Posted 11 years ago
LucydF
(1 item)
This is a small miniature watercolour dated 1815 painted on ivory. I believe it to be painted by Alfred Edward Chalon who was born in Geneva and moved to England in 1789, joining the Royal Academy Schools eight years later in 1797. Chalon enjoyed a prosperous career as a watercolour and miniature painter and exhibited over two-hundred and fifty works at the Royal Academy and British Institution between 1801-60.
It is a testament to his skill that he received royal patronage, being given the title of painter in watercolour to Queen Victoria and receiving commissions from Princess Charlotte of Wales and the Duchess of Kent to name just a few.
The miniature is a beautiful detail of a child's head copied from Sir Joshua Reynolds' famous painting 'Angel's Heads' a child's portrait in different views, 1786-7.
The lettering on the reverse says 'After Sir J Reynolds by ? ? Chalon 1815'. I have found it difficult to decipher the initials on the reverse.
I love the detail and colour in the picture and I always enjoy looking at it!
Just wonderful thanks for sharing it with us!
It's a study from the 1787 Heads of Angels - Miss Frances Gordon by Sir Joshua Reynolds, that is in the Tate .... one of his 'fancy pictures'.
"The five year old Lady Frances Gordon sat to Reynolds for this unusual portrait in July and August 1786, and again in March 1787. Reynolds generally had very few portrait appointments during the summer months, reserving this time for work on character studies (known as 'fancy pictures') and subject pictures. It is not perhaps surprising, therefore, that the present composition, which is composed of a series of studies of Frances Gordon's head from five different angles, is far more reminiscent of Reynolds's fancy pictures than his portraits of named sitters."
"Reynolds's principal compositional source for the picture was a red chalk drawing of four cherubs' heads by the Italian seventeenth-century artist, Carlo Maratta (1625-1713), which Reynolds had acquired in 1779 at the studio sale of his master Thomas Hudson (1701-79), and which is now in the British Museum. "
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/reynolds-a-childs-portrait-in-different-views-angels-heads-n00182/text-summary
FANTASTIC!
Hi Lucy:
Are you sure it is on ivory? It looks like a porcelain tile to me from the small portion that I can see. Porcelain painting was very popular in that time period. Either way it is lovely.
Thank you,
T A
Alfred Edward Chalon first exhibited at the academy in 1810; was elected an associate two years later and became an academician in 1816. This is a year later.
Chalon was responsible for a famous portrait of Queen Victoria known to stamp collectors and those in the 'colonies' as Chalon's head:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalon_head
Beautiful painting! So glad that you've shared this treasure with us! Also, good to see that our brilliant vetraio is in top form here. : )
Hope you will post many more of your treasures, LucydF! Welcome!
Hi, all! Agree that porcelain painting was very popular during this period, but I think that this could well be ivory and, in my opinion, probably is. Chalon painted many ivory works. Did he ever paint on porcelain? I did a very quick search - superficial!, and didn't find evidence of same, while I do know that he was best known for painting portraits on ivory. Gentlemen, you will have better graphics capabilities on your computers, so I will leave the discussion in your hands. I will add only this much: I see on my screen nothing inconsistent with an ivory panel, while I do see much that is consistent with a water color painting on ivory. Notice the hatch marks and graining - something expected on ivory panels, but not on porcelain. Perhaps LucydF could post the dimensions, as I suspect that this is rather small. Thanks. : )
Thank you for your postings. Apologies for the delay in replying but I have been away for the weekend. The painting is definitely on ivory, I am able to remove the backing board and the ivory wafer is mounted on card with the writing on the reverse. The picture is behind a piece of convex glass and measures 10 x 7 cm. It is all original.
Many thanks to miKKo who has given me details/links about Alfred Chalon's signature which I will have a closer look at:
"There are five examples of Chalon’s signature on the website in the first link. I didn’t rummage in the second link. Third link provides signature on correspondence. Signatures for paintings are often different than signatures on correspondence – as I’m SURE you already know. : ) Perhaps one of these links might help a bit. Did you ask the Courtauld if they had Chalon’s signature? Please pardon the question. Sometimes I cannot find something in a library and have to ask a Librarian for assistance. Regards, miKKo
http://www.findartinfo.com/search/listprices.asp?keyword=2822
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/chalon_alfred.html
http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=201237&lotIdNo=11016";
Thank you, LucydF, for your very kind comments and for the size specs! It was a pleasure to help!
What a beauty this painting is! I fear that if it were mine, I might spend a good deal of the day worshipping it. Best wishes for success with your researches! : )
How wonderful to see another miniature with a possible connection to mine! Thanks for posting and sharing this one and for your comments on mine. *S*