Back at the national

A self portrait by Salvator Rosa 

After a week where we didn't visit a gallery as a group it was a pleasure to be back with Julia (the course leader) and the rest of the class at London's National Gallery looking at some more portraits this time not only solitary  people but some families and couples too.


There was even a self portrait by the Italian artist  Salvator Rosa - where he 'imagines' himself as a Philosopher.

Again attention was given to who had commissioned the paintings (when they were commissioned), some portrait paintings are  those that were undertaken ahead of a wedding - like that of
 Mr and Mrs Hallett  by English artist Thomas Gainsborough - it was explained that this although looking like a country walk would be a studio painting showing fashionable clothing - the dog, a Spitz is we can imagine denoting fidelity and faithfulness.

Gainsborough did fashionable portraits 

Strangely (perhaps) the painting was damaged earlier this year - and a man was charged -  it appears that he was a missing person at the time of the damage.



Sir Joshua Reynolds was also working in a similar field round about the same time - the work of his that we looked at was of Lady Cockburn and her three Eldest Sons - the subjects are less fashionable and more 'natural'.






Though the Reynolds may be considered less staged - it is (to my mind) as staged but in a different way .

Joshua Reynolds - Lady Cockburn and her three Eldest Sons

We also looked at Dutch paintings - businessmen (by van den Eeckhout) and another of a family group Frans Hals - known as 'A Family Group in a Landscape'.

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout - Four Officers of the Amsterdam Coopers and Wine Rackers' guild 

A family Portrait to me it looks like the picture's been cropped as the two people at the back are nearly touching the frame 

I was though less taken with the Rembrandt painting of his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh.

Rembrandt's missus looking Arcadian in fancy dress