Truth is often stranger than fiction, isn't it? Head to the newly opened venue of Charleston in Lewes for Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: An Untold Story , an exhibition that relates a piece of art history that, you have to say, would make a good film. And here are the two principal characters: Dorothy, on the left, a talented graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art , and her fellow student, friend, lover, partner and collaborator Patricia, perhaps not quite so talented, but both passionate about art. The photograph seems to tell you a lot. Dorothy looks a little bit awkward and ill at ease, slightly frumpy, androgynous even. Patricia appears confident, glamorous, exuberant, perhaps a little.... possessive? But maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. We need to establish the plot.... The rather retiring Hepworth and the outgoing, gregarious Preece became inseparable as students, and they planned to set up a studio together after graduation. In 1922, Preece took exam
So, is Sir Edwin Landseer's The Monarch of the Glen a glorious evocation of the Scottish Highlands, or just a dreadful piece of Victorian kitsch? Or maybe both.... You have the chance to decide in a display at the National Gallery in London centred on one of the world's best-known animal paintings.
What we learn from this small but extremely informative show, which is free of charge, is that Landseer was an highly accomplished artist who was as dedicated as George Stubbs to recreating animals on canvas. Stand in front of the Monarch of the Glen here and you will see what is certainly a stupendous image, one that wouldn't have lasted 170 years if it didn't resonate with viewers and stick in the memory.
A few words about the history of this picture: It was originally painted to hang in the House of Lords dining room, but the funding ran short, and instead it was exhibited in the Royal Academy, then sharing the National Gallery building, in 1851. The image was much appropriated for commercial use: soap, soup, butter and of course shortbread and whisky, A few years ago, drinks giant Diageo sold it to the National Galleries of Scotland.
Landseer was a hugely admired and hugely popular painter in his time. Born in 1802, he was an early success, first acclaimed for his pictures of dogs, and we learn how he made anatomical studies not just of dogs and cats, but also of lions and tigers at a menagerie on the Strand. In 1817, he acquired Stubbs's studies for his book Anatomy of a Horse. There's an echo in The Monarch of the Glen of Stubbs's great painting Whistlejacket, which hangs in a nearby room. A lone animal, taking up almost the entire space of the picture.
Landseer's ability to capture animals, both alive and dead, is shown in this chalk drawing, A Dead Stag, with the ruffled fur on the neck and the weight of the body.
Landseer didn't actually paint the Monarch in Scotland. He painted it in his suburban London studios in St John's Wood, where he also had an extensive menagerie. Such was the regard in which he was held that he was controversially chosen in 1858 to create the sculptures of lions around Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, even though he wasn't a sculptor. Landseer undertook extensive studies at London Zoo to prepare for the statues, which were originally intended to be of standing lions. He even had one elderly lion transported from the Zoo to his home.
Within a couple of minutes of seeing this display, you can of course nip outside to Trafalgar Square to discover with new eyes how the lions actually turned out!
But back to the Monarch. Such a familiar, commercialised image: It was of course perfect for Pop Art, so when Paul McCartney commissioned Peter Blake to make a painting for his farm on the Mull of Kintyre, Blake chose to reproduce what he calls "the best stag ever". But in acrylic.
Blake's view: "It's a magnificent painting of a magnificent animal and has earned its right to be a great picture." Go along yourself and make up your own mind.
George Stubbs, Whistlejacket, about 1762, National Gallery, London
Edwin Landseer, A Dead Stag, National Galleries of Scotland. © National Galleries of Scotland
Edwin Landseer, Scene in the Highlands, with Portraits of the Duchess of Bedford, the Duke of Gordon and Lord Alexander Russell, about 1825-28, National Galleries of Scotland. On loan from a private collection. Photo: Antonia Reeve
Edwin Landseer, Study of a Lion, about 1862. Tate, London. © Tate
A few words about the history of this picture: It was originally painted to hang in the House of Lords dining room, but the funding ran short, and instead it was exhibited in the Royal Academy, then sharing the National Gallery building, in 1851. The image was much appropriated for commercial use: soap, soup, butter and of course shortbread and whisky, A few years ago, drinks giant Diageo sold it to the National Galleries of Scotland.
Landseer was a hugely admired and hugely popular painter in his time. Born in 1802, he was an early success, first acclaimed for his pictures of dogs, and we learn how he made anatomical studies not just of dogs and cats, but also of lions and tigers at a menagerie on the Strand. In 1817, he acquired Stubbs's studies for his book Anatomy of a Horse. There's an echo in The Monarch of the Glen of Stubbs's great painting Whistlejacket, which hangs in a nearby room. A lone animal, taking up almost the entire space of the picture.
No tweeness there. On the other hand, the two paintings that flank The Monarch of the Glen don't seem to have stood the test of time so well. Queen Victoria bought The Sanctuary for Prince Albert. It depicts an exhausted stag disturbing some wild duck, but there's a bit of a gooey sentimentality about it. Shades of china ducks above a fireplace. And this hunting Scene in the Highlands appears rather too domesticated. Where's the blood in these blood sports? By the way, the Duchess of Bedford, on the right, had a long and scandalous affair with Landseer.
Practicalities
Landseer's The Monarch of the Glen continues in Room 1 of the National Gallery in central London until February 3. It's open daily from 1000 to 1800, with lates on Fridays to 2100. There's no admission charge. The gallery is on the north side of Trafalgar Square, just a couple of minutes from Charing Cross or Leicester Square stations on the rail and Underground networks.Also on at the National Gallery
There are several other fine exhibitions still to be seen: Discover the Renaissance portraiture of Lorenzo Lotto in another free show until February 10, while the contrasting styles of brothers-in-law Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini can be admired until January 27. Meanwhile, Courtauld Impressionists, which closes on January 20, explores how the industrialist Samuel Courtauld shaped British taste for late 19th-century and early 20th-century French art.
Images
Edwin Landseer, The Monarch of the Glen, about 1851, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh. © National Galleries of ScotlandGeorge Stubbs, Whistlejacket, about 1762, National Gallery, London
Edwin Landseer, A Dead Stag, National Galleries of Scotland. © National Galleries of Scotland
Edwin Landseer, Scene in the Highlands, with Portraits of the Duchess of Bedford, the Duke of Gordon and Lord Alexander Russell, about 1825-28, National Galleries of Scotland. On loan from a private collection. Photo: Antonia Reeve
Edwin Landseer, Study of a Lion, about 1862. Tate, London. © Tate
One of Landseer's lions in Trafalgar Square. Photo: Art Exhibitions Blog
Peter Blake, After 'The Monarch of the Glen' by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1966. Under loan from a private lender. © Peter Blake/Photo courtesy of the owner
Peter Blake, After 'The Monarch of the Glen' by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1966. Under loan from a private lender. © Peter Blake/Photo courtesy of the owner
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