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7/25/2019 The Swagger Portrait Review of Tate Gallery Exhibition
1/4
The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The
Burlington Magazine.
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The Swagger Portrait. London, Tate GalleryAuthor(s): Richard ShoneSource: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 134, No. 1077 (Dec., 1992), pp. 816-818Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/885365
Accessed: 23-06-2015 00:52 UTC
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EXHIBITION
REVIEWS
54. Horfztio,
st Viscount
ownshend,
y
Peter
Lely.
1662.
221 by 129.9
cm.
(National
Museumof
Wales,
Cardiff;
exh. Tate
Gallery,
London).
55
Thomas,
stEarl
of
Leicester,
by
PompeoBatoni. 1774.241.9 by 167.5em.
(Viscount
Coke
and the
Trustees
of
the
Holkham
Estate;
exh.
Tate
Gallery,
London)
55.
54
From
the
accession
f Queen
Victoria
to the
1920s,
when
the exhibition
ends,
the
survey
declines
with
stomach-turning
acceleration.
atuousness
eigns
where
we
might
have
had fun.
Further
esearch
n
country
houses
and regional
museums
might
have
prevented
o poor
an
ending.
Dicksee
hould
ertainly
ave
ound
niche
- his
Lady
Hillingdon
(RA
1905)
or
the
highgame
ofLady
nverclyde
RA1910)
or
example.
And
Poynter's
truly
imperial
Edzard
VIIwould othaveshamed arlier
images
froyalty.
AugustusJohn's
adame
56.
Lady
Rocksavage,
y
William
Orpen.
1913.
121.9by95.3cm.
(Private
collection;
exh. Tate
Gallery,
London).
Suggia
no.77)
is
an obvious
nclusion,
f
only
or ts
size
andbluster,
utsurelyJohn's
1929
Lady
Adeane
ould
have answered
the
selector's
riteria
n
onesweep-
she s
glamorous,
hic,
alluring
and
theatrically
perched
as
well
as providing
a note
of
modernity
o
takeus
beyond
he
Edwardian
paste
opulence
f
Solomon's
arah
ernhardt
(wrecked
hough
t is)
andSargent's
Mrs
Cazalet
nd
er
Children
no.69).
The
'swagger'
convention
at
its
last
gasphaslittleto cover tsnakednessave
Boldini's
hrill
elongations
nd Sargent's
Hogarth's
purpose.
t
points
(alarmingly
early
on)
to the
flaw
at
the
heartof
the
exhibition.
Coram's
whole
personality
s
revealed
by Hogarth
s incompatible
with
true
swagger';
Wilton
defends
ts
nclusion
bycalling
t
'the
swagger
fthe
bourgeois',
again
undermining
he
premises
of
the
show's
conception.
The
very
fact
that
Coram
itsuneasily
among
he
trappings
of
grand
portraiture
ccounts
ormuch
of
the
painting's
orce
asan
enduring
mage.
He soneofthevery ew itterswhoactually
appears
o
bebusy
and
or
whomrheuma-
tism
and
liverish
mornings
ould
be
a re-
ality.
'Swagger'
ives
us the
looks
of
the
English
but rarely
heir
bodies
or
brains.
There
is
not
an artist,
writer
or
scientist
among
the
seventy-nine
exhibits,
save
William
Nicholson
byJohn
(no.76),
per-
haps
hemost
nexplicable
hoice
onview.
The
presence
mid-way
of a number
of
masterpieces
y
Reynolds,
Gainsborough,
Ramsay
and
Raeburn
works
n which
the
swagger
lement
s
present
ut
checked
by
each
artist's
nvolvement
n aesthetic
rather
han
social
concerns-
comes
as
an
enormous
elief.
But
even
here
he
context
in which they are showndetracts rom
their
composite
chievements;
he
forced,
theatrical
r camp
lements
f the
paintings
swim
menacingly
nto
view.
All
these efur-
bished
igures-
so mpossibly
all,
healthy,
confident
begin
obe irksome.
How
one
longs
ora
Mediterranean
astof
feature
ora
face
that s
witty
orracy
or
ravishing.
What
a relief
o
come
oRaeburn's
Marquess
of
Aorthampton
no.48)
with
its
unaSected
dramatic
simplicity,
or Lawrence's
Mrs
Siddons
no.53),
pensive
igure
een
ndoors
(sheltered
rom
he
trying,
utdoor
breezes
of most
eighteenth-century
ull-lengths),
even
though
her
niece
Fanny
Kemble
thought
t resembled
a
handsome
ow
in
a
coralnecklace'.
