The Devonshire Children's Portraits

Henry Howard, Harriet Cavendish, 1798

Henry Howard was a well-known portraitist and history painter in the late- eighteenth and early- nineteenth centuries, who unfortunately doesn't get as much notice nowadays.  Luckily, his visit to the Devonshire family around 1798 resulted in three portraits of Georgiana's three [legitimate] children, Little G, Harryo, and Hart.  Though, I must apologise for the not-so-great quality of the photos of these portraits which now hang in the King William bedroom at Althorp, you can still decipher a certain je ne sais quoi quality to these portraits.  What is it...what is it...oh I know!

Awkward adolescence.

Henry Howard, Georgiana Dorothy Cavendish, 1798

These three portraits were painted when the painfully shy Little G was about 15, the painfully awkward Harryo was about 13, and Hart (who, perhaps, doesn't look totally uncomfortable) was about 9 or 10.  The ages of the daughters, specifically, is of interest because, outside of the rare family group portrait, adolescence is rarely commemorated in portraiture.  Baby and childhood portraits were common enough, and young women were often painted before they were married, or at least when they were in the marriage market.  However, this strange and, somewhat brief, period of youth was rarely portrayed in individual portraits.

 You can almost imagine adult Little G and Harryo cringing every time they passed these portraits; cursing their hair do and choice of headband.  While Little G's posture hints at a discomfort in sitting for her portrait, Harryo's somewhat more confident pose is mismatched with her still childish appearance.  ...and yeah, um, Hart just looks like any elite little boy-heir of the time in his portrait, so I'm just gonna leave that here as a contrast to his poor sisters.  In conclusion, rich eighteenth-century teenagers, they're just like us.  That would make the Devonshires similar to our camera-weilding parents and grandparents, snapping photos of their teenagers out of love, blind to any awkwardness.   When Howard was commissioned with these portraits, by either the Devonshires, or Lady Spencer, the children had already endured a two-year absence of their mother, after she was exiled to the continent by their father upon discovering her pregnant with Earl Grey's child.  It may be safe to say the separation of family members influenced commissioning such portraits.

Henry Howard, William Cavendish, Marquis of Hartington, 1799

If you would like to see these portraits, they are on display in Althorp House, amongst other lovely family pictures of Georgiana and her Spencer siblings as children.  However, if you can't make it to the glorious home, Althorp's website now has an amazing virtual tour.

Depicting the Duke of Devonshire

When it comes to images of Canis, otherwise known as William Duke of Devonshire, there is generally one that floats around on the web by Batoni showing the Duke on his grand tour adventure. And let's all be honest, most of you probably looked at it and went, "How did he get all that eighteenth-century tail?!"  Which is a totally legitimate question being that the Duke lacked social skills to be smooth with the ladies.  He just looks a bit plain and awkward.  When Anton von Maron painted him at the age of 20 the result was also pretty bad.

Hart would write almost 80 years later that the painting of his father was "so very bad" that Bess "had it altered by (I believe) Mr Rising, the cleaner of pictures..."  I'm sure it surprises none of you that Bess took charge on that!

But my favorite images of the Duke are the lesser-known ones which, ironically, are by one of the two most famous artists of the time, Joshua Reynolds.  One shows how handsome the Duke was around the time that he married Georgiana.  I believe the painting is in bad condition now, but you get a good idea from the print (love that coat!):

However my favorite of the two is rarely seen due to it being hidden away in a private collection.  It shows the Duke at age 19 or 20 although he looks much older and more sophisticated

Chatsworth Reopens this Weekend after Thorough Cleaning

Going, going, gone!

On 11 March Chatsworth will reopen to begin the 2012 tourist season after extensive restorations.  While Chatsworth has seen many restorations and alterations over the years this £14m project strives to bring the great house back to how it looked when Georgiana's son, Hart lived there in the early 19th century.  The most breath-taking aspect of the project is the restoration of the limescale facade, making the house lighter, brighter, and dare I say, more glorious?  I encourage you to check it out here in the BBC video.

