During the previous visit, as a guided group we de-constructed a number of other exhibits and proposed contemporary modifications to them. One exhibit in particular, perhaps one of the more famous that was being displayed, was on temporary loan from York Gallery. The painting in question was created by Edward Matthew Ward, and celebrates another true english "great master", that being William Hogarth.
Edward Matthew Ward RA (14 July 1816 – 15 January 1879) was an English Victorian narrative painter - perhaps best known for the wall coverings that formed part of the commission of the fresco on the walls joining the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which record various episodes in British history, particularly of military notes of interest, from a time span between the English Civil War to the Revolution of 1688, (which was the revolution that removed King James II of England (James VII of Scotland and James II of Ireland)). The Revolution of 1688 is also known as the Glorious Revolution.
 | |||
The landing of Charles II at Dover 1660 By Edward Matthew Ward, 1864. |
(...As an interesting side-note, the revolution of 1688, which was orchestrated by a union of English Parliamentarians together with the backing of the Dutch William III of Orange-Nassau (also known as William of Orange), set in motion one of the longest conflicts in english / british history. The Dutch King William, having successfully invaded England with a Dutch fleet and his army led to his ascension of the English throne, as "William III of England" which was established jointly with his wife Mary II of England. As a result of the subsequent passage of the Bill of Rights, it stamped out once and for all any possibility of a Catholic monarchy, and ended moves towards absolute monarchy in the British kingdoms by circumscribing the monarch's powers. These sovereign powers were to become greatly restricted; A King or Queen of England could no longer suspend laws, levy taxes, make royal appointments, or maintain a standing army during peacetime without Parliament's permission. To this day the Army is known as the "British Army" not the "Royal Army" as it is, in some sense, Parliament's Army and not that of the Queen's. Furthermore, "The Williamite war" in Ireland can be seen as the source of later conflict, including 'The Troubles' re-ignighted many times through indescrimitate violence and acts of terrorism of recent times. The Williamite victory in Ireland is still commemorated by the Orange Order for preserving British and Protestant dominance in the country, and is still a Contemporary source of hatred, conflict and disharmony in 2014).
Anyway, back to the Edward Matthew Ward... Ward's murals of Britain's past conflicts can be found at the Palace of Westminster in London's central borough. (See Terms for images featured on Art in Parliament, at http://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/terms-for-images-featured-on-art-in-parliament/)
Ward was a prolific artist, and while a student at the Royal Academy, he became a member of a group known as The Clique, a group of painters led by Richard Dadd. (The group, also included William Powell Frith, Augustus Egg, Henry O'Neil and others). These artists were generally followers of Hogarth and Wilkie, and were determined patriots with a style that portrayed British nationalism in particular. I had come across Richard Dadd once before, whilst researching the history of mental health treatment in the UK. Of morbid interest, Dadd spent 20 years in London's Bethleham Hospital (also known as "Bedlam"), after he fell in while touring Europe (probably through mental exhaustion which triggered an underlying Schizophrenic condition). He came home to be nursed in his family home in Cobham, Kent, then became convinced his father was a re-incarnation of the Devil and subsequently killed him by stabbing him to death. He fled to the continent, tried to stab another tourist and was captured by french police and returned to London. He confessed to killing his father and was certified as criminally in sane. This saved him from being hanged for murder. After his 20 year spell in Bedlam, he later became one of the first inmates of the notorious Broadmoor Hospital in Surrey, which today holds some of our most disturbed patients and criminals. He continued to paint for the rest of his life.
Back to De-constructing Ward... The subject and title of Ward's painting we de-constructed together with our University Tutors is "Hogarth's Studio in 1739" created in 1863 - some 124 years prior to the date that Ward painted this imagined scene. How Ward recreated this image is very interesting. Arguably, I felt this 150 year old painting, depicting life some 275 years ago, could be inverted in it's intended meaning and described as a classic piece of propaganda. It glorifies a rich patron of Hogarth, the businessman and philanthropist Captain Thomas Corum, together with Mrs Corum who were benefactors of the Foundling Hospital (later to be known as the Thomas Corum Foundation for Children, a charity which still exists to this day). See The UK Charity Website of "Corum"
Our very own 21st Century contemporary artist, Grayson Perry, RA, has said of the Foundling Museum, (set up to celebrate the care in Captain Corum and his wife's legacy);
...“A seaman, a composer and a painter, and the moving story of the charity they started 270 years ago. It is a recipe of art and care, which still looks after kids today. Coram, Handel, Hogarth, what’s not to love?” - Grayson Perry RA, artist and 2010 Hogarth Fellow
 |
| Hogarth's studio in 1739 (By Edward Matthew Ward, 1863) |
This imaginary scene is set in William Hogarth’s studio in 1739. Hogarth has completed a portrait of Captain Thomas Coram, the benefactor of the Foundling Hospital. A group of children, in their best dress, are visiting the studio to see the picture; Hogarth and Coram hide behind the canvas. To the left, a black servant boy holds a tray of refreshments and Mrs Hogarth slices fruit cake.
There are some discrepancies in the legitimacy of the date in subject image and name of Wards painting. My initial research into Thomas Corum's life suggests that the Foundling Hospital was actually established in 1741, some 2 years after the imagined scene in Ward's depiction of Hogarth's studio. However, further records (see details of The Old Corum Association established in 1947, web-page at http://www.oca1947.co.uk/index2.htm) suggest that Captain Corum obtained a Royal Charter to build a school in 1739, the year of Ward's imagined scene. The first children were admitted to the Foundling Hospital on Lady Day, 25th March 1741, so the children depicted in Ward's painting could not have been part of the Foundling Hospital...
In a contemporary sense, the issue of child abuse has recently been highly publicised. A number of historic children's institutions traditionally thought of as safe places for improving child welfare, have been exposed as sites harbouring deviant administrators, care-workers and/or patrons. In no way am I suggesting that there has been any abuse related to the paintings or subjects of the paintings by Ward.
However, with a view in a contemporary deconstruction, the philanthropist and "children's friend" that I once considered (especially during my own child-hood) to be of extreme trust, was one Jimmy Savile.
(Sir James Wilson Vincent "Jimmy" Savile, OBE, KCSG (31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television presenter, media personality and charity fundraiser. He hosted the BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, was the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops, and raised an estimated £40 million for charities.) After his death, hundreds of allegations of child sex abuse and rape finally emerged, leading the police to believe that Savile was a predatory sex offender, and may have been one of Britain's most prolific sexual offenders).
Whilst the image of Jimmy Savile could be substituted into a painting similar to the image of Captain Thomas Corum, and produced as a grotesque and conflicting subject matter, I am too cautious to do so, to address public sensitivities in an ongoing legal battle from victims goes against my own moral sensibilities.
Nevertheless, such a graphic contemporary deconstruction can be easily re-imagined by a reader of this blog.
My reflections of the above thoughts being put to one side, I continued with my search for subject matter to deconstruct.
No comments:
Post a Comment