On December 27th 1836 tragedy struck the people of Lewes in an event that was the worst ever seen of its kind. The winter weather was exceptionally brutal across the country, with the South of England especially vulnerable to heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions. This had caused a huge build-up of snow on the side of Cliffe Hill, an imposing chalk cliff that towered above the eastern side of Lewes.
Christmas is the one time of year when busy families make the time to come together, to share stories, food and gifts and to reconnect as a loving unit. This is quality time is which is all the more important when there have been new arrivals to the family. During an often frantic period, this painting from the early sixteenth century can still offer a few moments of calmness and reflection. It reminds us of the importance in spending time with one’s children and in making time to visit one’s extended family and friends. But it also prompts us to remember the religious significance of Christmas and how we should strive to be generous of our time and resources to others.
On 26th November 1865 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published. This little book by Lewis Carroll changed the course of children’s literature. It proved to be enormously influential and remains as popular today as it has ever been.
Along with others such as Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir, Degas is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Impressionism movement. Impressionism is credited with laying the foundations for much modern art as it transgressed many longstanding traditions in painting.
Hieronymus Janssens was so well known for his depictions of high society figures engaged in leisure pursuits that they earned him the nickname Den Danser (The Dancer). He was also skilled at painting interior spaces, showing a real mastery of perspective and of capturing architectural detail. This painting demonstrates the two skills together and had a significant influence on the development of the conversation piece genre.
The subtitle of this work describes Diadem as a yacht in order to differentiate her from many other larger warships of the same name that served the nation in our Royal Navy’s long and illustrious history. In the rating system of the Royal Navy ‘cutter’ was the lowest classification, but they frequently served important supporting roles. Cutters were designed to be light and fast and their rigs were designed to give excellent manoeuvrability. Because of this, in the nineteenth century, they were often used for coastal patrol, transferring important personnel or for small ‘cutting out’ raids, attacks on larger boats by smaller vessels.
At this time of year, as summer all too easily gives way to autumn, the view of our landscape changes in colour from greens to browns. This colour scheme has long provided a source of inspiration for artists and this month’s painting by Liverpool born artist William Huggins is no exception.
The young Henry Stacy Marks was a keen artist and showed such little aptitude for business that his father preferred him to go to art school than to join the family firm of solicitors. It turned out to be a prescient decision as the business failed and Marks had to support not only his wife but his mother and three younger brothers on the proceeds of his art.
This large and striking portrait of Lady Egerton was completed in 1894 by the noted Florentine artist Michele Gordigiani. The painting was commissioned by Gertrude’s father, Earl Egerton of Tatton to mark her marriage to Arnold Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle. Gordigiani trained at the Academy I Florence. He served his apprenticeship in the studio of Luigi Mussini and moved to Paris in 1860 at the invitation of the Countess of Castiglione.
Despite its Venetian setting, this painting has a strong Cheshire connection. Its painter, Sir Samuel Luke Fildes, was born in Liverpool and studied both in Chester and at the Warrington School of Art. He was deeply influenced by his grandmother Mary Fildes, who was an early-suffragette and a key figure in the Peterloo Massacre of 1819.
Fildes shared his grandmother’s concern for the poor and was a firm believer that the power of art could influence public opinion. Throughout his career he painted many powerful paintings highlighting the suffering and injustices inflicted on the underprivileged. (more…)
Michael Escolme 