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Article Details: Article Title: John Gibson and his 'Tinted Venus' Article Author: Cooper, Jeremy Journal Title: The Connoisseur IiIR sales annlolal Journal Volume : Journal Issue: Journal Month/Date: Journal Year: 1971 1 O;-;c..~:;1~~" Pages: 84-92 GZM TN : 2531354

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https:llwiscmail. wisc.edu/iwc _static/layoutlshell.html?lang=en-US&2-6.0 1_002019 9/2/2014 John Gibson and his

'Tinted Venus' JEREMY COOPER

URING his lifetime 'John Gibson of ' became an Exhibition of 1862 a which attained the greatest D elected 11lcmbcr of the Royal Academies in , possible notoriety. Munich, Berlin and Turin, of the Imperial Academy in St. The marble statue which aroused the Victorian public to Petersburg, and of the Pontifical Academics of St. Luke in conflicting storms, ranging from excessive abuse to ecstatic Bologna and Ravenna. With so rcfined and academic a pedigree, praise, was known as the 'Tinted Venus' (see colour plate) , divergence from the established artistic norm might seenl and it is the purpose of tlus article to provide the grounds for a unlikely, and in many respects Gibson did fit snugly into this balanced lustorical and aesthetic assessment of this the principal well defiu9d niche. Yet despite the reactionary Classicism of his work of the foremost English sculptor in Queen Victoria's reign. basic approach, Gibson, 'the most eminent British sculptor of Gibson's life is documented at length in the contemporary 11lodern til11es' (Art jOllrllal, 1866), produced for the International sources. The main reason for this was the artist's self-conscious

l. Sir Edwin Landseer. John Gibson, an un­ finished and undated work of C.18S0. Bequeath­ ed to the Royal Academy by Landseer's executors in 1874. The . 2. Marble portrait bust of Mrs. Jameson by Gibson, executed in the 184°5. Th~ Natio1lal Portrait Gallery.

insistence on leaving behind autobiographical material: firstly in intense political ferment. Yet in Garibaldi's Rome Gibson letters to Mrs. Sandbach of Hafodunosl dated from their first remained totally unresponding and unconcerned, as the normal meeting in 1838 until her death in 1852,2 and thereafter until his day began at first light over coffee with friends at the Cafe own death in 1866, by dictation at his home in Rome to his pupil, Greco followed by a brisk walk on the Monte Pincio before ,3 and to a friend, Robert Hay, fonner private settling down to wock in the studios off the Via Fontanella secretary to the Duke of Wellington. The character that emerges Bambino. As in life so in art, the fervent, active Romanticism is that accurately observed by the doyelme of early Victorian of a Delacroix or Byron left Gibson completely unaffected as he ,estheticism, Mrs. Jameson,4{No. 2) who described Gibson in 1849 worked for five years, from 185 1-56, on a statue of Venus as a 'benign, simple-minded and simple-hearted enthusiast in composed on the century-old principles of Winckclmann,6 and his art'. 5 This wlderstanding was denied in an undated portrait of carefully wax-coloured to the examples of Ancient Greece. Gibson (No.1) by Landseer of about 1850, which contrastingly Given this 'simple-minded' dedication of personali ty, it is a suggests a deeply Romantic figure; and indeed much of his revelation to fmd that his 'Tinted Venus' was created with an writing is almost unbelievable without assuming some degree amazing independence and vitality of spirit. It could, after all, of self-aware theatncal romanticizing. Nevertheless, Mrs. have bowed safely before famous antecedents, notably the Venus Jameson's is the correct interpretation, for Gibson's life was dei Medici, and the contempocary Venus of Canova (No.3) and conducted along decidedly unpoetic and straightforward lines. Thorwaldsen (No.4), but both in purity of form and in the For there surely is something overtly ingenuous, almost 'simple­ committed polychromy Gibson's 'Tinted Venus' marks a " minded', about the outer surfaces of Gibson's life and art in the significant achievement. 1850S. At this time was involved like the rest of Europe in The bare biographical outline of Gibson's life is easily told.

85 3· 'Vcncre Itallca' sculpted by Canova in 1805. Gibson studied under Canova from 1817 until the latter's death in 1822. Palazzo Pitti, Florence .

Colour plate "The Tinted Venus' by John Gibson, R.A. (1790-1866), wax-coloured marble. executed between 1851 and 1856 and first exhibited in 1862. To be sold on October 27th at Messrs Sotheby's, Belgravia.

4. Thorwaldsen's 'Venus' of 1813-16 and known to Gibson on his arrival in RaDle in 1817. The Thorwaldsen Museum, Coptnlragen.

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The first nine years were spent in Conway, North un til, General d' Allguilar, Jolm Gi b so~l j ourneyed to Rome where he in 1799, the family tOok up residence in , w here was to spend the rest of his life except for infr eq uent visits to Gi bson's first employment was as a woodcarver with Southwell England on business. and Wilson in 1804. Soon after he began working on marble in The day after his arrival, the Abbe Hamil ton introduced the his spa re time in the studios of Samuel Francis of Brownlow HilJ, aspiring sculptor to Canova, who, on the evidence of the to whom he quickly changed apprenticeship. Under th e powerful drawings and influential recommendations, not only gave patronage of ' the young artist Rourished, first Gibson a place in the studio but also agreed to support him unti l exhibiting terracOtta figures and drawing studies at the Liverpool such a ti me as he could support himself. This time ca me relatively Exhibition of 1809. Gi bon's early enthusiasms were for Antique quickly, for by I820 Gibson was installed in a studio of his own and and Renaissance art - culled from the books and prints of the set by the master 'to copy nature and relate this to the Antique'.9 Roscoe Collection - and for the contemporary Classicists, Tlus sa me emphasis on independence fr om slavish adherence to Fuseli and Flaxman, whose impact was strengthened in 1817 the Antique was moreover extended under Thorwaldsen's when Gibson visited both artists in London; they apparently tutelage after Canova's death in r822. praised his drawings highly. In this context Gibson's conunen t Frolll. the llud-twenties onwards Gibson's success was assured on Flaxman is interesting : 'although he (Flaxman) formed his as comllussions were received from numerous celeb rated style upon the Greek vases, his designs are full of ori ginal concep­ collectors,10 and the bas-relief 'Venus and ' (No. 7) of tion'S This admiration of individuality within strictl y Classical r830, admirably illustrates his technica ll y outstanding flu ency and confines was characteristic of Gibson throughout his li fe, and an control in marble. Later in li fe Gibson became perhaps too early drawing from the Parthenon frieze (No. 5), although of no liberal with his acceptance of COl1urllss ions, leading to a hurried great merit, shows a pleasing independence of spirit, to compare lack of distinction in, for example, a preparatory plaster for a with Flaxman's style (No.6). memorial!! (No.8). But in works of concentrated and detai led In September, 1817, armed with distinguished letters of effort (e.g. NO.9) Gibson full y earned [he praise received from introduction to Canova from Fuseli, Lord Brougham. and Mathew Digby Wyatt in 'Masterpieces of Industrial Arts'

5. Pencil sketch from the Parthenon frieze, by John Gibson. Tire Royal Academy of Arts.

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6. 'Oromedcs taken into the Sea', a drawing by FiaxITlan for his illustrations of Aeschylus. Messrs Sotheby & Co.

