MAY - A PAINTING FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY Some members enjoyed this challenge, others didn’t and some went completely off piste and chose paintings not actually in the National Gallery! However, it was a very busy meeting with 12 people discussing their chosen painting.

We started with Nancy and The Paston Treasure commissioned by Sir Robert Paston in the mid 1670s to illustrate the valued possessions of the family which had been collected on their many journeys around the world. Unfortunately, shortly after the painting was completed the treasures had to be sold as the family finances failed.

The Paston Treasure c1665 - Unknown Dutch artist

Next Jean B told us of Pietro Longhi whose early paintings were religious but gradually he started to paint everyday happenings in , his home town. This painting chronicles Clara the rhinoceros brought to Europe in 1741 by a Dutch sea captain and impresario from Leyden., Douvemont van der Meer. This rhinoceros was exhibited in Venice in 1751

Exhibition of a Rhinoceros at Venice c1751 Oil on canvas 62 x 50cms Wendy’s choice was this famous painting by John Constable was shown in the of 1824 and won a gold medal although when previously shown in the Royal Academy in 1821 it failed to impress! The Haywain 1821 - Oil on canvas 130cm x 185cm John Constable 1776-1837 Aelbert Cuyp was one of the leading Dutch landscape artists during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. Jan chose this painting which is the artist’s largest surviving landscape. The light is reminiscent of Italian painters although Cuyp never travelled there and was probably

River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants c1658-60 inspired by other Dutch artists who Oil on canvas 123 cm x 241cm had. Aelbert Cuyp 1620-1691

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 is an oil painting by the English artist J. M. W. Turner and chosen by Joyce. It was painted in 1838 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1839. The painting was thought to represent the decline of Britain's naval power. The 'Temeraire' is shown travelling east, away from the sunset, even though Rotherhithe is west of Sheerness, but

Turner's main concern was to evoke a The Fighting Temeraire 1839 sense of loss, rather than to give an Oil on canvas 90.7cm x 121.6cm exact recording of the event. Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851

Although Denise finds the subject matter of this painting distasteful, she enthused about the wonderful quality of light and the individual dramas being carried out by the onlookers. The two young girls are obviously upset by what is happening but the courting couple are oblivious

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump 1768 Oil on canvas 183cm x 224cm Joseph Wright of Derby 1734-1797

Jenny chose Johannes Vermeer who was a Dutch painter specialising in domestic interiors of middle class life. He produced relatively few paintings in his lifetime and was not a wealthy man, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death. He was recognised during his lifetime but gave way to obscurity and not rediscovered until the 19th century. Only 34 paintings are attributed to him, this being one of them. A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal 1670-2 Johannes Vermeer 1632-1675 oil on canvas 51.5cm x 45.5cm

This Post Impressionist painting by Seurat was chosen by Joyce and depicts many of the new techniques that painters of this era were using, including pointillism - the art of creating a colour, not by mixing, but of putting small dots of one colour against those of another to create a third.

Bathers at Asnieres 1884 Georges Seurat 1859-1891 oil on canvas 201cm x 300cm

This portrait of a Polish lady by Renoir was Sheila’s choice. Misia Sert started her working life teaching piano. She had a turbulent life and married three times as well as having lovers. She became a patron of the arts and hosted many parties in Paris entertaining the great names of the day. became a very close friend. Sert died in 1950 aged 78.

Misia Sert 1904 Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841 - 1919 Oil on canvas 92.1 x 73 cm Diny had hoped to find a portrait of Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein but that is not in the National Gallery. So instead she went for another Holbein portrait of a potential bride for Henry VIII, that of Christina of Denmark.

Apparently neither Christina nor her aunt, with whom she lived, approved of Henry and the way he treated his wives and his proposal was refused on the grounds that Christina had only one head!

Woman in Black (Christina of Denmark) 1538 Hans Holbein the Younger 1497-1543 Oil and tempera on oak 179.1cm×82.6 cm

Jenny O told us of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Virgin of the Rocks” of which there are two versions. The original was a triptych commissioned for the oratory in San Francesco in 1480. The centre panel is now held in the Louvre and the side panels in the National Gallery along with the replacement centre panel.

Virgin of the Rocks c1491-9 and later Leonardo da Vinci 1452 - 1519 Oil on poplar 189.5 x 120 cm

In addition to adding to Denise’s choice, Glennis showed us this painting by Rousseau which was the first of his jungle paintings and, in his words, depicted a tiger hunting explorers

Surprised 1891 Henri Rousseau 1844 - 1910 Oil on canvas 129.8 x 161.9 cm JUNE - THE BARBIZON SCHOOL Wendy started us off with a short explanation of the Barbizon School: in the early 19th century painters in France were classically trained and very conservative in their choice of subject. Painters wishing to paint from nature went to Italy. However, gradually artists sought to paint from nature in their home country and began to search for suitable locations within a short journey from Paris. One of these was a village called Barbizon, situated in the Forest of Fontainebleau. Théodore Rousseau was particularly impressed with the landscape and painted in all weathers and eventually settled there.

Sunset in the Auvergne 1844 Théodore Rousseau (1812 - 1867) Oil on mahogany (?) panel 20.5 x 23.9 cm National Gallery

Quite a few of the artists were printers and etchers and some decorated china with small vignettes of landscapes. Jules Dupré, Liz’s choice, was the son of a porcelain manufacturer and he decorated plates. He travelled to Paris to study then moved to Limoges with his father who was made director of the porcelain factory there. Dupré also spent some time in Southampton and Plymouth and was very impressed by John Constable. He painted many seascapes both in England and France as The Old Oak 1870 well as landscapes and trees. He was Jules Dupré (1811-1889) Oil on canvas 32.1 × 41.5 cm awarded the Légion d’donneur in 1848. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Both Joyce and Denise chose to talk about Constable who, although not actually a member of the Barbizon School, greatly influenced the artists who were. Denise used the painting of Wivenhoe Park in Essex as her daughter lives there and the park is now the campus of the University of Essex - it doesn’t look like that now!

Wivenhoe Park, Essex 1816 John Constable 1776 - 1837 Oil on canvas 56.1 x 101.2 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Joyce also talked about Eugene Boudin who was one of the first French outdoor landscape painters. He painted many seascapes and befriended Monet, then aged 18, and persuaded him to give up drawing caricatures and paint landscapes instead. Boudin was awarded the Légion d’donneur in 1892 in recognition of his talents and influence on his fellow artists.

The Jetty at High Tide, Trouville Eugene Boudin 1824-1898 Oil on panel 27 x 21.8 cms Association Peindre en Normandie, Caen

Finally Jenny told us about Jean-Francois Millet who befriended many of the Barbizon artists prior to it being set up. Many of his paintings are in the States, others in France and Holland. The painting depicted below was the one he felt was his most important and the only one for which he was awarded a prize - second place medal at the 1853 Paris Salon. Harvesters Resting 1850-1853 Jean-Francois Millet 1814-1875 Oil on canvas 119 x 67 cms