817
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http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/25/2019 The Swagger Portrait Review of Tate Gallery Exhibition
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EXHIBITION
REVIEWS
XHIBITION
REVIEWS
acrobatics.
ativeartists ould
hardly om-
pete(and Millais
s quiteout
of whatever
depth
he may have
had).()nly
Winther-
halter,n the
nineteenthentury,
manages
to injectsome conviction
nto
the grand
manner
buthis authoritarian
rumpLady
Middletonno.60)
s too
competentn ex-
ecution
and dull
in subjectto allow
his
gifts o
riseabove
he surrounding
edioc-
rity.
The presence f
Tissot'song-legged
adventurer
ColonelBurnaby
no.62), gem
though t is, is an unnecessarilyeculiar
choice
whenwe
mighthavehadsome
igure
in a diaphanous
miracle
romthe
House
of Worth.
Perhapsmost
perplexing
f all
is Archbishop
andallDavidson
no.79)
by
another oreign
butler,
Philipde
Laszlo.
It maybe
a saddeficiency
n thepart
of
thisreviewer
ut
sex appeal,glamour
nd
opulence
hereseem in
shortsupply.
The
rhetorical lourish
n the Primate's
vol-
uminous
kirtsputs
one more n
mindof
AlastairSim
at a windy
moment n
St
Trinian's han
the ersatz
baroque
of ec-
clesiastical
ortraiture.
Fundamental
hanges
n society
mirrored
by successive
ew movements
n art
made
theswagger ortraitedundant. ateprac-
titioners
ouldonly
offercosmetic
urgery
when
acedwiththerigor
mortis f the
style.
Orpen'sLadyRocksavage
Fig.56)
xplicitly
recognises
oth the limitations
of grand
portraiture
nd therequirements
fa more
appropriate
mode.It is one
of the least
artificialmages
n the exhibition.
RICHARD
SHONE
* The
SwaggerPortrait.
Grand MannerPortraiture
n
Britain rom VanDyck
to Augustusfohn
1630-1930.
By
Andrew Wilton.
239 pp. with
86 col. pls. + figs.
in
b. &
w. (Tate Gallery Publications,
London,
1992),
25 (PB); 35
(HB). ISBN
1-85437-105-3 (PB):
1-85437-106-1(HB).
acrobatics.
ativeartists ould
hardly om-
pete(and Millais
s quiteout
of whatever
depth
he may have
had).()nly
Winther-
halter,n the
nineteenthentury,
manages
to injectsome conviction
nto
the grand
manner
buthis authoritarian
rumpLady
Middletonno.60)
s too
competentn ex-
ecution
and dull
in subjectto allow
his
gifts o
riseabove
he surrounding
edioc-
rity.
The presence f
Tissot'song-legged
adventurer
ColonelBurnaby
no.62), gem
though t is, is an unnecessarilyeculiar
choice
whenwe
mighthavehadsome
igure
in a diaphanous
miracle
romthe
House
of Worth.
Perhapsmost
perplexing
f all
is Archbishop
andallDavidson
no.79)
by
another oreign
butler,
Philipde
Laszlo.
It maybe
a saddeficiency
n thepart
of
thisreviewer
ut
sex appeal,glamour
nd
opulence
hereseem in
shortsupply.
The
rhetorical lourish
n the Primate's
vol-
uminous
kirtsputs
one more n
mindof
AlastairSim
at a windy
moment n
St
Trinian's han
the ersatz
baroque
of ec-
clesiastical
ortraiture.
Fundamental
hanges
n society
mirrored
by successive
ew movements
n art
made
theswagger ortraitedundant. ateprac-
titioners
ouldonly
offercosmetic
urgery
when
acedwiththerigor
mortis f the
style.
Orpen'sLadyRocksavage
Fig.56)
xplicitly
recognises
oth the limitations
of grand
portraiture
nd therequirements
fa more
appropriate
mode.It is one
of the least
artificialmages
n the exhibition.
RICHARD
SHONE
* The
SwaggerPortrait.
Grand MannerPortraiture
n
Britain rom VanDyck
to Augustusfohn
1630-1930.
By
Andrew Wilton.
