Chapter Three

British Art during the

Late Georgian Period

Rome was the cradle of Neoclassicism ; Germany provided Gardens, Arts, Academies, and Royal Manufactories of the
the movement's theoreticians; and France, in the person King and, after the French Revolution, through various
of David, produced its greatest painter; but Britain was republican government agencies). The lack of government
undoubtedly the economic engine that powered this change support was not compensated for by church art commis­
in direction . The countless British gentlemen who visited sions. Following the massive destruction of religious art
Italy on their Grand Tours injected a healthy stream of under Henry VIII (ruled 1509-47) and then the Puritans,
guineas into the Roman art economy. Many of the wealth­ the Anglican Church did not pursue the tradition of church
ier ones were avid collectors of original antiquities as well art. (By contrast, the Roman Catholic Church had an aggres­
as of copies and casts. They bought paintings and prints sive program of artistic commissions during the same period.)
of Rome , and had their portraits painted against a back­ As a consequence, monumental art patronage in Britain was
drop of Roman ruins or surrounded by famous antiquities restricted to the monarch , a handful of aristocrats, and some
(see The Grand Tour, page 51). individual members of the clergy.
Georgian Britain was among the wealthiest nations in The scarcity of official patronage caused British artists
eighteenth-century Europe (see Georgian Britain, page 74). to find other avenues to make art, and particularly history
The country prospered in spite of the Seven Years' War painting, profitable. These strategies, outlined below,
and the American War of Independence , thanks in large explain in part why British art of the eighteenth century
part to the Industrial Revolution. Yet, while British landown­ was different from French art, and from European art in
ers and merchants spent lavish sums in Italy, there was little general. Other reasons for this difference-and, as we shall
public support for British art. Individuals might commis­ see, they are not unrelated-are the British preoccupation
sion works privately-mostly painted portraits and sculpted with the "sublime" and the fascination with the cultural
busts, or an occasional funeral monument-but offiCially heritage of the Middle Ages.
the British Parliament gave scant support to history paint­
ings and public monuments on a larger scale. This set Britain
apart from France, where the government was an impor­ The Sublime
tant patron of the arts (first through the Office of Buildings,
While the quest for ideal beauty was an important driv­
John Singleton Copley, TheDeath of the Earl of Chatham , ing force in art during the latter part of the eighteenth
1779-81 . (D e tail of FlC. 3- 19. ) century, there was also, especially in Britain, a fascination

The Sublime 73
 Georgian Britain

While France in the eighteenth century was ruled by kings crucial role in determining Britain's internal and foreign
named Louis, Britain was the land of the Georges (George I, policies. In the forty years that separated their ministries,
1714--27; George II, 1727-60; George III, 1760-1820; George Pitt's father, the 1st Earl of Chatham, though never officially
IV, 1820-30. Unlike the French monarchs, who had absolute Prime Minister, served as "virtual" Prime Minister from 1756
authority, the British kings, since 1688, had shared their to 1761 and again from 1766 to 1768.
power with Parliament, following a complex formula that was The relation between British kings and prime ministers is
imbedded in British law. For much of the eighteenth century aptly visualized in a caricature of 1792 (FIG. 3.1-1) in which Pitt
the most powerful man in Britain was the Prime Minister. Sir the Younger rides on the shoulders of George III as they go
Robert Walpole (in office 1721-42) and William Pitt the to battle against seditious writings.
Younger (in office 1783-1801 and 1804--6) each played a

3.1-1 Richard Newton, A Bugaboo!1I

A BtlCABOO 1,. 1792. Caricature published by the printseller
William Holland. British Museum, London.

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with the sublime. This term, which today refers loosely pain and fear can be thrilling (as when one watches a
to something wonderful, in the eighteenth century had a raging fire), or, as Burke called it, "sublime ." Sublime
quite specific meaning that could be traced back to antiq­ experiences, he wrote, produce a "delightful horror,"
uity. Ever since Roman times, philosophers and artists had distinct from the emotion inspired by beauty, which he
realized that visual-and, indeed, all sensual-experience defined as "love, or some passion similar to it."
cannot be neatly divided into "beautiful" and "ugly." Burke described subl ime experiences at length,
Certain aesthetic experiences deeply affect the viewer touching upon encounters with darkness, power, empti­
without necessarily being beautiful. For these, a Roman ness, vastness, difficulty, magnificence, and suddenness.
philosopher of the first century CE known as Longinus (his He also cited specific examples of the sublime from nature,
true identity is unknown) coined the term "sublime." This literature, and art. To Burke, starry nights, thundering
was revived in the eighteenth century, when the word was waterfalls, raging storms, and roaring animals were all
cogently defined and elaborated by the British politician sublime. But so were John Milton's description of Satan
and philosopher Edmund Burke (t 729-1797). in Paradise Lost (t 667), and the a ncient monument of
In his A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin oj Our Ideas of Stonehenge, "those huge rude masses of stone, set on end,
the Sublime and Beautiful, published in t 757, Burke observed and piled each on other."
that the most powerful human emotions are evoked not Although Burke's Philosophical Enquiry contains no advice
by the experience of beauty, but rather by the sensation for the artists of his time, his treatise had a considerable
of pain or fear, or both. These emotions are, in reality, impact on the contemporary art world. It encouraged a
unpleasant, but when experienced from a "safe distance," new role for art, a role that was neither to entertain pleas­

