: Portraiture & Landscape

The portrait collection at Amgueddfa Cymru illustrates a variety of diverse faces that have contributed over the centuries to the cultural, political and economic life of Wales. Many of the sitters are established Welsh figures, while others have strong Welsh associations. Some are internationally famous people whose Welsh ancestry is little known.

Early portrait painting

Adriaen van Cronenburgh (c.1520/25-c.1604)
Katheryn of Berain, 'The Mother of Wales' (1534-1591)
1568 - oil on panel

Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787)
Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (1749-1789), Thomas Apperley (1734-1819) and Captain Edward Hamilton
1768-72 - oil on canvas

Up until the 18th century, it was only the country's powerful landowners and merchants who could afford to have portraits painted. Wales, unlike Scotland or Ireland, had no large towns or a capital city before the mid-18th century, so the Welsh elite often had their portraits painted abroad or in London. For example, the earliest portraits represented in the Museum's collection are the 1st Earl of Pembroke (painted in 1565) and Katheryn of Berain (painted in 1568), both of which were painted abroad.

In the 18th century, some of the major landowning families, such as Williams Wynn and Pennant, regularly used successful English portrait painters in London. Therefore, no native Welsh portrait school developed during this period, as it did in Scotland. Although the great Welsh 18th century artist Richard Wilson began his career as a portrait painter, he later turned to landscape, which he found more profitable, as did his pupil, Thomas Jones.

The Industrial Revolution

By the end of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution in Wales allowed a new group of wealthy industrialists such as Thomas Williams, the 'King of Copper', to have their likenesses painted by leading London artists.

The increasing distribution of wealth among the middle classes in Wales in the 19th century meant that more people could now have their faces recorded for posterity.

Photography transformed the nature of portraiture in Wales. Painted portraits continued however, with the production of some iconic images such as Augustus John's famous portrait of the poet Dylan Thomas. The rich industrial history of Wales also inspired some heroic representations of workers, as well as of the mine owners themselves. For example, Evan Walters' A Welsh Collier of 1936, in which the sitter has only recently been identified.

The earliest bronze sculpture in Britain

Portrait sculpture has always been popular in Wales. Examples range from Le Sueur's bronze bust of Lord Herbert, commissioned during the reign of Charles I and one of the earliest bronze busts in Britain, to Peter Lambda's bust of Aneurin Bevan in 1945.

The Welsh sculptor Sir William Goscombe John, who died in 1952, was a key cultural figure in Wales, playing a major role in the formation of the Welsh national collection of art. Born in Cardiff, he was an invaluable member of the Museum's Council, regularly making generous donations. He produced public statues, memorials and portrait busts, including one of Wales's most important politicians of the 20th century, David, 1st Earl Lloyd George.

The portraits here are from the Museum's collection; further examples and an archive of Welsh portraiture can be seen at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, which has collected portraiture since its foundation, and in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

There are many portraits of well-known Welsh figures in the art collections of Angueddfa Cymru. However, the Museum also collects portraits of lesser-known people as they can be important works of art in their own right. The study of these portraits often sheds new light on when and how their subjects lived and adds to our understanding of art in the past.

During the past 20 years several distinguished 18th and early 19th century portraits have been acquired by the Museum, including Henry Knight of Tythegston with his three children, painted by Johann Zoffany (1733-1810) in about 1770.

Henry Knight of Tythegston with his three children by Johann Zoffany

Johann Zoffany (1733-1810)
Henry Knight of Tythegston (1738-1772) with his Children. c.1770 - oil on canvas

The portrait shows the Glamorganshire squire Henry Knight (1738-1772) with his three children Henry, Robert and Ethelreda. Henry was a soldier in the 15th Light Dragoons, and his older son is shown trying on a helmet of that regiment. Henry Knight's father, Robert Knight (1711-1765), inherited the Tythegston estate of the Lougher family through his mother in 1732. Henry divorced from his wife in 1771, then a difficult and expensive process requiring a private Act of Parliament. The painting might have been commissioned to represent Henry Knight's decision to leave the military in order to care for his children. In the picture, he is dressed in civilian clothes, but he holds an infantry officer's spontoon, thrust blade-first into the ground. His sons hold his sword, gorget and helmet. The picture's seaside setting is probably a reference to Tythegston, a couple of miles from the coast, between Bridgend and Porthcawl. The tree motif, frequently used in Zoffany's family groups, allows all the figures to be given equal importance. Showing the boys playing with arms and armour belongs to a tradition that can be traced back to the Renaissance.

