THE WELLINGTON COLLECTION
Two Men Eating at a Humble Table
Diego Velázquez (1599-1660)
A typical early painting by Velázquez, painted in Seville possibly 1618-1620 and similar in style to ‘An Old Woman cooking Eggs’ in the National Gallery, Edinburgh.
Two young men sit at a table where different earthenware vessels, food and other utensils are placed. Our eye is drawn to the wonderful still life on the table, the two men are turned from our gaze intent on their food.
The two men may be kitchen helpers taking a short break from their work. This forms part of a series of paintings showing realistic scenes of ordinary Spanish people not unlike the 16th century Flemish school.
Equestrian Portrait of the 1st Duke of Wellington
Francisco de Goya (1746-1828)
This portrait was painted in the three weeks from 12th August 1812, when Wellington entered Madrid, to 2nd September, when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in Madrid.
The painting is sketchy in parts. Clearly Goya had to work at speed to capture Wellington’s likeness before he returned to campaigning in the Peninsular Wars.
In the 1960s when the painting was X-rayed, it was revealed that an early sitter has been painted over and Goya had merely added Wellington’s face to the composition. This can also be seen in the shape of the body which certainly did not reflect Wellington’s slim frame.
The Musician
Cecco de Caravaggio (c.1590-1630)
Traditionally thought to represent a conjurer, perhaps because of the elaborate costume and what was thought to be a ball in his mouth and a coin in his hand. The painting is now known as ‘The Musician’.
The figure has a whistle in his mouth and is holding a tambourine and caught in the act of performing. It could represent a well-known contemporary because of its portrait-like quality. The painting has been dated to around 1615.
Francesco Buoneri, known as Cecco (short for Francesco) de Caravaggio was, as his name suggests, a close friend and follower of Caravaggio.
Born in Tuscany there are few facts known about his life but it is thought that he lived with Caravaggio in 1605 in Rome. He died around 1620.
Cecco was amongst the first wave of Caravaggio followers and one of the few that knew him personally before his departure from Rome in 1606.
An Ideal Head
Antonio Canova (1757-1822)
Presented to the 1st Duke of Wellington by the sculptor Canova, this bust arrived in England in 1818. This is one of four made by Canova for the leading British statesmen involved in the restitution of Italian art works after the Battle of Waterloo.
The four ‘ideal heads’ as they were called epitomised female beauty. Taking his inspiration from the great classical busts of antiquity, Canova created four ‘ideal’ forms of female beauty.
The other busts were given to, Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (now at Mount Stewart, National Trust), Sir Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough (Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas), Sir William Hamilton (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).
The Apsley House bust is unique in that there are no other versions, however it does resemble the head of Canova’s ‘Dancer with her hands on her hips’ commissioned by Napoleon’s wife Josephine.
The Empress Josephine’s statue later became the property of Tsar Alexander I and is now in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.
Antonio Canova was considered the greatest neo-classical sculptor of his day. He was renowned for his carving abilities and the refinement of his finished surfaces.
Napoleon as Mars the Peacekeeper
Antonio Canova (1757-1822)
Commissioned by Napoleon in 1802 this colossal statue of the Emperor was sculpted by Canova in Rome. Completed in 1806 the statue did not arrive in Paris until 1811.
It was unveiled at the Musée de Napoleon (now the Louvre), however Napoleon did not like the statue, it was ‘too athletic’ he declared and the statue was never put on public display.
After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo the allied armies entered Paris. There was a lot of interest in re-claiming artworks that had been taken by the French during the Napoleonic Wars.
The restored French monarch Louis XVIII had instructed the director of the museum to “make all the paintings with the effigy of Bonaparte disappear from the royal palaces and houses”.
After much negotiation the British purchased the statue and the Prince Regent (later George IV) presented it to Wellington in 1816.
When the statue arrived at Apsley House the only possible location was at the bottom of the grand stair case, the wine cellar beneath the statue had to be strengthened to take the 13 ton weight.
Antonio Canova was considered the greatest neo-classical sculptor of his day. He was renowned for his carving abilities and the refinement of his finished surfaces.
The Agony in the Garden
Antonio Allegri (called Correggio, ?1489-1534)
This work was praised by Vasari as the ‘rarest and most beautiful of his productions’ and by the mid-17th century it was in the possession of Philip IV of Spain.
When the painting arrived in England it attracted the attention of the painter Owen and the President of the Royal Academy, Benjamin West, who declared that it should ‘be framed in diamonds’.
The painting has suffered from damage over the centuries and the canvas has been cut down. Cleaning in the 1940s revealed the figure of the sleeping apostle on the right hand side of the painting. There is a 17th century copy of the painting in the National Gallery, London.
One of the leading painters of the Italian Renaissance, influenced by Leonardo and Giulio Romano, Correggio worked mainly in Correggio (hence the name) and Parma. The cupola frescoes in the Cathedral at Parma are his most famous works.
The painting in the Wellington Collection was one of the most well-known and admired paintings of the High Renaissance.
The Waterseller of Seville
Diego Velázquez (1599-1660)
This is one of the most famous early paintings by Velázquez, produced in his home town of Seville when he was in his late teens or early 20s before he moved to Madrid.
An old man in ragged clothes pours water for his two customers; the young boy in the foreground averts his pale face from the dark-skinned waterseller, the second customer is in shadow.
The use of light to model his characters and produce a sombre and moving portrait shows the artist’s skill. The viewer is not invited into the picture, the subjects avert their gaze not just from us but from each other.
1st Duke of Wellington
Sir Frances Chantrey (1781-1841)
The Apsley House bust is the second version of Chantrey’s commission by the Earl of Liverpool in 1821 or 1822 when Wellington was a member of the cabinet. The first version is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
This bust was commissioned by Wellington for Charles and Harriet Arbuthnot who were close friends.
After Harriet Arbuthnot’s death in 1834, Charles, a former diplomat and politician, came to live at Apsley House and died there in 1850. The bust must have come to the house with Mr Arbuthnot after 1834.
Sir Frances Chantrey came from a village near Sheffield in the north of England, he was apprenticed to a wood carver and gilder called Ramsay.
Through Ramsay he met John Raphael Smith, an artist, who recognised his skill and artistic potential. Chantrey eventually studied stone carving and oil painting at the Royal Academy.
He was recognised as one of the greatest sculptors of his day and was knighted by William IV in 1835. He died suddenly in 1842, leaving a fortune, most of which went to the Royal Academy.
Saxon Service Dessert Plate
(1818)
The Saxon Service was made in Dresden and presented to the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo by the King of Saxony, Frederick I. The service features of series of pictorial plates that show scenes from the Duke of Wellington’s life.
This plate is of particular interest as it shows the Apsley House as originally designed by Robert Adam in the 1770s. The house was red brick (although it appears yellow here) with a simple, classically designed portico.
The area around the house is shown as if it was set in a country park rather than London. The road hardly exists and there are paths designed for horse riding which lead neatly into Hyde Park.
The house was built for the Lord Chancellor, Henry, 1st Lord Apsley (later 2nd Earl of Bathurst) by the most fashionable architect of the day, Robert Adam.
The plate is hand painted with gilded borders, the main border, like all the dessert plates of the service is decorated with a laurel leaf.
The Meissen factory near Dresden produced some of the most outstanding examples of European porcelain. The famous crossed swords logo is one of the oldest trademarks known. The Meissen factory exists today and continues to manufacture porcelain.