Thomas William Coke was one of the few Georgian men born into money who didn't turn out to be a total brat. Instead of wasting all his money after coming back from the Grand Tour he used it toward, dare I say, productive things. First of all, he set out on improving his estate, Holkham Hall, a task that lasted until his death in 1842. Thomas then involved himself in animal husbandry. He was said to have even
Thomas is pictured here by Batoni in the midst of his Grand Tour. Not only is he quite dashing in his ivory and persimmon Van Dyck-inspired ensamble, he is quite the Enlightened chap as well. Look who stands by his side while he poses. His spaniel, as many dog-owners can relate, is not so interested in posing as he is the fabulous smells coming out of that hat. Is that ostrich, and natural dyes? With a hint of bawdy Roman wench too, I believe! Actually, the dog is a nice compliment to his owner. The flowy qualities of the plumes translates into the dog's fur. The dual-coloured fur mimics Thomas' dual-coloured outfit. He also brings a balance to the painting and aids in the leading the eye to all those important bits. Not only is the spaniel's presence bring a calming sense to the viewer but it also shows the sitter's connection with animals. At this point in Thomas' life his studies in husbandry were just a glimmer of an idea, dogs were more his style at this time.
A superficial side note: In the painting, he is also kind of cute. That long, serious face keeps the persimmon and cream from feeling too adorable. The lusty bust at his right feels contrived to me, though, whereas the spaniel feels natural.
ReplyDeleteOne more note - I think they styled the appearance of Keanu Reeves in Dangerous Liaisons after this painting of Thomas Coke. Or at least the director styled Reeves' expression after it. There is something really reminiscent about it.
ReplyDeleteYou must be a mind reader. I saw this portrait recently for the first (and probably last) time and, as is usual, it looked so much more beautiful in person. I was really quite taken with the palette and his style. I know next to nothing about Batoni & need to look if you've done a post on him. When I bought the catalogue (as I am always compelled to do, because I just love schlepping heavy books overseas) it just didn't do the painting justice.
ReplyDeleteI find the nude kind of amusing. It's not very subtle, is it?
I'm back. I looked at the Batoni post and I think the statue also appears in the first portrait of a gentleman in dark blue silk.
ReplyDeleteThe reclining nude is the Sleeping Ariadne from the Vatican Museum. Besides being slightly naughty I think it is meant to show how cultured the young man had become as a result of his Grand Tour.
ReplyDeleteJudy beat me to it! A famous statue was a common backdrop to prove that the sitter had completed the Grand Tour and visited Rome. Many contained Laocoon and his Sons. I'll have to post a few!
ReplyDeleteAriadne was also, at one time, the wife of Dionysus--so it looks like all that culture came with a tasty kicker. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you mean the statue of Lacoon, his sons and the snakes at the Vatican, that's gorgeous. I'd love to see it make an appearance.
Right you are Polonaise, the good artists didn't just plop any old classical reference into the background of their paintings...they chose VERY carefully to make just the right connection which they assumed some of their viewers would understand and others wouldn't. It makes it more fun for art historians too!
ReplyDeleteBut am I wrong that most of the aristocracy had copies of these classical statues made for their homes? If so, how did the presence of the statue really speak to their travels? Wouldn't more effort to make the vistas in the background authentic climatically and topographically to the travels have made a better argument? After all, "the nobodies" would have been just as out of the loop about blooms that were only indigenous to a certain valley in Italy or a specific mountain peak only in existence in Spain.
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