Johann Zoffany

This is one of Zoffany's largest family portraits (measuring 240 cm x 149 cm), and is a surprisingly ambitious commission for a Welsh squire of modest means. Zoffany, one of the most distinguished British painters of the reign of George III, was famous for his informal styles. One of his best-known pictures, Sir Lawrence Dundas with his grandson, shows the 17th century Dutch masterpiece The Calm by Jan van de Cappelle, also in the Museum's collections.

Born near Frankfurt and trained in Rome, Zoffany moved to London in 1760. Lord Bute, George III's first prime minister, probably introduced him to the Royal Family, where he became the favourite painter of Queen Charlotte. The King nominated him a member of the Royal Academy in 1769. The appeal of Zofanny's work lies in his ability to catch a likeness and his astonishing attention to detail. His perspective, however, can be faulty, and here the helmet held by the older son is clearly too large.

Purchasing the portrait for the Museum

The picture is in a remarkably good state of preservation. X-ray examination reveals that the artist reworked the head of Robert Knight (the younger son dressed in red), but there are only a few other minor changes to the design, and most of the composition was laid on quite thinly. The picture was loaned to the Museum from 1940 until 1958. When it was offered for sale at Sotheby's in 1999 its acquisition by the Museum was a priority. The purchase was made possible by generous donations from the bequest of June Tiley, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Art Collections Fund.

Two different medieval myths are represented in two works by the 19th century artist Sir Edward Burne Jones. The Wheel of Fortune (1882) and Arthur at Avalon (1890) are both in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru.

This unfinished painting of about 1882 depicts the medieval theme of the wheel of fortune, which lifts or abases man as it is turned by the goddess Fortuna. The drawing of the nudes and the drapery of the goddess reveal the artist's careful study of Michelangelo.
Burne Jones.
Oil on Canvas.

The Wheel of Fortune is based on Roman mythology. For the Romans, the goddess Fortuna represented luck. However during the Middle Ages the idea of the wheel of fortune evolved from the writings of Boethius, a 6th century Christian martyr. In The Consolation of Philosophy, he wrote that the random turns life could take were all part of God's divine will and that man must accept the twists and turns of fortune.

It has long been a tradition in art to show gods as being larger than humans, and here Burne Jones represents Fortune as larger than the humans, who she turns on her wheel. He does show her blindfolded, as was usual, but with her eyes closed. Traditionally, the wheel has four figures on it. They represent four stages of life: "I shall reign", "I reign", "I have reigned" and "I have no kingdom". Burne Jones only depicted three figures on the wheel, but he maintained the idea of a reign by placing a crown on the head of the central figure.

The feminist author Camille Paglia has described this work as a sadomasochistic tableau, with "Fortuna turning her torture wheel of beautiful young men, languid with limbs stretched in sensual suffering". Although the men are accepting of their fate, how much choice do they have? The limbs are not so much stretched in sensuality but as an indication that you ascend by climbing over someone else and this in turn will happen to you. This is something Burne Jones felt personally. In 1893 he wrote "My Fortunes wheel is a true image, and we take our turn upon it, and be broken upon it."

But to wider Victorian society, where industrial fortunes meant one could rise in wealth and class and the British Empire was the most powerful in the world, this notion of rise and fall would have touched a nerve. If you are on top of the wheel, the next turn might place you at the bottom.

Burne Jones painted another myth with Arthur at Avalon. This myth is taken from Thomas Malory's famous poem of 1470 Morte d'Arthur ('The Death of Arthur'). Arthurian legends were popular with artists for many reasons. They were well known to the public and they contained brave knights, thwarted lovers and femmes fatales. Unlike the classical world, these heroes were Christians and, most appealingly, they were rooted in British history. Greece and Rome were all very well but a local hero was more likey to inspire future empire builders.

