#18th century european art

[larobeblanche]

Angelica Kauffmann (Swiss, 1741–1807) • Portrait of a Woman as a Vestal Virgin • 1781-82

[collectionstilllife]

Luis Egidio Meléndez (Spanish, 1716–1780) • Still Life with Green Olives and Jar • 1760 • Museo del Prado, Madrid

[pagansphinx]

Unknown artist • Portrait of a Lady Holding an Orange Blossom • 1770's • Possibly Amsterdam

[thepaintedroom]

François Boucher (French, 1703-1770) • Lamarchande de modes (The Seamstress) • 1746 • Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

This print by René Gaillard reproduces a painting entitled 'La Marchande de Modes' made in 1746 by François Boucher. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

[solcattus]

San Marco, eighteenth-century scene; 1892

By Ettore Tito

[cimmerianweathers]

Young Woman with Bird (detail), painted by a follower of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842), unknown date. Oil on canvas.

[arthistoryanimalia]

#TextileTuesday:

Embroidered Drawn Net Bed Valance with Bobbin Lace Border

Russian, 1766-1833

Linen ground, linen embroidery threads

The Cone Collection, BMA

on display at “Making Her Mark: A History of #WomenArtists in Europe, 1400-1800” exhibition at Baltimore Museum of Art

[earlgrey24]

Karlova Koruna Château | Chlumec nad Cidlinou, Czech Republic

(look at all the books! It took a lot of restraint not to leaf through them)

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Johann Gottfried Schadow (German-Prussian, 1764-1850) Female nude sitting on a chair, Detail, 1796

[pub-lius]

Hey there, it's the anon who asked about Maria Reynolds! I realized in hindsight (read: two seconds after I sent the ask lmao) that I got her mixed up with Maria Cosway, and then I realized that I don't know crap about her either. Reading past posts you seem to mostly cover stuff about Hamilton and the people surrounding him, and also Maria Cosway isn't American lol, but I hope you don't mind me at least asking anyway? Sorry for rambling it's cool if you don't answer

hey welcome back! don't worry, you're not the first nor the last person to do that lol. and don't worry! europeans are welcome here, so maria cosway is fair game for asking about. however, apologies for asking questions aren't so i hate you (jk ily <3) now i won't be able to go into as much detail because im not drawing from much of my own personal knowledge, but my internet sources will be linked!

Source: The Judgment of Korah, Dathan and Abriam by Maria Louisa Catherine Cecilia Hadfield Cosway

Maria Louisa Catherine Cecilia Hadfield Cosway was the first child of two hotel owners in Florence, Italy. As a young girl in a convent, she showed proficient artistic talent in both drawing and music. She was educated by Johann Zoffany and introduced her to other European artists.

She began painting by copying other works when she began to get recognition, allowing her to travel Italy. After her father's passing, she moved to London in 1779 and became well connected. One such connection was with Angelica Kauffman Church (not the same as Angelica Schuyler Church, though she was friends with her two) who was also a female painter.

Maria was introduced to Richard Cosway in London, and they were married in January 1781 for primarily financial reasons. The couple were within the most fashionable circles of the time. In 1786, the Cosways went to Paris where they met Thomas Jefferson. Maria and Jefferson became friends who flirted an excessive amount, and I found a really interesting article on that here.

Unfortunately, her husband was a grade-A asshole who wouldn't sell her works and stunted her artistic growth. I'm an artist, and I can tell you, a few months off can really do a lot of damage to your muscle memory and suddenly everything you put on paper looks like absolute shit, so I feel for her.

Maria had her only daughter, Louisa Paolina Angelica, in May 1790 but her health suffered afterwards. She went to Italy to recoup and returned to London in 1794. In 1796, her daughter tragically died.

Maria coped by turning to religion, Catholicism to be specifically (been there too, she just like me fr). However, on the plus side, she got her prints published by Rudolph Ackermann and made etchings of paintings at the Louvre which had been stolen during the Napoleonic Wars. She actually knew the Bonapartes personally and their patronage allowed her to open a girls' school at Lyons in 1803, which is so badass. She would later open another school for girls in Lodi in 1812.

Her husband died in 1821, and she sold his work at auction. She used some of the profit from these sales to fund her school in Lodi which is so fucking metal. She was actually made a baroness by the Austrian Emperor and Empress after they visited her school. That's also fucking metal.

She lived the rest of her life in Lodi where she died in 1838 near her school. In conclusion, Maria Cosway was more badass than I realized, and I think she's absolutely lovely. RAHHH WOMEN!!!

I hope this has helped. Again, sorry I haven't been able to go as in-depth, but I don't know Maria like that. I'm gonna give you extra sources just because I love you so much. I hope you can find a jumping off point!! European painters are always interesting, especially if they're badass, metal women who kick names and take ass, so I encourage you to do more research!!!

Sources: Maria Cosway- Royal Academy of Arts

Royal Collection Trust- Maria Cosway Collection (this has her art!!)

American Heritage- Thomas Jefferson and Maria Cosway (this was quoted in the post!)

Yale Center for British Art- Maria Cosway Was a Part of England's First Celebrity Art Couple

[dogzcats]

Ruins of a Basilica or Mausoleum, Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765)

[larobeblanche]

Attributed to Adèle Romany (French, 1769–1846) • Presumed Self-portrait • c. 1779

[collectionstilllife]

Luis Meléndez (Spanish, 1716–1780) • The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda) • c. 1772 • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Meléndez’s refined still life embodies an elegant, courtly mode of eighteenth-century Spanish painting. It dates from the moment that he received a commission of forty-four still lifes to decorate the royal palace and former hunting lodge of Aranjuez. This painting is exceptional, however, for its grand size and the inclusion of a luscious landscape. A picnic basket justifies the work’s traditional title, The Afternoon Meal (in Spanish, La Merienda), and evokes aristocratic excursions away from Madrid’s summer heat, while the local produce and traditional cookware deliberately ennoble Spanish culture. - Metropolitan Museum

[pagansphinx]

Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828) • La gallina ciega (Blind Man's Bluff) • 1789 • Museo del Prado

[virgocurator]

Nebuchadnezzar

William Blake, ca. 18-19th century

Blake’s print presents the brier with a King facing madness. Crawling like hunted prey, hair tangled and sweeping his surroundings, nails overgrown reminiscent of the talons of vultures, wide eyes filled with terror. The tale of Nebuchadnezzar concerns a Babylonian King drawn to madness and isolation until he surrenders to the power of God. His fate if not to surrender is to be driven away from people, to willfully live as a wild animal,

[solcattus]

Details of the Saint Ana sculpture (from the set 'Family of the Virgin')

By Juan Alonso Villabrille y Ron