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Masterpieces from an
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British Aristocrats of the 17th Century, like King Charles I, desired self-portraits illustrating their status. Like the Stuart King they looked to his favored portraitist, Anthony van Dyck, to render their visage for prosperity. |
The Fitzwilliam Collection
Chrysler Museum of Art
through August 13, 2006
The Fitzwilliam Collection was begun around 1630 by Thomas Wentworth, the 1st Earl of Strafford. Wentworth briefly served as King Charles I's Chief Minister. During this period the Earl commissioned Anthony Van Dyck to create portraits of him and of his family.
Anthony van Dyck
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Born in Antwerp, van Dyck was briefly Peter Paul Rubens main assistant from 1617-1620 though he also established his own reputation. He was precocious; one of his earliest works, Portrait of a Man Aged 70, was created in 1613 was inscribed with his name and then age, 14. Anthony van Dyck is remembered as being charming and incredibly vain. He briefly worked for King James I of England before returning to the continent. In 1632 King Charles I of England persuaded him to return to London and accept the position as court painter. That same year van Dyck was given a knighthood. Charles showered him with gifts, including an estate. |
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Van Dyck's royal and aristocrat portraits displayed the subjects in glamorous settings filled with beautiful objects. The great majority of his subjects found that he improved their image, particularly the King himself. Charles was delighted that van Dyck played down his rather large nose and short stature, instead becoming a dashing figure through van Dyck's work. The artist was known to use a ratio of 1:7 for head to body rather than the average of 1:6, which lengthened and slenderized the figure.
George Stubbs
Title: Mares and Foals, 1762
Artist: George Stubbs (English, 1724–1806)
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Rt. Hon. Olive, Countess Fitzwilliam’s Chattels Settlement, by Permission of Lady Juliet Tadgell
Image Courtesy: Chrysler Museum of Art
George Stubbs is considered to be the greatest English painter of horses. Self-taught he made his early living as a portraitist. He was hired to create the illustrations for Dr. John Burton's 1751 treatise on midwifery. He made his own dissections, having studied anatomy at the same York Hospital where Burton practiced. Stubbs began work on his own book about the anatomy of horses. He was unable to find anyone to engrave the plates so he did it himself, publishing The Anatomy of the Horse in 1766. The book was well received both for the accuracy of his research and his excellent accompanying illustrations. Combining his two greatest artistic achievements Stubbs was often hired to paint owners and their families with their favorite steeds.
Joshua Reynolds
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Sir Joshua Reynolds was the first President of the Royal Academy. He was an apprentice to Thomas Hudson before traveling to Italy to complete his studies by copying from the Old Masters such as Raphael. This was done during 1750-1752. His intense work ethic led him to catch cold while copying Raphael's Vatican works leaving him with permanent hearing loss. |
Reynolds believed that history painting was the highest art form. Within six years of his return to England, as a portraitist, he had over 150 clients per year. His work ethic was legendary. On the day he was knighted, April 21, 1769, he squeezed in the St. James Palace ceremony between two sittings with his clients. Many of his portraits remain in the possession of the families who commissioned him such as in the Fitzwilliam Collection.
Quentin Matsys
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Quentin Matsys, aka Quentin Massys, was born in Louvain and active mainly in Antwerp. His father was a blacksmith and he trained to join the family business but allegedly took up paint to lure the girl he loved away from another suitor who was a painter. His work combined the talents of the 15th Century Netherlands art with the classical style of the Italian Renaissance. |
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It is likely Matsys spent some time studying in Italy. The satirical nature of his illustrations of tax collectors and greedy merchants likely owed to his friendship with Erasmus. Matsys painted two portraits of Erasmus and Petrus Aegidisus as a gift for Sir Thomas More in 1517.
Master of the Holy Blood
Title: Adoration of Magi (triptych)
Artist: Master of the Holy Blood (Netherlandish, active ca. 1510)
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Rt. Hon. Olive, Countess Fitzwilliam’s Chattels Settlement, by Permission of Lady Juliet Tadgell
Image Courtesy: Chrysler Museum of Art
The Master of the Holy Blood was a Bruges born follower of Quentin Matsys. His actual name is unknown thus, as happens with Master of.. artists, the name is taken from one of their works. In this case the name comes from a triptych that is located in the Holy Blood Museum in Bruges.
The Fitzwilliam Collection interestingly follows the artist through the turbulent times of England's Civil War. Anthony van Dyck was the preeminent Royal Court Painter until in 1641, just before the outbreak of war that abolished the monarchy and led to the execution of King Charles I. In 1660 the monarchy was restored with the ascension of Charles II to the throne.
Willem Van de Velde, the Younger
Title: Dutch Sailing Yacht, ca. 1680
Artist: Willem Van de Velde, the Younger (Dutch, 1633–1707)
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Rt. Hon. Olive, Countess Fitzwilliam’s Chattels Settlement, by Permission of Lady Juliet Tadgell
Image Courtesy: Chrysler Museum of Art
Considered to be one of the finest marine painters, Willem van de Velde the Younger studied with his father (van de Velde the Elder) and Simon de Vlieger. The Elder van de Velde was known for his sailing genre but the son's composition was majestic. Father and son traveled to England in 1674 and both were given yearly retainers by King Charles II.
John James Audubon
Title: Trumpeter Swan The Birds of America, 1827-1838
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785–1851)
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Rt. Hon. Olive, Countess Fitzwilliam’s Chattels Settlement, by Permission of Lady Juliet Tadgell
Image Courtesy: Chrysler Museum of Art
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American artists are not overlooked in the Fitzwilliam Collection with the inclusion of John James Audubon. It was the English publishing house Robert Havell and son that first released his opus: The Birds of America, from Original Drawings with 435 Plates Showing 1,065 Figures. |
The Exhibit
The Chrysler Museum commemorates the 400th anniversary of the English landing at Jamestown with The Fitzwilliam Collection, chronicling 400 years of one family's art collection. It was collected at the family's country estate Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire. Many of the items are having their first North American viewing via this exhibit.
Title: Perspective view of the east front of Wentworth Woodhouse, designed by Henry Flitcroft in 1734
Courtesy of Country Life
Image Courtesy: Chrysler Museum of Art
The first Earl of Strafford’s son, William, died in 1695 without children. That meant the collection passed to another branch of the family tree: the Rockingham Family. The 2nd Marques of Rockingham was twice the Prime Minister of England. He was also a successful breeder of race horses. It was he that added to the Collection through commissions from George Stubbs and Joshua Reynolds.
As the collection was passed to the Marques, lack of children, so too it went to the Fitzwilliam family from where it takes its name. The Earl Fitzwilliam was an original patron of John James Audubon. The 8th Earl Fitzwilliam died in an 1948 plane crash and the collection passed to his daughter Lady Juliet Tadgell, who, with her husband Dr. Christopher Tadgell, continues to collect today. Thanks to Lady Juliet the Chrysler is able to bring the collection to the public.
Masterpieces from an English Country House
The Fitzwilliam Collection
Chrysler Museum of Art:
April 30 - August 13, 2006
Memphis Brooks Museum:
September 15 - December 3, 2006