In Arthur at Avalon Burne Jones shows the scene of Arthur's death. After being mortally wounded in battle by Mordred (his son by his half sister), Arthur is taken to the Isle of Avalon in an attempt to heal his wounds. The name Avalon ("Afallon" in Welsh, meaning the isle of apples) perhaps related to the tree of knowledge, and it was believed to be a magical place. In the background of the painting we can see trees with blossom that could be apple trees. Authur ordered Sir Bedivere to give his sword Excalibur to the Lady in the Lake, but when Bedivere returned Arthur was gone. This has been taken to mean that Arthur might not be dead, only sleeping until he is needed again. The Arthurian legend not only continued to be a source of interest to artists throughout the 19th century, but continues to inspire artists, writers and film-makers today.

Arthur At Avalon, Burne Jones, 1890

Artists have viewed love and adultery very differently at various times in history. Here we look at two very different approaches to "Fair Rosamund", Henry II's mistress, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1861) and John William Waterhouse (1916).

The Legend

Fair Rosamund (Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1861) appears here behind a balustrade in the royal manor of Woodstock. The sitter, Fanny Cornforth, was a frequent model of Rossetti's. She became his housekeeper after the death of his wife Elizabeth Siddall in 1862. 1861. Oil on canvas.

King Henry II (1154-1189) was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine. He also had a mistress, called Rosamund. According to legend, Henry built Rosamund a palace that could only be reached through a maze. He used a red cord to find his way through the maze and alert Rosamund to his arrival. Eleanor discovered the maze and followed the cord to find her husband's mistress, and murdered her. She offered her the choice of drinking poison or being stabbed.

In reality, Rosamund was not murdered by Eleanor; she retired to a convent where she died in 1176. Eleanor had an excellent alibi for the time of Rosamund's death - she was in prison for treason. Henry had her locked up for supporting their sons in an uprising against him, as seen in the film The Lion in Winter.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

In Rossetti's version only Rosamund is represented, and the only reference to the story is the red cord. The balustrade on which Rosamund leans is decorated with hearts topped with a crown, in reference to her position as the King's mistress. The rose in her hair refers to her name. The model for this work was Fanny Cornforth, a prostitute who Rossetti met in 1858, and who became his mistress. Rossetti depicts Rosamund as unoccupied; she has no purpose other than to wait for her lover's arrival. Her dress is impractical and revealing, as it slips from her shoulders. She wears decadent jewellery, her face is flushed and her hair is loose. Here we see the stereotypical Victorian concept of the mistress as a non-productive, sexual woman.

John William Waterhouse

Fair Rosamund - John William Waterhouse (1916). The sympathetic treatment that Waterhouse gives to Rosamund is an example of how medieval adultery was often viewed as essentially thwarted love.
1916.
Oil on canvas.

Waterhouse provides an almost opposite depiction of Rosamund in his work, painted 50 years later. In this image we see a fully covered Rosamund kneeling, hands as if in prayer, gazing out of the window awaiting her lover's approach, having abandoned work on her tapestry. The work has the feel of sanctified, married love and not adultery. Waterhouse depicted Rosamund wearing a crown, maybe as an indication that it is not Rosamund's position in the King's affection that Eleanor found threatening but her challenge as a rival queen. If we look away from Rosamund we can see the curtain being parted by Eleanor, the wronged wife, about to enter with murderous intent. Depicting the build up to an event, usually a fatal encounter, was common practice in Victorian art. Here, Waterhouse sets the scene, allowing the audience to imagine the consequences.

The sympathetic treatment Waterhouse gave Rosamund is an example of how medieval adultery was sometimes viewed as essentially thwarted love, for example in the stories of Guinevere and Lancelot or Tristam and Isolde. Marriages in medieval times were made as political alliances rather than love matches. So, when love occurred it inspired sympathy. However, this certainly was not the view taken by Victorian society or by the government. The Irish politician Charles Parnell, for example, was forced out of his position as leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party in 1890 when it became known he had an affair with a married woman.