74 British Art during the Late-Georgian Period

antly (like Rococo art) nor to moralize, educate , and edify culture, which originated on Mediterranean shores, medieval
(like much of Neoclassical art) . Art, instead, should release culture was seen as a typically northern European phenom­
a flood of emotions in the viewer. Unlike the theoreticians enon , a mixture of the traditions of the region's original
of the beautiful (Winckelmann , Mengs, Reynolds) , who inhabitants, the Celts, with those of the Germanic tribes who
said that the seeds of beauty were planted in Classical had invaded their territolY at the beginning of the Christian
art, Burke did not restrict evidence of the subl ime to era. The appearance, in the 1760s, of two long epic poems,
any single period in history. He maintained that the titled Fil1gal and Temora, caused great excitement in Britain and
sublime could be found in nature as well as in the art and the rest of northern Europe. These poems, apparently dis­
literature of various periods. covered and published in modern translation by the Scottish
poetJames Macpherson (1736--1796), were said to have been
written in the third century C E by the ancient Gaelic bard,
The Lure of the Middle Ages Ossian. They were hailed as the northern counterpart to
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey . For just as Homer's works were
The preoccupation with the sublime may be loosely related seen as the fountainhead of Classical civilization (see page
to a renewed interest in the Middle Ages that occurred 58 ), so Ossian's poems were celebrated as the source of
alongside the Classical revival in Britain from about 1750 medieval culture, and, by extension, of northern European
onwards . In the eighteenth century the Middle Ages were culture as a whole. lt matters little that, in the nineteenth cen­
perceived as a dark, mysterious era of primeval forests and tury, scholars established that Macpherson's discovery had
haunted castles . While Classical art seemed to reflect been a hoax and that he had written 1110st of the two poems
beauty and order, the Middle Ages suggested sublimity himself. By that time, their important role in the revival of
and confusion. This is not to say that everything medieval interest in Britain's o rigins had already been played out.
was sublime , or that the sublime was exclusively confined
to the Middle Ages. On the contrary, sublimity could be
found in the crumbling ruins of Classical buildings and in Horace Walpole, William Beckford, and the Taste
the history and legends of Greece and Rome . By the same for the "Gothick" in Architecture
token , much that was medieval was quaint or grotesque
and had nothing at all to do with the sublime . One of the foremost exponents of all things medieval was
The interest in the Middle Ages was closely related to Horace Walpole (1717-1797), the youngest son of Britain's
the desire of northern Europeans in the late eighteenth well-known first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole . In
century to affirm their cultural roots. Unlike Classical 1747 he bought a country house at Twickenham , near

3-1 Strawbe rry Hill. Re mode led fo r H o race Walpo le by Ri c hard Be ntley, Jo hn C hute, Robe rt Adam , James Essex , Th o mas Pitt, and o th ers, 175 3-76.
Twi cke nham , Middl esex .

Hora ce Walpole, William BeckJord, and the Ta steJar the "GotiJick" in ArciJitecture 75
3-2 Thomas Pitt and John Chute, Callery over the Cloisters, Strawberry Hill, 1759-62. Twickenham, Middlesex.

Londo n, which he subsequently transformed into a medieval Strawberry Hill became widely known in the late eigh­
fantasy called Strawberry Hill (FIC. 3-1 ) . To the exterior teenth century because Walpole published a lengthy description
he added turrets, battlements, and variously shaped medieval­ of the house in 1774 and again, in expanded form , in 1784.
style windows, deliberately striving for an irregular and Through these and other writings, Walpole hoped to pro­
asymmetrical effect. The interior was remodeled with mote a "Gothick" fashion in architecture, that is, a building
stucco ceilings and wall paneling inspired by the late Gothic style eclectically inspired by medieval art. Although Goth­
Perpendicular style (FIC. 3-2). Although Walpole employed ick architecture could be sublime (see page 73 ), Walpole's
several architects to help design and remodel his home, emphasis was rather on the fanciful and on what soon would
the ideas were mostly his own. He was adamant that the come to be called the "picturesque" (see page 182 ).
details of both exterior and interior decorations should be While his writings about Strawberry Hill were primarily
copied after existing medieval monuments . aimed at the British gentry, Walpole stimulated a popular
At first glance, the interiors of Strawberry Hill seem far fascination with the medieval period through his creation
removed from the Classically inspired rooms designed by of the so-called Gothick novel, part mystery and part hor­
the Adam brothers (see FIC. 2-30). Both, however, were ror story, set in the Middle Ages. It is noteworthy that, applied
informed by their owners' desire to "live in the past" and to literature, the term "Gothick" referred not merely to a
to create a space that invited those inside it to meditate form of medievalism but also to the fantastic, the ghastly,
on history and the passing of time. Just as in the Etruscan and the grotesque. Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, published
Dressing Room in Osterley Park House various details in 1765, initiated and exemplified the Cothick literary genre.
were copied from Classical originals, so the interiors of The novel is dark, stormy, and supernatural in flavor-a
Strawbe rry Hill were inspired by Gothic tombs and altar head-on assault on the rationalism of the Enlightenment.
screens. Moreover, both interiors contained original period Although unsuccessful when first published, The Castle of
pieces (Classical pieces, acquired through excavations in Otranto eventually became a popular success and was end­
Italy, and medieval pieces, removed from medieval British lessly imitated, both by hack writers and by better-known
buildings) which lent them an air of authe nticity. authors such as Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823). It set the prece­

76 Brilish Art du ring the Lale-Georgian Period

 3- 3 Charles Wild, Fonti1111 Abbey , c. 1799. Wate rco lo r o n
p a pe r, 11 1;2 x 91;4 " (2 9 2 x 2 3.4 c m ) . Vi c to ri a a nd Albe rt
Mu seum , Lo nd o n.