(18p), a book which was on the whole critical of contemporary notably the Parthenon. On the latter side Gibson, influenced by art. Wyatt's typically historical appreciation described Gibson's the teaching of Lloyd and havin~. read both SemperI3 and 'strong natural genius, corrected by intimate aquaintancc with Hittorf14 on Greek polychrome architecture, became convinced the rules and limitations prescribed by severe study and refined that rhe Greeks had regularly applied colours to their stattlary. raste'.12 A further point of contention between the two schools of thought But the main concern of this article is with the 'Tinted Venus', was purely on a matter of taste, and it is interesting to find that a statue which Gibson approached fr om the outset as the ultimate Gibson, normally naive and incredible in discussion of aesthetics, expression of his sculp tura l ideals, aspirations which were appeared in this case at his strongest and most expressive. For acknowledged in the varied but extensive public reaction to its example: 'I am aware that it would be a very easy thing to unveiling at the International Exhibition of I 862. TillS is exempli­ produce a vulgar effect, but tIlis is no argument against the fied in two contrasting views, one from the Sculptor's Journal judicious use of colour which when applied with prudence is in (1863) - 'It is considered one of the most beautiful and elaborate my opinion essential to scul pture'.is And on another occasion : £gures undertaken in modern times' - and the other from the 'Polyehromy in sculpture should be applied with a nice taste, Comhill Magazine (r862) - 'Approach the statue any hour of the the colour should not interfere with the plastic character but be clay and you will hear a merciless rlum.ing fire of remarks subordinate to it'. 16 against it' . It is strange therefore that, despite both Gibson's own defence The central issue was of course the wax colouring of the marble and the unnaturalistic appearance of the statue itself, critics statue. In the first place the argument was an historical one, for accused the sculptor of introducing undesirable realism into an W. B. SCOtt and others disagreed with Lewes and Lloyd's otherw ise idealistic marble. The obvious misguidedness of such explanation of the coloured areas on some Greek statuary, accusations was ridiculed in a cartoon by John Leech in w hich two cockneys were depicted eyeing the 'Tinted Venus', one 1857 which attempted to elicit a promise from the sculptor not sayin g to the other 'Lor it ain't 'arflike our Hemmer'. all the to allow another repetition of the Venus, for the Marquis of concrary, the reason for the 'warm ivory' fl esh tints was to Sli go, to supersede hers. But she need not have worried, for the enhance the abstract qualities in the play oflight over contrasting Sligo Venus was a hurriedly fini shed figure coloured by Forzani, surfaces, and to emphasise the compositional merits of the plastic an Italian who occasionall y helped Gibson. Mrs. Preston's form in a manner that was believed to have the strongest pa tience and £'lith was later rewarded in 1862 at the 'Tinted historical recommendations.17 Venus' seilsational public appearance in a 'chaste' Greek temple To return to the history of thc statuc. The first commission designed for the occasion by Owen Jones. 19 for a Venus was from Joseph Neeld, who arrived 'after Rome had With the exhibition in the same temple of two other tinted subsided into quiet under the presence of French troops'18 statlles,20 including 'Pandora' (No.9, now uncoloured), Gibson (i .e. July, 1849, or later). While this statue was still in the process presented his fina l argument for polychromy; for although as of completion, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Preston of Liverpool ordered ea rly as 1847 he had the temerity to exhibit a coloured bust of the a repetition, and it was on this, the coloured version, that Ql1cen,21 thc Venus W:.'IS the fnll est and finest expression of Gibson worked painstakingly for five years fro111 ea rl y in I85! to Gibson's art. 22 Btlt it is in a sense regrettable that the statue, being 1856, and then proudly kept it in his studio for another four years. coloured, had blinded critics to a rea listic judgment of thc During these years Gibson did everything possible to avoid marble's worth. In the first place tIus historically dcfended 23 usc delivery of the Venus, even attempting at onc stage to buy her of colom has induced accusations against Gibson of being old back from the Prestons when it bcca me known that the nation £'lsruoned and unimaginative in his Nco-Classicism, when most was willing to place her on permanent exhibition in the rc­ other exhibitis of 1862 (e.g. No. 10) were in fact infinitely less erected Crystal Palace at Sydenham. Further problems are creative than Gibson's works. A true understanding of Gibson's documented by Mrs. Preston in a series of letters to Gibson in stylistic position can be reached by making an analogy with

7. 'Venus and Cupid', a relief marble of 18]0 by Gibson and exhibited at the Royal Acad. emy in 1833. Tile Victoria and Albert MUSe lln/.

90 8. A preparatory plaster for a memorial, found in ·Gibson's studio on his death in January, 1866. Ti,e Royal Academy oj Arts.

