes possess’d;
And these choice lays among the rest:
’If my fond breast were made of glass.
And you could see what there doth pass,
Kitty, my ever charming fair!
You’d see your own sweet image there.’” …

After copying down several more of these stories,

“…But as he copied, quite delighted,
All that the Muse had thus indited,
A hungry dog, and prone to steal.
Ban off with half his breakfast meal;
While Dolly, ent’ring with a kettle.
Was follow’d by a man of mettle.
Who swore he’d have the promis’d kiss;
And, as he seiz’d the melting bliss,
From the hot, ill-pois’d kettle’s spout,
The boiling stream came pouring out.
Which drove the Doctor from the Muse,
By quickly filling both his shoes.”

Canto V ends with poor Dr. Syntax suffering yet another affront: his shoes are steaming!

To be continued soon….

If you’re a fan of British telly (and who isn’t. No question mark needed) you must check out Acorn TV. For a mere $29.99 per year, it allows you to stream a wide range of British television programs to your computer, with the schedule changing each month. For $79.99, you can bundle the package with a Roku player, which will allow you to watch the shows on your television. If you just don’t know what to ask for this Christmas, this is just the ticket. Heck, even if you’ve already asked for a whacking great number of items, tack this on, as well.

I couldn’t wait for Christmas and ordered it for myself and it arrived just in time for Thanksgiving, on which day I had my son hook it up for me. Turkey and telly – heaven. Here are just a few of the programs available – Prime Suspect, Poirot, The Last Detective, Pie In The Sky, Midsomer Murders, Poldark, Miss Marple, Rosemary & Thyme, Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill, Fingersmith, Above Suspicion, Touching Evil, etc., etc. It’s fabulous to be able to watch all my favorite shows, whenever I want them. And the schedule rotates often enough that you’ll always have something new to watch. Currently, they’re running a Most Mysterious Christmas Specials marathon, featuring holiday episodes of all our favorite mysteries. So order the stream, light the fire, pour the sherry and enjoy. Merry Christmas, indeed.