dent for Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankensteil1 (1818) The Sublime and the Gothick in Painting:
and the fantastic tales of Edgar Allen Allan Poe ( 1840s), all Benjamin West
of which led ultimately to the modern horror StOIY.
Walpole's most extravagant follower among the next The quest for the beautiful and the fascination with the
generation of British gentlemen was William Beckford sublime were by no means incompatible with the taste for
(1760-1844). Orphaned at the age of nine , Beckford inher­ the Classical and the Gothick. Many artists were as much
ited a fabulous fortune, which enabled him to realize his preoccupied with one as with the other. Thus Benjamin
every whim. His most outrageous project was the refur­ West, who painted Agrippina Landing at Brindisium with the
bishment of his father's estate , Fonthill Splenden s, in Ashes oj Germal1icus (see FIC. 2-1 t ), that early paradigm of
Wiltshire , southe rn England . After building a 6-mile Neoclassicism, also produced Th e Cave oj Des pair
(9 .65 km ) wall around the property, Beckford converted (FIC. 3-4 ), a painting that epitomizes Gothick taste. While
a garden building into a monastery and erected a central Agrippina is based on Classical history, The Cave oj Despair
medieval tower that would eventually measure more than illustrates an episode from Th e Fa erie Qu eene, a lengthy
250 ft (76 .2 m ). Meanwhile, he demolished the old coun­ epic poem by the Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser. The
try house and moved into the monastery, renaming the painting depicts a critical moment in the poem when the
property Fonthill Abbey (F IC. 3-3 ). As a home , Fonthill valiant "Red Cross Knight" enters the cave of "Despair,"
Abbey ( 1796-1807) was a total failure since it was , prac­ represented as a despondent old man , to commit suicide.
tically speaking, uninhabitable. As a realization of a Gothick As he is about to thrust a dagger into his throat, the beau­
fantasy, however, it was without equal. Its tower and tiful Una appears and restrains him .
monastery were awe-inspiring in size, epitomizing the sub­ In The Cave oj Despair, confusion and frenzy have replaced
lime as it had been defined by Burke. Fonthill Abbey came the order and calm of Agrippina . With its medieval
to a fittingly dramatic end when its tower collapsed in subject, dark cave , corpse, skeleton, and ghosts, the paint­
1825 , two years after Beckford sold the property. The ing calls to mind the Gothick novels of Walpole and
ruined tower quickly became a tourist attraction, remind­ Radcliffe. While Agrippina inspires admiration and love ,
ing visitors of the transience of power and wealth. feelings that categorize the painting as "beautiful ," The Cave

The Sublime and the Go/hick in Painting: Benjamin West 77

3-4 Benjamin West, Tbe Cave oj Despair, 1776. Oil on canvas , 24 x 30" (61 x 76 cm ). Duxbury Art Complex , Massachusetts .

of Despair instills in the viewer a sense of dread and anxi­ van Rijn (1606-1669) and Salvator Rosa (1615-1673).
ety that compels one to call it "sublime." Clearly, West, like most artists of his generation, followed
It is difficult to understand how Agrippina and The Cave the advice of Reynolds to study not merely Classical and
of Despair could have been painted by the same artist, Renaissance art but all art of the past. For, as Reynolds said
especially since they were executed only four years apart. in his Discourses: "In every school, whether Venetian, French,
Nonetheless, they have some aspects in common . like or Dutch, he [the artist] will find, either ingenious com­
Agrippina, The Cave of Despair teaches a moral lesson, even positions, extraordinary effects, some peculiar expressions,
though this is overshadowed by its chaotic composition . or some mechanical excellence well worthy of his atten­
The painting can be read as an allegory in which the Red tion, and, in some measure, of his imitation ."
Cross Knight represents man's valiant struggle to do what West's fascination with the Gothick and the sublime
is right, while the old man personifies the despair to which continued to the end of his career. As an artist who was
everybody, at times, succumbs. Una, finally, stands for keen on self-promotion and the marketing of his work, he
Truth or, alternatively, Religion, both of which can save took a great interest in public taste. West must have come
man from himself and set him back on the proper course . to the realization that the Gothick, because of the thrill
In addition, both Agrippina and The Cave of Despair con­ it provided, had greater public appeal than the Classical,
tain numerous eclectic elements borrowed from the art of and that the sublime, by arousing strong emotions in the
the past. While Agrippina draws on Roman relief viewer, was ultimately more powerful than the beautiful.
sculpture and Raphael's frescoes in the Vatican Palace, The Consequently, during the last ten years of his life, West
Cave of Despair is reminiscent of the works of Rembrandt created a series of colossal paintings that epitomized the

78 British Art duril1g the Late-Georgial1 Period

sublime in both size and subject matter. The most impres­ of the actual object to its psychological effect on the viewer.
sive of these was Death 011 the Pale Horse (FIC . 3-5) , a huge For another, he took the power to judge art away from a
canvas measuring some 14Y2 feet by 25 feet . Inspired by small elite group of artists and critics, and put it directly into
the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation, the final book of the hands of the general public. Thus he promoted a move­
the New Testament, the painting presents an image of St ment towards the democratization of art that would become
John's gruesome vision of the end of the world: "behold a increasingly powerful in the nineteenth century.
pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death. And
Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them
over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery
with hunger, and with death, and with beasts of the earth ."
Death 011 the Pale Horse was not a commissioned work, The idea of producing paintings for exhibition rather than
intended for some special location. As we have seen, com­ sale was not West's own, neither was it a new idea in 1817,
missions from state or church were rare occurrences in when Death 011 the Pale Horse was first shown . Some thirty
Britain. And West could hardly have anticipated that an years earlier, in 1789, the English engraver and print-seller
individual would buy such a gigantic canvas. How then John Boydell (1719-1804) had opened a special gallery,
did he expect to make money from this work, which took also in Pall Mall, where for a fee the public could admire
many months to complete? a selection of paintings by different artists on subjects
West was counting on a new commercial strategy that taken from Shakespeare's plays.
he used successfully during the later part of his life . Death The idea for the Shakespeare Callery had first come up
011 the Pale Horse was exhibited by itself, in a building on at a dinner party attended by several artists, who bemoaned
the busy London street of Pall Mall, where its huge size, the fact that there was no market for history painting in
sensational subject, and sublime nature attracted many Britain. Boydell's Shakespeare Callery was a response to
viewers. Visitors were charged an entrance fee, much as if this complaint, but it was also a commercial venture . Boy­
they were going to see a movie. Thus the income that dell planned to make money both from the entrance fees
West earned from the painting did not come from its sale, and from the sale of engravings reproducing the paintings
but exclusively from the "box office." in the gallery. He would also market a new illustrated edi­
West's initiative was more than a clever entrepreneurial tion of Shakespeare's plays. The choice of themes was
strategy. For one thing, he put a price on spectatorship, shift­ carefully calculated to appeal to the ongoing popularity
ing the monetary value of a work of art from the possession of Shakespeare as well as to the taste for the medieval and

3-5 Benjamin West, Death 011 the Pale Horse, ISI7. Oil on canvas, 14' S" x 25' 1" (4.47 x 7.65 m). Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.

Boydel/'s Shakespeare Gal/ery 79

the sublime. Many of Shakespeare's plays are, of course, British character of the play by depicting Stonehenge, the
set in the Middle Ages . What is more, eighteenth-century prehistoric monument with all its sublime flavor, in the
cri tics saw in such tragedies as Macbeth and King Lear exem­ background. Realizing that Stonehenge would have
p
ary models of the literary sublime . been new at the time of the tale, Barry has painted a
Among the artists who participated in BoydeII's proj­ "restored" version, probably copied from one of the many
ect were several who had shown an earlier interest in the archaeological treatises about Stonehenge that had appeared
sublime. Benjamin West contributed two paintings, includ­ in Britain in the eighteenth century.
ing King Lear in the Storm (now in the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston) and Ophelia before the King and Queen (in the
Cincinnati Museum of Art). The Irish painter James Barry Henry Fuseli
(1741-1806), a close friend of Burke, contributed two
paintings as well, one of which was King Lear Weeping over The most important contributor to Boydell's Shakespeare
the Body of Cordelia (FIC. 3-6), an outstanding example of the Gallery was Henry Fuseli (1741-1825). Born Johann Hein­
sublime in painting. Barry's work shows the final scene of rich Fussli, in Zurich, Switzerland, he began his career as
King Lear, when the old king has discovered that his youngest a Protestant minister. This may explain his lifelong
daughter has been hanged. Mad with grief, Lear emerges interest in theology, philosophy, and literature , which
from a tent carrying the body of Cordelia. His despair is would inform his art in later times. During a trip to Britain,
echoed by nature as a thunderstorm breaks loose, causing Fuseli metJoshua Reynolds, who convinced him to become
sudden darkness and a strong wind that sweeps up Lear's a painter. After an eight-year trip to Italy, he settled down
long white hair and beard . in London to become one of Britain's best-known artists
In the eighteenth century Shakespeare's play was known at the turn of the eighteenth century.
to be based on a legend about an ancient pre-Christian Fuseli owed his initial reputation to a very unusual
British warrior king. Barry has emphasized the primeval painting exhibited at the Royal Academy exhibition of

3-6 James Barry, King Lear Weeping over the Body oj Cordelia, 1774. Oil on canvas, 40 x 50" (1.02 x 1.28 m) . Tate Britain, London .

80 British Art during the Late-Georgian Period

3-7 Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, 1781. Oil on canvas, 40 x 50" (102 x 1.27111 ). Detroit Institute of Arts.

1781. The Nightmare (FIC . 3 -7) was so successful that Fuseli libido and the white horse bursting through the parted
repreated it in a number of different versions, at the request curtain as a symbol of the sexual act itself.
of eager collectors. The version here shown represents a The Nightmare brought Fuseli instant renown. This, in
young girl, dressed in a long white gown, asleep on a addition to the positive reaction to some Shakespeare
bed. Her uncomfortable position appears to be causing paintings that he had submitted to the Royal Academy,
a bad dream, represented by a mara (a monstrous crea­ secured him a commission for eight paintings for Boydell's
ture believed to cause nightmares), seated on her lower Shakespeare Callery. Some, such as The Witches Appearing
abdomen. A white horse, perhaps also symbolizing the to Machet1) and Banquo (FIC. 3-8), now only known through
nightmare, enters the room through a parted curtain Boydell's print of the painting, are obvious examples of
behind the bed. Both mara and horse evoke the fear the the sublime. Others, however, show something new and
girl experiences in her sleep, in the absence of a wake­ different-an interest in fanciful imagery that, at times,
ful, rational mind. Fuseli's painting operates halfway seems to anticipate twentieth-century Surrealism . Like
between cothick thrill and sublime terror, as it both Fuseli's Nightmare, these paintings seem related to dreams;
repulses and strangely fascinates the viewer. Anticipating but instead of representing the dream "from the outSide,"
by more than a century the ideas of Sigmund Freud (who, they seem to draw inspiration from within.
incidentally, had a reproduction of The Nightmare hanging Of these works, executed between 1785 and 1790, the
in his study), Fuseli has forged an immediate link between best-known is Titania and Bottom (FIC. 3-9), which represents
dreaming and sexuality. The Nightmare hints at the young a scene from Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream .
virgin's repressed desire for, as well as fear of, sexuality. Jealous Oberon, king of the fairies, has quarreled with his
One may see the ugly monster as a dream symbol of male wife TItania . While she is asleep, he casts a spell on her to

Hel1ry Fuseli 81
 make her fall in love with the first person she sees upon
awakening. That person turns out to be Bottom, an ama­
teur actor from a nearby village who is wearing a donkey
head. In the painting, we see the beautiful utania cuddling
Bottom, while her retinue of fairies looks on in amusement.
Fuseli has let his imagination run wild in depicting the
fairies and their odd-looking attendants. One fairy holds
a bearded scholar on a leash; another holds a miniature
muscle man on her lap. Fascinating and a little scary, these
figures-like Shakespeare's play itself-are evocative of a
dream. Titania and Bottom occupies an important place in
British painting since it gave rise to a typically British genre,
generally referred to as "fairy painting" (see page 329).
Although Fuseli's contributions to the Shakespeare Callery
earned him a solid reputation as well as membership of the
3-8 Henry Fuseli, The Witches Appearillgto Macbeth and Banquo .
Stipple engraving on paper by Jam es Caldwall , 1798. 17Y2 x 23 ~1 6"
Royal Academy, his financial rewards were minimal. Fuseli
(44.5 x 59.9 cm ). Folge r Shakespeare library, Washin gto n, DC was paid 280 guineas for Titania and Bottom , while the engraver
who made the reproduction of the painting received 350
guineas . The sense that he had been cheated by Boydell
led Fuseli to embark on a scheme of his own , the so-called
Milton Callery. By producing all the paintings himself and

3-9 Henry Fuseli, Titania and BoHolII , 1790 . Oil o n canvas , 7'1" x 9' (2 . 16 x 2.74 m ). Tate Britain , London .

