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.
Georgian
Damon and Musidora, from Thomson’s Seasons – Summer by John Opie (1761-1807)
The inspiration for this painting came from a series of four poems written by the Scottish author James Thomson. Each poem took a different season as its theme and were published one season at a time between 1726 and 1730. The poems proved to be extremely influential and many artists were inspired to produce works based on them, including Thomas Gainsborough and J. M. W. Turner.
George Harry Grey, Lord Grey of Groby, later 5th Earl of Stamford (1737-1819) and his Travelling Companion, Sir Henry Mainwaring, 4th Bt (1726-1797) by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland RA (1735 –1811)
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.
A Gentleman and a Miner (Captain Morcom and Thomas Daniell) by John Opie (1761-1807)
In 1786 John Opie was already known as a successful portrait painter and had been given the epithet “The Cornish Wonder”. But he harboured ambitions to capture more than just likenesses. He dreamt of finding renown as a painter of historical scenes, which are considered in art history to be a more prestigious subject matter.
The Reverend Thomas Wilson (1703–1784) and Miss Catherine Macaulay (1731–1791) by Joseph Wright of Derby
The lucrative nature of the portraiture business in Georgian England ensured that it was a highly competitive area. Artists worked hard to win favour amongst the elite classes.
The Mermaid of Galloway by William Hilton (1786-1839)
Tradition dictates that on February 14th each year prospective lovers will send each other romantic missives in a bid to win affections. One such tale of love and desire is told in the legend of the Mermaid of Galloway. In the 1810s Sir John Leicester, owner of Tabley, was intrigued by a poem, published by Robert Hartley Cromek in a book of traditional folklore, which told one version of the tale of the mermaid. Leicester commissioned the artist William Hilton to commit the story to canvas.
According to the folklore of the Scottish Lowlands, the mermaids were a race of goddesses who had become corrupted with earthly desire. Their beauty was such that the heart of any man who viewed their faces would be filled with unquenchable desire. Their visits to the earth were rare and the subject of many stories but they would select a man of ‘exalted virtue and rare endowments’ and then woo him with their siren like voices.
Eccles Wakes Fair – May Day (1822) by Joseph Parry (1744 – 1826)
Joseph Parry (1744 – 1826) was born in Liverpool and was originally apprenticed as a ship painter before his talent as an artist shone through. He lived and worked for much of his life in Manchester. Although he painted many subjects in his life including portraits and seascapes, his best known works are of everyday scenes such as Eccles Wakes Fair which he painted during his twilight years in 1822.
Michael Escolme 