Understanding History and Society through Images, 1776-1914

The Art And Artists

Conversation Piece

A typical 18th century conversation painting often shows an elegant, social gathering thus creating enduring images of polite society. These paintings were about ideals, not realities, a type of social portrait. Produced on a small scale to suit more intimate-sized rooms, conversations pieces were generally full-length portraits showing members of a family, dressed informally in modern clothing and often with their possessions of note, such as furniture, pets and property. They would often show the families of some financial means, such as a prosperous merchant, who wanted to demonstrate their knowledge and skill in appropriate etiquette. These images of proper behavior were one way of confirming that they had "arrived." ¹²

In Joseph Van Aken's An English Family at Tea, c.1720, a family is shown as it wished to be seen, a statement of gentility rather than a portrait of real life. Two elegant ladies are seated at the small table a servant stands nearby and pours the tea. Several men are standing properly and proudly with objects in their hands, hats and canes, as they wait to be served. All of this takes place in a grand parlor setting which includes an impressive statue, arched entryways and marble floors. Everyone appears to be quite proper and elegant, but conversation pieces such as these were "as likely to be a fictional scene as well as a group portrait." ¹³

Genre Painting

In contrast to conversation portraits, genre painting shows ordinary people doing ordinary things. Sir David Wilkie dominated the British art world in the early 19th century with paintings showing everyday life. He depicted authentic rural life in his native Scotland showing domestic and low-life scenes. In The Penny Wedding, 1818, a poor Scottish couple has their simple, rural wedding in a barn. The painting's dominant color is brown for the earth, the wood and the straw. ¹⁴

Genre paintings gave a more sentimental view of life in the lower classes. Often seen as bourgeois art, genre painting appealed to the tastes of the common, everyday man. Painted in a natural style, it was considered the low-life counterpart to high style history painting. Its focus was detail and often depicted a romanticized view of country living or urban working class men and women, such as traders and sellers depicted in Francis Wheatley's series The Cries of London, 1793. ¹⁵

Figure 1: Thomas Webster, A Study of the Schoolroom, 1820, Yale Center for British Art

Thomas Webster was born in London in 1800 and educated as a chorister. He entered the Royal Academy Schools to study painting where he won a gold medal in 1824. ¹⁶ He had great success with his subject pictures, scenes of village life, which often included children in school and in other aspects of their daily lives. His work was influential and much admired and became popular through engravings. ¹⁷

The painting in Figure 1, A Study of the Schoolroom, was created before Webster's success with the genre began. Although there is little information available on this piece, it depicts Webster's thoughts or, possibly, memories of a schoolroom of boys in the early 1800's. The students, all boys of course, are engaged in a variety of actions and, although exact expressions are not clear, viewers can certainly make some determinations about what might be happening.

This is certainly a recognizable scene for students today. School is such an important part of their lives and Webster has given them an opportunity to make comparisons between a "typical" classroom from almost 200 years ago and to a classroom of today, their own. This is a great premise for rich vocabulary their lives as students, what is meaningful to them and what things, if any, have changed about school.

Francis Wheatley was born in London in 1747. He was successful painting both portraits and landscapes early in his career, which included a number of conversation pieces. ¹⁸ Wheatley shifted his interest later in his career to rural landscapes with rural figures in scenes of pastoral life. ¹⁹ This style is shown in the series that includes Morning (Figure 2). Four Times of the Day (1799) presents a typical day in the life of a farmer's family and includes Noon with the entire family gathering for an alfresco picnic in the fields, Evening with the farmer returning from the fields and being greeted outside by the family, and Night as the tired farmer slumps over the table and the family finishes some indoor chores. Although the family members seem content enough and the children seem well fed and are neatly dressed, life is probably much harder than it looks. ²⁰

Figure 2: Francis Wheatley, Morning, 1799, Yale Center for British Art

There will be an obvious difference in family life for the students as they observe this painting. The idea of then and now may center on clothing and home but the butter churn in the center of the image would be a rich basis for discussion. Learning about family chores and responsibilities has changed over time and this painting can be a springboard for more research of life during the 19th century. An excellent literature connection would be the eight books in The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, in which she explains, from a child's point of view, the trials and tribulations of living and working on a farm, and what family life looked like.

Figure 3: Philippe Mercier, The Sense of Sight, 1744-1747, Yale Center for British Art

Philippe Mercier (1689-1760) was a French Huguenot, who was trained in Berlin and came to England in the 1720's. Frederick, Prince of Wales made him his principal painter as the conversation piece style was coming into vogue. ²¹ Mercier moved on to being a successful portrait painter, but he also began producing a number of fancy pieces that included literary illustrations, domestic scenes, groups of children and sets of paintings, for example, the Seasons, the Times of Day and the Senses. ²² The Sense of Sight is one in the series of four paintings showing each character engaged in a sensorial experience. This series is in the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art and also includes The Sense of Touch, The Sense of Taste and The Sense of Hearing.

Although The Sense of Sight does not include young children, the content is quite accessible and relatable to students with objects, the map, the mirror and the telescope as props. This image is inviting and engaging with the possibility of students able to generate ideas and create many stories as they experience this painting. What is each person seeing and why is it so interesting? What can we say about then and now as we view this piece? Who are the characters, where are they from and what do you think their lives might be like compared to yours? These questions can prompt the students to consider what they see in the painting but also what they do not see, an important connection to the subject of the work.

Figure 4: Agostino Brunias, Market Day, Roseau, Dominica, 1780, Yale Center for British Art

Although not much is known about the life of Agostino Brunias, including his exact name and nationality, records show that he became a student at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome around in 1748. He earned a living by painting souvenir pictures for rich European travelers. Brunais' drawing skills impressed Robert Adam, one of Britain's most celebrated architects, who hired him as a draftsman to document classical architectural detail as they traveled around Italy. ²³

He tired of being "a brush for hire" and, in 1770, traveled to the West Indies with the first governor of the island of Dominica, likely in an effort for fair pay and credit for his work. As a talented colorist, he used vivid hues to capture life on the island. His work as a whole represents interesting documentation of the British colonization of the West Indies in the second half of the 18th century, providing visual records of Dominican costume, customs and environments. ²⁴

Students using this image can likely make a connection to an outdoor market they may have experienced or seen. The contrast of then and now can be examined through the clothing and structures in the image and our own clothing and homes. Young children appear in the market place and students can discuss what role these children may have in the image. The shoppers and sellers are what students might consider "elaborately dressed" with layers of clothes and wearing various headdresses. There is also quite a bit of activity going on in the background and foreground that can be discussed. Who are they and what might they be doing? Noticing the trees and building design may lead students to recognize that the setting is in a warm environment.