239 pp. with
86 col. pls. + figs.
in
b. &
w. (Tate Gallery Publications,
London,
1992),
25 (PB); 35
(HB). ISBN
1-85437-105-3 (PB):
1-85437-106-1(HB).
lingwithwhich
Grisnvested
manyworks,
the deftness
ndwit
of hisconjuring
with
these. The siphon
of 1913
(no.26;Fig.59)
offers
not only
that inventory
of objects
later disparaged
y
the artist,but a
play
ofpictorial
ignifiersloating
reeof them:
diagrammatic
utlineswhich orm
anab-
stractpattern
of their
own,a marble
afe-
tabletop which,
arfrom
reproducinghe
polished
latness f
the motif,exaggerates
its painterliness
o display
a gratuitous
coloratura.
n the
Guitar na chair
no.31 of
the
sameyear,Gris
mpishlyplaces
at the
centreza
meticulously
endered
riangle f
chair
caning,the very
material
of which
Picasso
had usedan oil-cloth
printed
mi-
tation
for his
pioneering till life
a year
earlier.
Hereit is painted,
hus
doubling
thequality
of trompe-l'oeil
nd offering
an
injoke
for initiates.
Thoughtful
uxtapo-
sition f
paintingsrovides
urther leasure:
oneexample s
the pairing
of thetwo
1915
open-window
still lifes, Place
Ravignan
(no.47)
and The pot of geraniums
no.48),
painted
withinweeks
of eachother,as
like
andunlikeas
thesunand
moon.
Yet theproject
sa whole
eems uriously
contradictory.While n the cataloguees-
saysChristopher
reenopens
upfor resh
questioning
many
of the assumptions
n
which
prevailing
assessmentsof Gris's
cubism
have been
based,the
manner n
which the
paintings
and drawings
have
been
displayed
mplicitlyaccepts
these.
Essayson
therelationship
f Gris's
artto
his earlierwork
as a caricaturist,
r to
vernacular
isual magery
n general,
aise
timelyquestions
boutthe
cultural tatus
of
paintingandpapier-colle',
nd
showGris
exploring-
eventually,
eaffirming-
the
boundary etween
hem
withhumour nd
subtlety.
Butfor those
whohave
notread
these essays,
the exhibition
offerslittle
lingwithwhich
Grisnvested
manyworks,
the deftness
ndwit
of hisconjuring
with
these. The siphon
of 1913
(no.26;Fig.59)
offers
not only
that inventory
of objects
later disparaged
y
the artist,but a
play
ofpictorial
ignifiersloating
reeof them:
diagrammatic
utlineswhich orm
anab-
stractpattern
of their
own,a marble
afe-
tabletop which,
arfrom
reproducinghe
polished
latness f
the motif,exaggerates
its painterliness
o display
a gratuitous
coloratura.
n the
Guitar na chair
no.31 of
the
sameyear,Gris
mpishlyplaces
at the
centreza
meticulously
endered
riangle f
chair
caning,the very
material
of which
Picasso
had usedan oil-cloth
printed
mi-
tation
for his
pioneering till life
a year
earlier.
Hereit is painted,
hus
doubling
thequality
of trompe-l'oeil
nd offering
an
injoke
for initiates.
Thoughtful
uxtapo-
sition f
paintingsrovides
urther leasure:
oneexample s
the pairing
of thetwo
1915
open-window
still lifes, Place
Ravignan
(no.47)
and The pot of geraniums
no.48),
painted
withinweeks
of eachother,as
like
andunlikeas
thesunand
moon.
Yet theproject
sa whole
eems uriously
contradictory.While n the cataloguees-
saysChristopher
reenopens
upfor resh
questioning
many
of the assumptions
n
which
prevailing
assessmentsof Gris's
cubism
have been
based,the
manner n
which the
paintings
and drawings
have
been
displayed
mplicitlyaccepts
these.
Essayson
therelationship
f Gris's
artto
his earlierwork
as a caricaturist,
r to
vernacular
isual magery
n general,
aise
timelyquestions
boutthe
cultural tatus
of
paintingandpapier-colle',
nd
showGris
exploring-
eventually,
eaffirming-
the
boundary etween
hem
withhumour nd
subtlety.
Butfor those
whohave
notread
these essays,
the exhibition
offerslittle
London and
Stuttgart
Juan Gris
Art history has
treated Juan
Gris un-
fairly.
