Janet Tower Storey (aberdeen 1756-1835), Portrait Of Woman With Helmet

Janet Tower Storey (Aberdeen 1756-1835) Portrait of a woman with helmet Oil on canvas, 76.5 x 64 cm The painting in question represents an elderly woman wearing a white bonnet, who can be identified with the great-aunt of the artist thanks to a cartridge on the back of the canvas which specifies the subject ("great-aunt Storey"), the place where the painting was made ("Aberdeen", Scottish city) and the name of the English painter , "Janet Tower Storey" (1756-1835). The provenance and the dating of the painting make it possible to reconstruct the context in which our artist worked and the models available to her. In addition to the obvious echo of the romantic painting of Théodore Géricault (1791-1824), in particular for the ten Portraits of the insane (painted between 1822 and 1823, today only ten are preserved in the Louvre museum in Paris) in which they the looks, the expressions, but also the feelings of the characters, and the teachings of artists such as Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) and Francesco Hayez (1791 - 1881), interpreter of his time, scrupulous seeker of truth, whose eloquent proofs are the portraits of the intellectual aristocracy of his time, the influence of some of the greatest English portrait painters of the 19th century is indisputable. The typology of the portrait, in fact, from the second half of the seventeenth century was the genre that best suited the aspirations of the middle class, since it was advantageous both from an economic point of view and for its inclusion in the rooms of the houses of the new bourgeoisie. Among London's most renowned and sought-after portrait painters was Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), who held that although the human figure, an animal or even an object were not noble subjects, they could acquire a dignity, communicate a feeling and produce emotions in the same way as an image of a historical or mythological subject. His works are now held in several private collections, as well as the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Wallace Collection and other British galleries. Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) was also a renowned portrait and landscape painter in England. His portraits show an extraordinary ease of composition and agility of touch, his colors, in contrast to the opaque tones used by Reynolds, with whom he competed for the most prestigious commissions in the city, are clear and sparkling, the mixture was very fine and of surprising depth, so much so that his brushstrokes, short and diagonal, were a "means of infinite artistic possibilities" (A. Popham, 1923). Even our artist, in the intimate portrait of her relative gazing out of the canvas, perhaps gazing at the same granddaughter as she portrays her, shows us a woman in her daily life, unadorned, dressed in dark blue, with a shawl of the same color on the shoulders and a cap which reflected the fashion of his time. The slight smile and lively eyes of the elderly woman give us a reassuring tranquility, but at the same time make us share her social condition, probably belonging to the petty bourgeoisie, which led her to want a sign in her home. of this status, which can be traced as a legacy to posterity. With Ars Antiqua, it is possible to defer all amounts up to €5,000 at ZERO PRICE, for a total of 12 INSTALLMENTS. For example Tot. €4,500 = monthly payment €375 for 12 months. For example, Tot. €3,600 = Monthly payment of €720 for 5 months. For amounts over €5,000 or for a longer extension (more than 12 installments), we can offer you personalized payment. Contact us directly for the best quote. LIVE - SUNDAY 17.00 - 21.00 Dig.terr. 126 - Ciel 861 - 937 - Streaming on our website www.arsantiquasrl.com and on our social networks Facebook and Youtube