Hilda Montalba was an English-born artist, one of four daughters of the Swedish-born artist Anthony Rubens Montalba. In the later part of the nineteenth century the family was based in Venice having moved there from their home in Notting Hill. The landscapes and the citizens of Venice proved a fruitful source of inspiration much as they had done for artists for centuries before this.
This elegant family portrait commemorates Mothering Sunday which falls this year on 11th March. Elizabeth Theobald was the wife of Roger Grey who, in 1890 on the death of his first cousin Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford in Africa, inherited the titles of Earl of Stamford and Baron Grey of Groby and the 3,000-acre estate at Dunham Massey. They married in London in 1895 when Elizabeth was 30 and Roger fifteen years her senior. Within a year of their wedding they had a son, Roger, and in 1899 a daughter, Jane.
Although this painting was completed in 1860 and relates to an event some decades earlier its familiar theme and humanity still resonate strongly today. The story relates to the engraving which hangs on the wall. It is a copy of a painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting Napoleon crossing the Alps which alludes to the fate of the young man.
Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraten was the eldest and most successful of an artistic family. He specialised in wintry views of Dutch townscapes and lived in Amsterdam where he produced his earliest dated scenes in the 1650s.
When looking at reproductions of paintings it is not always easy to gauge the scale of the work. This four hundred year old oil painting on copper is tiny, measuring just 28cm high.
During the eighteenth century the Grand Tour was an essential journey through France and Italy which wealthy young men would take in search of art, culture and some vital life experience.
In Victorian times, much like now, the promise of a warm bank holiday weekend was sufficient to lure people to the rivers and to the seaside en masse. This complex work by Edward Gregory depicts such a weekend at Boulter’s Lock on the River Thames, to the west of London near Maidenhead.
In the myths of Ancient Greece Helen of Troy was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. She has since has been a source of inspiration for artists who frequently represent her as the personification of ideal beauty.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was usual for upper class young men of sufficient means to undertake a Grand Tour of Europe. The trip served as a rite of passage, exposing the young men to the cultural and artistic highlights of the Renaissance and thus extending their education and worldliness.
On the third Sunday of June each year we celebrate Father’s Day and the important role which fathers play in our society.
Michael Escolme 