82 B"itish Art during the Late-Geo,'gial1 Period

 controlling the exhibition and the sale of reproductive
prints, he hoped to turn a healthy profit
In 1799 and again in 1800 Fuseli rented a gallery on
Pall Mall and showed forty paintings on themes derived
from Paradise Lost, the masterpiece of the seventeenth-cen­
tUty poet John Milton. The choice of author was no doubt
carefully considered. Milton, in the eighteenth century,
was as widely read and revered as Shakespeare. Burke him­
self had singled out Milton's Paradise Lost, especially his
description of Satan, as the height of the literary sublime.
Satan and Death, Separated by Sin (FIC. 3 -10) is a reduced
copy by Fuseli of one of his monumental paintings for the
Milton Gallery. It is a spectacular composition in which
Satan, the Fallen Angel, raises his spear against the ghastly
figure of Death but is held back by Sin, a frightening half­
woman, half-snake figure. Fuseli's notion of Satan as a
young male with curly locks and large eyes is one that he
had conceived some fifteen years earlier as an illustration
for a book by his friend Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801). In
his four-volume Physiognomische Fragmente (Essays on Phys­
iognomy), published in 1779-8, this Swiss theologian had
introduced a new field of scientific study called physiog­
3- to Henry Fuseli, Satan al1d Death, Separated by Sin, 1776. Oil on nomy, which investigated the relationships between facial
canvas, 25% x 22/1 (65 x 57 cm ) Los Angeles County Museum of Art. features and character (see Physiognomy and Phrenology, page
248). Fuseli's image of Satan (FIC. 3-11) combines several
features that Lavater associated with the choleric or angry
temperament, such as abundant, curly hair, wide open eyes,
and prominent eyebrows .
Fuseli anticipated that his Milton Gallery would draw
huge crowds and, hopefully, attract buyers. But the turnout
3-11 Henry Fuseli, Satan. Illustration in Kaspar Lavater, Essays 111
Physiognomy (vol ii, opposite p . 285), 1779. Engraving by Thomas was disappointing. Although he sold a few paintings, most
Holloway, 5 YI6 x 4/1 (14.7 x 11.5 cm). British Museum , London. were returned to his studio and eventually got lost. Even
the sale of prints reproducing the paintings was sluggish
and did not compensate for the low "box office" revenues.

William Blake

With few exceptions, British eighteenth-century artists

needed the sale of prints of their works as a principal source
of income . Generally, they relied on profeSSional engravers
and print publishers to reproduce and market their works.
Most profeSSional engravers were not fine artists them­
selves, and their names are largely forgotten today. A notable
exception was the printmaker, poet, and self-proclaimed
visionary William Blake (1757-1827), who, having worked
as an engraver in his youth, decided to make prints of his
own and use them to illustrate his writing. Blake became
obsessed with producing handmade books, a goal that was
first realized in two slim volumes of poetry, Songs of 111110­
cence ( 1789) and Songs of Experience ( 1794). Each page in these
two volumes features a poem by Blake and an illustration,
often connected to the text by a decorative frame. Blake
refused to use letterpress and insisted that text and image
be printed from the same copper plate. To accomplish this

Wlillaill Blake 83
 referred to as "the Contrary States of the Human Soul,"
opposing gentleness, humility, and innocence to brutal­
ity, pride , and experience . This opposition is suggested
not only in the poetry but also in the illustrations . While
the illustration for TheLamb shows gently curving lines and
soft pastel colors, that of The Tyger is marked by a more
austere style of drawing and dark , ominous colors .
l.;d(').~[Link] ~p~. th.;l~ Songs of Innocen ce and Songs of Experience were informed by
l)o.6t tl\q~knw "').o~ ~c", Blake's admiration for the Swedish scientist and mystic
Gaw ..J....J Wi X bid tll~(,; ' fu.d.. .
:f1, die Htrt'An'I.15. ~'r..r ~oIt ~!~~d ; theologian Emanuel Sweden borg ( 1688-1772 ). Sweden­
C;...v.t thfe cl~tfUlI~.:a JcJ~1ht.
"[Link]- dotlw.Y, ..... udv br~.xJ ·t· borg maintained that, while all creation has its origin in
C..ve, \k,,« ~t'ti"'~.~Me!· "'li('..e,
l':tkillg ail ~ vv..I~ ,..ej~('~ :. divine love, and is consequently perfect, that perfection
.. ~ 4;[Link]..ow .;;1Q.D'.ac:!~~"W.~~
ittif! atnb l~ . .~t ~~"'4! has been disturbed by man's selfishness. Evil has come into
~~-C-' the world because man loved himself more than God .
Most of Blake's subsequent illuminated books also show
the impact of his Swedenborgian beliefs, but they are like­
wise marked by his unusual political ideas. A sympathizer

3- 13 William Blake, The Tyg er. Fro m Songs oj Inno cence and Experience,
co py n, 1795 . Re lief e tch ing with wate rcolor, 4% x 2" ( 1 1 x 6.3 cm ).
H e OlY E. Huntingto n libra ry and Art Call e ry, San Marino , C ali fo rnia .

