Sunday, November 23, 2008

Chapeau a la Caravan


Mythosidhe just posted this fabulous portrait and I had to pass on her discovery, Mrs. Daniel Dennison Rogers by John Singleton Copley circa 1784 contains the same English principals of portrait painting but brings an American electricity in the colours and background. Copley brings the drama to this piece that so many English portraitists failed to bring; can't you just hear the Gone with the Wind theme playing behind her? But what got me all excited about Mythosidhe's find is the hat Mrs. Rogers is wearing. Lauren will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it is the chapeau a la caravan, which she actually made when we went to the racetrack this summer. I had never seen one in a portrait, so what a pleasant surprise to see it in an American portrait.

4 comments:

  1. love it!! the date is right - so fabulous! Electric colors is a good way to put it.

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  2. They're so vibrant! It's really stunning.

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  3. I'm glad you like ^_^ I found a stash of great Copley's I've never seen before, so I plan to get another couple posted this afternoon if I can successfully upload them. As far as I'm concerned he his arguably the best American portraitist of the Georgian period--on par with Gainsborough and Reynolds, certainly.

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  4. Oh yes I agree! And I'm not just saying that because I biased in favor of Bostonians :)

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