The new, improved facade

Aside from the facade, gilded flames have been added to the roof.  Apparently all those urn sculptures up there were supposed to look like they had eternal flames springing out of them.  It just leaves one to wonder when those flames began disappearing!

One of the other remarkable undertakings has to do with Hart's sculpture gallery.  You may remember this amazing collection from Pride and Prejudice 2005 when Lizzie is viewing marble sculptures and comes across a bust of Mr Darcy.  These have now all been rearranged in the way Hart originally had them.

The new transformation lets guests see just how the 6th Duke lived.  Although Georgiana fans may be disappointed that the restoration didn't aim for just a teensy bit earlier to base the remodeling on, we have to remember Chatsworth was Hart's baby!  Georgiana's fingerprints were on Devonshire House in London which was unfortunately torn down.  Sadly, she did not leave as much of a mark on Chatsworth as her son- who did many wonderful things to the house while preserving its heritage.  The house reopens this Sunday and will be sure to be an even more splendid outing than before- as hard as that is to believe!

Georgiana's Death

March 30 marks the anniversary of Georgiana's death. After battling with various health issues for years the Duchess of Devonshire succumbed and faded from the world at 3:30 the morning of March 30, 1806. If anyone had any doubts as to how beloved Georgiana was in her lifetime, the many reactions to her death speak for themselves.

"For no less than 33 years have we seen [The Duchess of Devonshire] regarded as the glass and model of fashion , and amidst the homage which was paid to her, she moved with a simplicity that proved her to be unconscious of the charm which bound the world to her attraction."

Morning Chronicle, March 31, 1806

"I am no longer calm, no longer soothed. I cannot describe my own feelings."

Lady Bess Foster

"You have never known what it was to loose a friend to whom your whole heart was open, to whom you loved with all the strong ties of natural affection and choice, habit, similarity of character added to it."

Harriet, Countess of Bessborough

"The best natured and best bred woman in England is gone."

The Prince of Wales

Georgiana's body lay in state in the Great Hall of Devonshire House for five days. The same room which held many balls and grand social events now held her open casket among dismal black drapes adorning the walls. Thousands lined Piccadilly in order to pay respects, many of which had never known Georgiana, but still wanted one last glimpse of their favourite celebrity. On Easter Day the coffin lid was closed and people such as Harriet and Bess were overcome with emotion. The funeral procession would go through the throngs of onlookers of Piccadilly on its way to Derby Cathedral. Bess wrote her observations of Hart at his mother's funeral procession which bring back memories of the John F. Kennedy and Princess Diana funerals,

Never shall I forget Hartington's look & figure as I saw him in the Great Hall as if to attend on her poor Mother there & then on the steps, fixed without his hat, his innocent interesting countenance & looks bent to the last on the Coffin as it was carried slowly down the steps & on the Hearse as it was placed within. He did not appear to weep, but his whole soul seemed absorbed by what was passing. The morning just began to dawn, all was reviving to light & life, but her, her! who was our light & life.

A Newer Chatsworth

Georgiana's beautiful home, Chatsworth has been in the news frequently this week. It is reopening its doors for the 2010 season this month. But what is so fabulously wonderful about Chatsworth this season is that it has just undergone a huge face lift. This has been the biggest refurbishment of the house since Georgiana's son, Hart, decided to give the country estate some much needed attention about 200 years ago.

The facade of the house has gotten a good power wash so it should be sparkling clean for its new visitors. I also read on the Chatsworth blog that they reintroduced the dining room table that Hart picked out for the room during his improvements. In addition to the restoration of many rooms, two galleries dedicated to some famous duchesses will be opened. The first is to Deborah, the current Dowager Duchess. The second is to our favourite duchess. Unfortunately, I have attempted to contact Chatsworth to get more details about the new Georgiana Gallery, but to no avail. I will keep you posted if I do find out. In the meantime here are some of the recent Chatsworth articles I have found.

