Recap: NC Museum of Art tour with JASNA NC

I had the pleasure of joining chapter President Virginia Claire Tharrington and other members of the NC chapter of JASNA a couple weeks ago for a guided tour at the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh. Our guide, Bettina, packed a wealth on information into a short hour, giving us an overview of the evolution of storytelling through art, as well as some pointers on “reading” the symbolic language of visual art. She also exhibited an understanding and appreciation of Austen, making connections to her themes and milieu where appropriate.

We learned that Western storytelling was essentially born in Greece, with stories such as that of Hercules often featuring a fatal flaw who must overcome obstacles on a journey of atonement. In Rome, Caesar Augustus’ wife, Livia, was an early model of a learned women, having an extensive library herself.

Europe did not forget this past and often referenced it artwork (ex. a painting of a noblewoman in silk and pearls as an homage to Venus). Archeology became a topic of great interest in Europe, with the discovery and relocation to Europe of the Elgin Marbles (YEAR), as well as advances in Egyptian archeology. Sculptor Antonio Canova was asked to recreate the statue of Venus, and while he created an admirable piece of art (one of which is on display at the gallery), could not bring himself to copy the original exactly. The popularity of tableaux as a theatrical pastime amongst the gentry was be traced to such sculptures of antiquity. On a side note, I was intrigued to find out that it was Queen Anne who made Bath fashionable again in 1702 with a visit to Bath (the town was renovated by architect Nash in advance of her visit).

In France, the struggle between Reason and Passion manifested itself in the art world, while in England landscape and portrait painting rose to prominence, with Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Thomas Lawrence - being the most prominent practitioners of each, respectively. The famous Flemish painter Van Dyck, it seems, heard of Britain’s lust for portraits and traveled there to avail himself of the healthy market for such work, and in doing to transformed the style of British portraiture. Eventually, a few decades later, all this formality gave way to the intimacy and subjectivity of Impressionism (my favorite art movement by far).

My favorite portrait in the collection was without a doubt the 1815 portrait of Thomas Robert Hay by the Scottish painter Sir Henry Raeburn. Hay was a Colonel in the Perthshire, militia and the 11th Earl of Kinnoull. The notes for this painting call it a “superb example of British military portraiture” and I must agree that the bold color and brushstrokes do make it a “dashing and virile” likeness. With his dark hair, cleft shin, bright eyes, and bold stance, Hay looks rather rakish. Now I see why Lydia was so mad for a man in a red coat! How exciting! See:

I also learned a new word from the Italian painters exhibit -- “capriccio” - a work of whimsy, or flight of fancy. This was exemplified by a realistic painting of Venice in which three popular edifices appear from one vantage point, even though they are in different quarters of the city entirely!

It was wonderful to meet Virginia, who is every bit as energetic as one would expect from a college sophomore who has taken on the responsibility of leading a JASNA chapter. She is also planning to spend next summer in Bath, for which I envy her greatly! If any JASNA NC members have found my blog and read this, please feel welcome to add observations, corrections, or general discussion in the comments to this post! It was great to meet you all, and I hope to attend other future events.

NOTE: If you’re an NC resident and interested in joining JASNA NC you can contact the chapter through this website.