This supreme
prestidigitator
of the
representationof light
and shade
has been
consistently
overshadowed by
the repu-
tations
of his close colleagues
Braque
and
Picasso.,While
heir paintings
seem almost
never
to be out of
the limelight, many
of
Griss
most luminous
images languish
in
relative obscurity.All too infrequentlyan
exhibition offers
recompense.
The last was
seven
years ago in
Madrid;1
this time we
have the Whitechapel
Art
Gallery, its
European partners
and Christopher
Green
to thankfor
marshalling
a largeand hugely
enjoyablecollection
of the
artist'spaintings
and drawings.2
The exhibition-
at the
Staatsgalerie,
Stuttgart
from
18th
December
to 14th
February is both
com-
prehensive
and judicious
in its selection,
and contains
not only representative
works
from all
periods of
Gris'scareer as a
cubist,
including most
of his major
paintings,but
also sequencesof
paintings, drawings
and
papiers-colles
closely related
in date
or
subject; n particular,a selectionof fifteen
pictures
fromlate 1915
through mid-1916
allows
us to follow
the artist's elaboration
of three distinct
styles
of cubism within
the space
of a few months.
The result
is
richly
rewardingand, taken
together
with
searching catalogue
essays by
Christopher
Green (with
Christian
Derouet and
Karin
von Maur),3
the experience
of viewing
these
and other
worksat first
hand offers
many pleasures
and some insights.
The
greatest pleasures,
for this viewer,
were those
that are
unobtainable
romsee-
ing the
pictures n
reproduction,and
were
thus both fresh and,
at times,
surprising:
the quality
and variety
of painterly
hand-
London and
Stuttgart
Juan Gris
Art history has
treated Juan
Gris un-
fairly.
This supreme
prestidigitator
of the
representationof light
and shade
has been
consistently
overshadowed by
the repu-
tations
of his close colleagues
Braque
and
Picasso.,While
heir paintings
seem almost
never
to be out of
the limelight, many
of
Griss
most luminous
images languish
in
relative obscurity.All too infrequentlyan
exhibition offers
recompense.
The last was
seven
years ago in
Madrid;1
this time we
have the Whitechapel
Art
Gallery, its
European partners
and Christopher
Green
to thankfor
marshalling
a largeand hugely
enjoyablecollection
of the
artist'spaintings
and drawings.2
The exhibition-
at the
Staatsgalerie,
Stuttgart
from
18th
December
to 14th
February is both
com-
prehensive
and judicious
in its selection,
and contains
not only representative
works
from all
periods of
Gris'scareer as a
cubist,
including most
of his major
paintings,but
also sequencesof
paintings, drawings
and
papiers-colles
closely related
in date
or
subject; n particular,a selectionof fifteen
pictures
fromlate 1915
through mid-1916
allows
us to follow
the artist's elaboration
of three distinct
styles
of cubism within
the space
of a few months.
The result
is
richly
rewardingand, taken
together
with
searching catalogue
essays by
Christopher
Green (with
Christian
Derouet and
Karin
von Maur),3
the experience
of viewing
these
and other
worksat first
hand offers
many pleasures
and some insights.
The
greatest pleasures,
for this viewer,
were those
that are
unobtainable
romsee-
ing the
pictures n
reproduction,and
were
thus both fresh and,
at times,
surprising:
the quality
and variety
of painterly
hand-
57. Portrait
f the
artist's
mother, y
Juan Gris. 1912.
55 by 46 cm.
(Private
. .
col
ectlon;
exh. Whitechapel
Art Gallery,
London)
58.
Bottle nd lass
ona
table,byJuan
Gris. 1913-14.Oil
and papier
colle,
6 1.5
by 38.5 cm.
(GalerieJan
Krugier, Geneva;
exh. Whitechapel
Art
Gallery,
London)
57. Portrait
f the
artist's
mother, y
Juan Gris. 1912.
55 by 46 cm.
(Private
. .
col
ectlon;
exh. Whitechapel
Art Gallery,
London)
58.
Bottle nd lass
ona
table,byJuan
Gris. 1913-14.Oil
and papier
colle,
6 1.5
by 38.5 cm.
(GalerieJan
Krugier, Geneva;
exh. Whitechapel
Art
Gallery,
London)
58.8.
57.7.
81818
This content downloaded from 203.15.226.132 on Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:52:17 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp