Can you tell the difference?

Raphael

Dow

Zoffany

A quick offering I prepared earlier, relating to my post on the famous Gilbert and Sullivan patter song

Remembering the random

Cibber

When writing yesterday’s post I had the niggling feeling that I recognised the name of the sculptor, Cibber. Did a little research and found Caius Cibber, originally from Denmark, settled in England where he had a (mostly) successful career. But that wasn’t why I recognised the name. Cibber had a larger-than-life actor son Colley who was also a writer, and was Poet Laureate to George II. But still it rang no bells for me. Next I find the sculptor’s grandson Theophilus Cibber, also an actor/manager at Drury Lane. Still nothing… then jackpot! I find that Theophilus married Susannah Arne in 1739.

I am familiar with the name Cibber because Susannah, already an acclaimed singer, continued to perform under her married name. I had no idea Arne was her maiden name: of course she is sister to the English composer Thomas Arne. We all know Arne for his composition, “Rule, Britannia!” His sister starred in the premier of "Alfred" in which "Britannia" features as the grand finale. (1740)

So finally I have puzzled it out, using some good old genealogy and Wikipedia (!) The name Cibber was familiar because of Susannah Maria Cibber, an acclaimed actress and singer, protégée of Handel. She was conveniently (for a performer) born near Covent Garden in 1714. The contralto solos in Handel’s Messiah were specifically written for her and include one of my favourites, the heartwretching “He was Despised”.  I have always thought that the contralto gets the best female solos in Messiah, and now I know why. Susannah also acted alongside the famous David Garrick, so now I am off to research whether there are any paintings of Cibber by Zoffany. I love these connections.

On a side note, as Messiah premiered in Dublin (1742), Susannah must have crossed the Irish Sea on at least one occasion. Her estranged husband Theophilus met his end on a similar crossing in 1758 on his way to start the season on Dublin.

The Dog-eat-dog world of Art

Johan Zoffany. Seems like he was out of fashion for a good while, which is my excuse for never having heard of him. But what a story there is to tell! 

A founding member of the Royal Academy (1769), he goes on record as being allegedly the first (and I would hope, the last) member of the Academy to be a cannibal. 

He was a favourite of both the Austrian and British courts and is lauded for his development of the “conversation piece” style of group portraits. His most notable work is the Tribuna of the Uffizzi, which attempted to convey the all treasures of the Uffizzi, Florence in one painting. This was made for George III. At a time when the Grand Tour of Europe was in vogue for aristocratic young men, George never left the confines of southern England. (for the many years of his mental incapacity he was literally confined first at Kew, and later at Windsor). 

Zoffany travelled extensively from his birthplace in Frankfurt. He lived for some time in Lucknow, India and it was on his return voyage that his ship was lost. Washed up on one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, the shipwrecked passengers apparently drew lots to decide which of the crew they would eat. 

More info, links and pics to follow....

Raphael, Zoffany or Dow?

Despite being referenced in one of my favourite G and S comic operas, I had never consciously heard of Zoffany until a recent Thames Path walk.

See if you can catch the reference...

We had started the sector at Richmond and walked downstream, ultimately ending at Barnes Bridge. This is a lovely section that follows the Thames past Kew Gardens. The need for food took us off piste around midday, and while making our way to the famous Maids of Honour tea rooms, we passed St Anne’s Church on Kew Green. Luckily for us there were a few people around after the Sunday morning service, the vicar had not yet gone home for lunch and the church was still open (the rant about locked churches will have to wait for another day) 

We got a brief peak inside and one of the parishioners explained that the church was sponsored by Queen Anne, so the church had diplomatically been dedicated to her name saint. (St Ann, apocryphal mother of the Virgin Mary) The other claim to fame he mentioned was the graveyard being the final resting place of the famous artist Zoffany. Zoffany who? More research was required.