3-12 William Blake, The Lamb . From Songs oj Innocence , copy b, 1789.
Relief etc hing with watercolor, 4YI6 x 2" ( 11.9 x 7.7 cm ) library of
Congress, Rare Boo k and Special C oll ections Division , Lessing J.
Rosenwald Collection, Washin gto n, DC.

goal , he invented a new etching technique that allowed

him to write the text directly on the copper plate in his
own beautiful handwriting. (Blake claimed to have learned
the new technique from his deceased brother, who appeared
before him in a vision.) Text and image were printed in a
single color. Other colors were added by hand by Blake or
by his wife Catherine . This elaborate method explains why
Blake produced so few volumes.
Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience were written in
the manner of nursery rhymes . It is not certain whether
they were intended for children or for adults . For while
the poems, like the simple , almost na'ive illustrations that
accompany them , may appeal to children , they often con­
tain profound meditations on good and evil , the divine
and the demonic. Indeed, the two volumes were conceived
as contrasts to one another. While the Songs of Innocence
deal with a world of love and bliss, the Songs of Experience
dwell on man's fallen state.
The Lamb in the Songs of Innocence (FIC. 3-12 ) and The Tyger
(FIC . 3-13) in the Songs of Experience seem to carry the themes
of the two volumes. Together, they represent what Blake

84 British Art during the Late-Georgial1 Period

 3-14 William Blake,
He 5011g oj Los.
Frontispiece to the Book oj
Los, copy e, 1795.
Color printed from a
copper plate, 9 x 6"
(234 x 17.3 cm )
Henry E. Huntington
library and Art Callery,
San Marino , California .

with the French Revolution of 1789, Blake joined a radi­ that their meaning would become clear only after long
cal political circle that also included Henry Fuseli and the and careful study. Nonetheless, the illustrations often have
writer Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797). The fusion of a visceral effect on the viewer. The Song oj Los, the fron­
his mystical beliefs and radical political convictions led to tispiece to the Book of Los (FIC. 3-14), may serve as an
the production in the 1790s of his so-called "prophetic," example. In it, we see a figure, possibly male, dressed only
or Lambeth, books (after the London suburb where Blake in a long white skirt, prostrated before an altar covered
lived) . In these he looked at the history of man's mental with a large open book. Above looms a large sun, partly
and physical enslavement (Book oj Urizen, Book oj Aphania, obscured by dark blotches. The sun usually signifies fer­
andBookofLos), as well as at its future (America: A Prophecy tility, growth, and enlightenment. Instead, this dark, festering
and Europe: A Prophecy). Both the texts and the illustrations celestial body speaks of a sickened world in which men
of these books are cryptic and obscure, since Blake insisted find counsel in evil books and live in eternal darkness.

William Blake 85
 3- 15 William Blake, Ode to
Adversity Illustration in The Poellis of
Thollias Gray , c. 1797-8. Pen , ink , and
watercolor on paper, ·16 x 12"
(41.9 x 32.4 crn ) Yale Center for
British Art, Paul Mellon Collection ,
New Haven , Connecticllt.

OOY. TO ADV£IlSlT~.

\':ifdom in [Link]~ g,nb arr.1)"d J

Immen'd in r'lpt"rou.s thnught profound,
An,' ~[Link](hol)'. filent maid
\\'ith l(".1den eye. th:u lotC'! the ground,
SUll. on thy (oletTIn nCr!! :a~tend!
\ \';urn Charitf. (h~ ge-nU'.I1 fr!cnd,
\\'ith ju!\icc to herfelf revert,
Ann Plty,drnpPlOg foft Lhe r,-..)lr-ple1fing tOlr,

Oh. genII, on thy fupphan ... htad.

DruJ GoJd,f•• I.)' thy ch.O'ning hand I
Not in thy Gorgon terrors chd.
Nor Circled with the "'cnbdui [Link]
(j\) by [he jmpiou, thou art feen)
' \'ahthund'ring \'oice, and thf1:~t'nlng mic~
\\~ilh fcreaming I tOITOI'S funcr31 crr.
Dtfpoir. and fdl Dlfafe•• nd [Link] po,·crt).

F 1

Blake's illuminated books found a small circle of admir­ clad," and "Horror's funeral cry/Despair, and fell Disease,
ers who, to keep him financially afloat, provided him with and ghastly poverty," we see a fearsome Gorgon's head,
commissions. Some of these commissions were for engraved surrounded by viciously snapping snakes and a number of
book illustrations; others were for sets of watercolors illus­ other eerie figures, who are all looking threateningly at
trating time-honored texts such as the Bible, Dante's Inferno, the viewer. Here, as in so many of Blake's works, sublim­
and Milton's Paradise Lost, or works by more modern poets ity has been carried to its limits .
such as Edward Young (t 683-1765) and Thomas Gray Blake never practiced oil painting, but during the later
( t 7 t 6- t 77 t ). Blake occasionally showed these watercolors part of his career he did develop a unique painting technique
at the Royal Academy or at the exhibitions of the Asso­ that allowed him to produce works that were larger than his
ciated Painters in Watercolours, one of several watercolor book illustrations and watercolors . Mixing pigments with
societies that developed in the late eighteenth and early carpenter's glue, he applied these homemade paints to a can­
nineteenth centuries (see page 185). vas or thin copper plate that he had first coated with a mixture
The watercolor illustrating "Ode to Adversity" (FIC. of glue and plaster. Blake referred to this technique as "tem­
3-15) is one of a group of 166 watercolors made to illus­ pera," although it is quite different from traditional tempera,
trate the poems of Thomas Gray. The set was commissioned in which the pigments are mixed with egg. Blake showed
by Blake's close friend Fuseli as a present to his wife. Around several of these paintings in a private exhibition in his brother's
the text of Gray's ode, which speaks of "Gorgon Terrors house in t 809. Among the works shown was The Spiritual

86 British Art during the Late-Georgian Period

3-16 William Blake. The Spiritual Form oj Pitt Guidil1g Behemoth , 1805? Te mpera heightened wit h gold on canvas, 29 x 25" (74 x 62.7 cm ).
Tate Britain, London .

Form of Pitt CHiding Behemoth (FIC. 3-16). In this enigmatic work, controls the Old Testament beast Behemoth, here a signi­
William Pitt the Younger, the British Prime Minister from fier of the powers of war unleashed by Pitt against the French.
1783 until his death in 1806, appears as in a vision . Clad in In the catalogue that Blake wrote for the exhibition of 1809,
a long gown, his head surrounded by a huge halo, the youth­ he claimed that his painting was inspired by a vision in which
ful Pitt (he was forty-seven when he died) holds a rein that he saw ancient paintings and sculptures on the "walls of

William Blake 87
 3-17 James Barry, Portrait oj William Pitt,
1st Earl oj Chatham , 1778 . Etching and aquatint ,
li/s x 14/ 16" (45.4 x 36.7 em )
British Museum , London

Mr"',,"'N>·=::L~·~,4~::~~~7.:,~~.~.R.... ._n·~-..;//r...-'--;.'t:·~~:~;:tf

Temples, Towers, Cities, Palaces ... erected in the highly point. Commissioned just after his death in 1778, the print
cultivated states of Egypt, Moab, Edom , Aram , among the shows the earl portrayed as a Roman bust placed on a pedestal.
Rivers of Paradise ." These paintings, he claims, he endeav­ Next to the bust stands the allegorical figure of Britannia,
ored to emulate , applyi ng their grandeur and beauty to a buxom woman in Classical dress . With an arrow, she points
"modern Heroes, on small scale ." at Pitt's accomplishments, which are inscribed on a pyra­
The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth exemplifies Blake's mid . The dome of St Paul's Cathedral is partially visible in
admixture of interests in both politics and theology. In the background. Barry's image, so different from Blake's, is
Blake's all-encompassing historical vision, myth and real­ a more traditional representation of heroes in the eighteenth
ity, past and present all provide examples of the perennial century, replete with Classical and allegorical references .
struggle between good and evil , reason and irrationality. Probably the first British artist to break with this eigh­
teenth-century tradition was Benjamin West. His The Death
of General Wolfe , of 1771 (FIC. 3-18), was highly unusual at
Contemporary Heroes and Historical Context the time: its hero wears not ancient garb but contempo­
rary dress, and his deeds are not shown by allegorical
Blake's The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemot/) strikes the references but by depiction of the actual events. In so
modern viewer as a highly unusual image of a contempo­ doing, West changed the traditional hero image and simul­
rary politician. In its day, it was unusual as well-not, taneously created a new form of history painting. Unlike
however, because it presented Pitt in an imaginary con­ earlier history paintings, which depicted events in ancient
text but because that context itself was exceptional in its or medieval history or episodes from literature, The Death
display of Old Testament and Apocalyptic imagely. of General Wolfe celebrates a contemporary event.
In the eighteenth century contemporary heroes were British Major-General James Wolfe was a famous hero
commonly represented in Classical garb and context. James of the Seven Years' War. While commanding the British
Barry's etched Portrait of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (FIC . forces against the French at Quebec in 1759, he was mor­
3-17), the father of William Pitt the Younger, is a case in tally wounded. As he lay dying, a soldier brought the news

88 British Art during the Late-Georgial1 Period

3-18 Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe , 1771. Oil on canvas, 4' 11" x 7' ( 1.51 x 2.13 m). National Callery
of Canada, Ottowa

3-19 John Singleton Copley, The Death of the Earl of CiJatiJanl, 1779- 81. Oil on canvas, 7'6" x 10' 1" (228 x 3.07 m). Tate Britain , London (on loan
to the National Portrait Callery, London )

Contemporary Heroes and Historical Context 89

of the defeat of the French, causing Wolfe's last words: effect (what West himself referred to as an "epic compo­
"Now, God be praised, I will die in Peace." si tion"), Copley's pai nti ng strikes us as closer to true
West's patron, George III (ruled 1760-1820), who alto­ reportage. The artist made every effort to create individ­
gether bought some sixty paintings from the artist, refused ual likenesses of each parliamentarian in the House of
to buy this one. He thought that it was "ridiculous to exhibit Commons at the time of the earl's death. It combines his­
heroes in coats, breeches, and cock'd hats." And Joshua tory and portrait painting quite effectively. Inspired perhaps
Reynolds urged West to use Classical costume instead of by the success that West had with his Death of General Wolfe,
the modern uniforms. These criticisms notwithstanding, Copley decided to organize a private show of The Death of
the painting was a huge popular success when first exhib­ the Earl of Chatham, coupled with the sale of a reproductive
ited at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1771. Apparently print. The exhibition was a financial boon for Copley and
West had understood that the depiction of a contempo­ brought him a great deal of publicity.
rary hero in a realistic context would have a powerful public
appeal. Comparing himself to a historian, he argued:
The Grand Manner and Bourgeois Portraits
The same truth that guides the pen of the historian
should govern the pencil of the artist. I consider The success of The Death of the Earl of Chatham may have been
myself as undertaking to tell this great event to the based, in part, on the popularity of portraiture in the eigh­
eye of the world; but if, instead of the facts of the teenth and early nineteenth centuries. As we have seen in
transaction, I represent classical fictions, how shall Chapter 1, this genre commanded by far the greatest mar­
I be understood by posterity? ket in Britain . Nearly all British artists of the time, with
the exception of Blake and Fuseli, were active in this field.
Of course, the "truth" of West's painting was only rel­ Although most far preferred history painting to portrai­
ative. Since West had not been present at the scene, he ture, the latter was a chief source of income for many
relied on eyewitness accounts. And even these he failed talented artists including Joshua Reynolds, John Single­
to take very seriously, since he structured his painting to ton Copley, Thomas Gainsborough, George Romney
feature Wolfe's heroism and that of his fellow leaders. The (1734-1802), Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), and
central scene of Wolfe expiring amidst his officers recalls Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830).
traditional representations of the lamentation over the As during the first half of the eighteenth century, most
dead body of Christ. West obviously wanted the viewer portraits were of fashionable Londoners, usually members
to draw a comparison between Wolfe dying for his coun­ of the British aristocracy. This class continued to favor
try and Christ giving his life for mankind. Of the figures portraiture in the "grand manner"-life-size, full-length
surrounding Wolfe (numbering twelve, like Christ's apos­ portraits that duly emphasized their sitters' wealth and sta­
tles), several portray well-known British officers who fought tus. George Romney's Portrait of Lady Rodbard, of 1786 (FIC.
in Canada. Interestingly, most of them do not in fact seem 3-20), shows some of the changes that had taken place in
to have been present at Wolfe's death. the twenty-five years or so since Gainsborough painted
Equally "untrue" to history is the presence in the fore­ his Portrait of Mary, Countess Howe (see FIC. 1-15) . Romney's
ground of a Native American. He appears to serve an portrait shows a new sentimentality that is distinct from
allegorical function here, embodying North America, the the pragmatic mood of Gainsborough's. In contrast to Lady
locale of the battle. His characteristic pose, with legs Howe's purposeful stride, Lady Rodbard is leaning against
crossed and head resting on hand, is found in traditional a pedestal, absentmindedly embracing her pet, as she seems
allegories of mourning (as, for example, in the spirit of drawn, by the spectator, from a profound reverie.
death in Canova's tomb of Maria Christina; see FIC. 2-22). Next to grand manner portraiture, there rose in eigh­
West's painting is at once an image of a hero, a group teenth-century Britain a very different kind of portrait
portrait, and a contemporary history painting, complete painting, more in harmony with the aspirations of the
with a built-in moral lesson about courage and self-sacri­ British middle class. The new industrialists, who owed
fice. It initiated a new genre of history painting that would their wealth to the Industrial Revolution, were added to
flourish in France during the Napoleonic period, and would the clientele of portrait artists. While some liked to be
continue into the nineteenth century and beyond. portrayed just like aristocrats, other demanded a new type
West's innovation was taken one step further by another of portraiture that stressed not the elegant lifestyle that
American-born artist working in England, John Singleton their wealth had brought, but rather the hard work and
Copley (1838-1915) . Copley's painting The Death of the Earl entrepreneurial skills that were at its root.
of Chatham (FIG. 3-19) represents the dramatic collapse in Joseph Wright of Derby's Portrait of Sir Richard Arkwright,
the House of Commons of William Pitt the Elder, whom of 1789-90 (FIC. 3-21), serves as an example. It portrays a
Barry had portrayed in his engraving of 1778. Unlike West's Lancashire barber turned textile tycoon, whose wealth at
The Death of General Wolfe, which was staged for maximum the time of his death was estimated at £500,000. On the

90 British Art during the Late-Georgian Period

 3-20 George Romney, Portrait
of Lady Rodbard , 1786.
Oil o n canvas , 7' x 4'8/1
(236 x 1.4 2 111 ) Lady Le ve r Art
Call e ry, Port Sunlight , WirraL

table next to Arkwright is a set of cotton-spinning rollers, tradition in that the sitter is indoors, in his office, seem­
the crucial part of a new spinning machine that he had ingly interrupted during his work. The portrait lacks the
invented and which had brought him success. While Wright facial makeover, the artificial weight reduction, and pos­
of Derby still uses some of the conventions of the aristo­ ture improvement of grand manner portraits . Instead, it
cratic portrait, such as the column and the drapery in the presents an uncontrived, direct likeness of a middle-class
background, his portrait of Arkwright departs from that entrepreneur who owed his success to diligence and inge-

The Grand Manner and Bourgeois Portraits 91

nuity, and his wealth to the exploitation of his labor force. These men often had little formal education but, by keep­
like most mill workers at the time, Arkwright's employees ing their eyes and ears open, they learned about the new
worked from six in the morning to seven at night. Two­ scientific discoveries and technological innovations of the
thirds of his 1,900 workers were children, age six and older. period. Wright's two most famous paintings exemplify the
Arkwright, like Wright of Derby, came from outside spirit of optimism, curiosity, and self-improvement that
London, as did most of the new industrialists . Indeed, tex­ helped men such as Arkwright and Wedgwood achieve
tile mills, iron forges, and china works were founded not their success. These paintings, An Experiment on a Bird in the
in London but in such counties as Lancashire, Stafford­ Air Pump (1768; National Callery, London) and A Philoso­
shire, and Derbyshire by young and energetic entrepreneurs. pher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery, in which a Lamp is Put in Place

3-21 Joseph Wright of Derby,

Portrait oj Sir RiclJard Arkwright, 1789-90.
Oil on canvas, 7'1 1" x 5' (2.41 x 1.52 m).
Private Collection.

92 British Art during the Late-Georgian Period

3-22 Joseph Wright of Derby, A Philosopher Givil1g a Lecture 011 the Orrery, il1 which a Lamp is Put in Place oj the SUI1 , c.1764- 66. Oil on canvas ,
4'9" x 6'7" (1.47 x 2.03 m). Derby Museum and Art Gallery

of the Sun (FIG. 3-22), represent members of a provincial sci­ some meetings of the famous Birmingham Lunar Society,
entific society attending a lecture-experiment. The latter which included among its members, besides Darwin, inven­
painting depicts a gathering of adults and children around tors such as James Watt and early industrialists such as
an orrery, an early planetarium. The room is dark except Josiah Wedgwood (see page 67).
for the light of a candle placed inside the orrery to repre­ Wright's painting goes beyond traditional genre paint­
sent the sun . Behind the orrery, in the center, an elderly ing, not only in its monumental size but also in the seriousness
man with gray hair gives a lecture on astronomy to three with which he has treated the theme . The figures in the
young men, a woman, and three children . painting are either closely attending the words of the lec­
Although each of the figures in the painting represents turer or staring meditatively into the orrery, mesmerized
an individual person, Wright did not exhibit the work as by its light. The lecture and the orrery have set them think­
a portrait but rather as a genre painting, or painting from ing on the vast universe, the wonder of creation, and,
daily life. Such an event would have been familiar to many perhaps, the meaning of life itself. Wright's Orrery and his
British viewers of the eighteenth century, when amateur related painting, better than any other works of the period,
scientific societies were common throughout the land. A convey the spirit of an age when science and technology
close friend of Doctor Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of were seen as the key to the mysteries of the universe, and
the evolutionist Charles Darwin), Wright may have attended the means by which humans would progress.

The Grmld Mal1ner and Bourgeois Portraits 93