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painting, for Gibson advanced significantly from Canova in the best sense, typical, with its historical associa tions, precision and same way that Ingres, who di ed a year after Gibson, carried on mastery of technique. and the self conscious seri ousness of and changed the earlier C la ssicism of his master D avid. In both purpose. The 'Tinted Venus'26 is also in the highest degree an instances the new style was one of romantic rather than heroic expression of Gibson's artistic integrity and his great and idealism within a Classical framework. admirable individuality. In the second place the considerable individual qualities of the 'Tinted Venus' become evident in compari son with the treatment of the same figure by Gibson's two teachers, Canova and NOTES Thorwaldsen. Canova's 'Venere Italica' (No.3) was sculptured I. The large Sandbach Collection of Gibson scul pture is now contained in the in 1805 immediately after he had made a copy for the Duke of Cardiff C ity Art Gallery. 2. From 18 51 -52 by dictation. Tuscany ofllis 'Venus dei Medici', which Napoleon had removed 3. Harriet Hosmer (r830--r908) was born in Massachusetts and went to Rome in ro Paris; and even the normal beauties of Canova's handling of 1852 to study as Gibson's only pupil, ulltil 1860; from 1870 to 1889 Miss Hosmer worked in London. marble largely disappear in a work that remains totally derivative. 4. Mrs. Jameson (1794-1860), nee Anna Brownwell Murphy, after her marriage The Thorwaldsen 'Venus' (No.4). executed 18IJ-I6. is a f." in 1825 began her career as literary and social journalist which was to bring more sensitive and graceful work, although still with a consider­ he[" personal fr iends hip with Lady Byron and Ottalie van Goethe. In 1840-41 beg:1.O :t long series of publi cations on art, the best known being 'S:tcred and able compositional debt to the Antique in, for example. the way Legendary An'. the left side and arm echo the 'Cnidian Venus'. These two 5· Artjollflla/, 1849. works, and of course the Antique figures, would have been 6. In letters Gibson acknowledged specific fo llowing of Winckclmann's cemrifugallaws of composition. familiar to Gibson. Yet the 'Tinted Venus' has a remarkable 7. W. Roscoe (1753-1831). After retiring from the legal profession in 1796 he independence fro111 both - for instance the naturalistic use of rebuilt Allerton Hall and concentrated on forming :t large and important coUection of printS and books. He was also a great public patron of the arts :ts drapery ill such a way has no origin in Greek sculpture, and a Member ofPariiamcnt, and in 1817 was elected first president of the Liverpool indeed the controversial tinting itself is a conscious alteration Royal huiitution. from the more fullbodied and realistic colouring thought to 8. Q uoted in T. Matthews 'John Gibson' 191I. 9. Ibid. have been favoured by the Greeks. Certain features typical of 10. Among Gibson's early p:ttrons were the E:trl of Yarborough, Sir George Canova appear, sllch as the netted hair, but in general Gibson's Beaumont and the Duke of Devonshire. I I . The contents of Gibson's studio on his death in January, 1866, were presented treatment of the subject seems more intensely personal and to the Royal Academy of ArtS. committed than the other two, one of the reasons for this being 12. Wyatt illustrated The H,ll/fer, and The HOllrs Leadiugjorfh tire H orses ojtlre SUII. that Gibson strove to contain the grace of living forms within 13. Gottfried Semper escaped to England in 1848 where his lectures on Greek polychromy and other subjeCtS were influential on the design of the interior his idealised figure. For during the execll tion of the Venus, of the Crystal Palace. Gibson claimed to have 'referred constantly to nature:Z4 this 14. Among the Royal Academy manuscripts is a written transcript of Hittorf's being particularly evident in the positioning of the arms. essay on the subject. IS. Ibid. 'The expression I have sought to give my Venus is that of purity 16. Letter to Prof. Scharff, 4th October, 1854. and sweetness, with an air of unaffected dignity and grace, and 17_ Gibson could not read Latin or Greek but his brother Bellj:tJ11in (died 1851) and Professor Thompson made translations for him; amongst the Royal spi ritual elevation of character' ,25 Such ill-defined sentimentality Academy material there is a specific list of quotations on polychromy from may be typically mid-Victorian. just as the statue is itself, ill the Classic:tl authors.

91 9. ' Pandora' by J o hn Gibson, a coloured version of which was exhibited with his Venus in London at the International Exhibition of 1862. T il e V ictoria and Albert Mllseum.

18. Q uoted by Lady Eastlake, 'John Gibson', 1870. 19_ Mrs. Preston only loaned the statue on the condition that it received this preferential treatment, and she both commissioned and paid for the temple. 20. T he other twO statues were L:ldy M arion Alford's 'Pandora' :lnd M r. H olford's 'Cupid T ormenting the Soul', together with 'Z enobia' by his only pupil, H arriet H osmer. 2 1. The public were critical of this trc:J.t lIlcnt although only the hem of the drapery was coloured. Gibson claimed that Prince Albert Slid , 'fu long :IS I live they shall bave a stronger dose of polychromy'. 22. The statue was originall y decorated with gold ear-rings 'after the antique' made by Cam:llani of Rome, whose work received several medals at the Exhibitions. 23. As used by the Ancients the wax colours were applied with 0. warm cloth. 24. Ib id. 25 . Ibid. 26 . The Preston family se nt the 'Tinted Venus' to Christie's for sale in J une, 1890, where it w as bought by T. Barratt of Dell Moor, Hampstead; on the dispersal of his pro perty in 1916 it was bought by J. W . Dearden, from whom it has descended to the present owner who has sent it for sale at Sothcby's, Dclgravia in October of this yea r (197t).

10. Marble group by Holme Cardwell also exhibited in 1862, and en titled 'Cupid and Pan'. The Victoria and Albert Mluellm.

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