Telegraph

Daily Mail

Telegraph (an interesting article)

The Times

Chatsworth: The State Music Room

As the name of this room implies, it would appear that this is the room in which to practice music or entertain on the pianoforte. Well, as it turned out, this was never the true intention of the room. Although, I am sure music has graced these walls many times. It is actually more of a dedication to the Cavendish family's traditional love of music. A beautiful working harpsichord draws everyone's attention to the center of the room. But if you just happen to look behind it, there is something more magnificent hiding behind a slightly-ajar door. It is one of the most magnificent and convincing trompe l'oeil's in history: a violin hanging from a door, painted by Jan van der Vaart. When I took my parents on a tour of this home it took me a long time to convince my father that the door was, in fact, a painting.

Another unique aspect of this room is its walls. Once again, you find yourself in a heavily guilded baroque space of ornate wall decor. But upon closer examination, youo may find that the walls are not that same wood found in the other state rooms. In fact, they are not wood paneling at all! The walls are actually stamped and guilded leather. Along the top border you can even find eight small portraits of Hart in this unique medium.

Devonshire Progeny: Hart

Many children scampered through the halls of Devonshire House during the days of Georgiana. These consisted of her own, her husband's (with mistresses), her sister's, or Bess'. Their personalities and histories are as diverse as their genetic makeup.

William was the much awaited son and heir of William and Georgiana. He was born after 16 years of marriage and miscarriages. Upon his birth he was given the title of Marquess of Hartington which earned him the nickname of Hart. An appropriate nickname also because the heads of three harts adorn the Devonshire coat of arms.

The journey leading up to his birth was not an easy one. He was born in Paris during the Revolution. Georgiana was told to seek warmer climates due to her history with miscarriages. Maybe she should have tried Spain? When news arrived that a healthy baby boy had been delivered the bells in Derbyshire tolled all day. As you can imagine, Hart's father was ecstatic. A few months later, when Georgiana went to attend to her sick sister in Bath, the Duke rented two homes: one for Hart and his nurse and one for everyone else. Sadly, when Hart was barely speaking his mother was sent away due to her affair with Charles Grey. The one year old repeatedly screamed, "Mama gone, Mama gone!" and couldn't be consoled. When Georgiana was finally allowed to return to her beloved children two years later, Hart did not recognize her and screamed whenever she touched him. It nearly broke her heart. It also did not help that Hart had lost most of his hearing to an infection, although this would not be discovered until later.

Eventually Hart grew into a handsome boy and in his mother's final years the two became very close. He fell in love with his cousin, Harriet's daughter, Caroline. But she, being a tease, went on to marry William Lamb (much to both mothers' disappointment)...and we all know how that worked out. Hart was devastated by the rejection. Then he wanted to marry Princess Mary, who was much older than him, but she married Prince William Henry instead (at the tender age of 40, too!). After this second rejection Hart was like, "screw this!" and lived the rest of his life as a swinging single. That is how he became known as the Bachelor Duke. He kept his mistresses, but never married, causing the Dukedom to go to his cousin upon his death in 1858. It is thought that Hart's deafness may have been the cause for him being introverted and lacking confidence with the ladies.

Hart is not only remembered for being a sexy bachelor but also for his improvements on Chatsworth inside and out. He also did well in clearing up both of his parents debts after their deaths. Actually, he was a pretty good businessman. It was left in his hands to get rid of Bess, who wanted money and titles, after his father's death and he was able to do so gracefully. Bess, on the other hand, was being very un-classy. Although his disability prevented him from entering politics as his mother wished, Hart had many colorful friends such as Czar Nicholas and Charles Dickens. These friends would hang out with Hart in his beloved country estate so he would never feel lonely and they would always be entertained. He definately took after his mother!