#richard cosway

[macaron-n-cheese]

I was giving @asica-black a tour of my "2024 trip to London" photo album. We were looking at "what are we going to do" aaa paintings and stuff at the national portrait gallery and came across King George IV :(.

We were laughing at the description of "vanity and swagger" for him (it's a very fitting and honest description), and then we looked at who painted it...

RICHARD COSWAY IS THE GUY THOMAS JEFFERSON CUCKOLDED 😭 (I do not approve of Jefferson and Maria Cosway's relationship. It's toxic and gives the ick so much).

[dreamconsumer]

George IV (1762-1830) when Prince of Wales. By Richard Cosway.

[withnailrules]

Eye miniature, depicting Ann Fryer by Richard Cosway, 1787.

The fashion for eye miniatures – a lover’s eye – started in England in the 1780s. They were deeply personal and sentimental, charged with love and eroticism. This eye miniature reflects another story, one that is about love, must just as much about grief. Ann Fryer, who was the model for this eye, died young, just 19 years old.

[amphibious-thing]

Macaroni: Caricatures vs. Portraits

The Fly Catching Macaroni - Sir Joseph Banks

[Left: The Fly Catching Macaroni, print, c. 1772, by Matthew Darly, via Yale University Library.

Right: Sir Joseph Banks, oil on canvas, c. 1771-1773, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, via Wikimedia.]

The Macaroni Painter - Richard Cosway

[Left: The Macaroni Painter, print, c. 1772, by Richard Earlom after a drawing by Robert Dighton, via The British Museum.

Right: Detail of The Academicians of the Royal Academy, oil on canvas, c. 1771-72, by Johan Zoffany, via The Royal Collection Trust.]

The Eclipse Macarony - Colonel Dennis O’Kelly

[Left: The Eclipse Macarony, print, c. 1773, by Matthew Darly, via The British Museum.

Right: Colonel Dennis O’Kelly, before 1787, by Johann Zoffany, via Illustrated London News, 4th June 1932.]

The Illiterate Macaroni - Henry Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk

[Left: The Illiterate Macaroni, print, c. 1772, by Matthew Darly, via The British Museum.

Right: Henry Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk, oil on canvas, c. 1770, by Joshua Reynolds, via Wikimedia]

Charles James Cub (The Original Macaroni) - Charles James Fox

[Left: Charles James Cub Esqr., print, c. 1771, by anonymous, via The British Museum.

Right: Charles James Fox, oil on canvas, c. unknown, by Benjamin Wilson, via Bonhams.]

[shkatzchen]

So, the 1st Duke of Wellington would have turned 235 on May 1st (or April 30th, or April 29th, but we're going with May 1st because he did). And, uh, I may have recently done a bit of a long post for the @napoleonic-sexyman-tournament on the Duke from this account, 'cause this is the tumblr that I'm logged in on my computer and I was too lazy to sign out, sign into my gen blog and then have to sign out and sign back into this one. I also may have run out of ideas again for new stuff and gone wandering around the V&A's collection and searched for the Duke of Wellington and found this gorgeous miniature. So in honor of the Duke, have a new painting!

Richard Cosway painted the miniature in watercolors on ivory in 1808, when then (Major or Lieutenant) General Sir Arthur Wellesley was nearly 40, just as he was beginning his Peninsular adventures. One of my favorite details of this work is his beautiful blue eyes, which so often look brown in other paintings I've seen.

Base game compatible. Comes in 7 frame swatches.

Download from SimFileShare here.

Oh and as a bonus, you can have these sketches of Wellington too.

[artschoolglasses]

A Portrait Drawing of Mary Robinson, Richard Cosway, 18th Century

[gogmstuff]

1790s dresses - Some dresses belong in the French court of Marie Antoinette while others show Greco-Roman influence.

Top  1790 Marianne Dorothy Harland, Later Mrs. William Dalrymple by Richard Cosway (location ?). From tumblr.com/sims4rococo76; fixed edges, sots, & flaws w Pshop 1280X989.

Second row  1790 Presumed portrait of the Marquise de Lafayette by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (National Museum of Women in the Arts - Washington, DC, USA). From Wikimedia 2564X3175.

Third row  ca. 1790 Marquise de Grécourt, née de la Fresnaye by Jean Laurent Mosnier (auctioned by Christie's). From their Web site 951X1186.

Fourth row  1791 Mme. de Genlis playing a harp by François Guérin (location ?). From books0977.tumblr.com/image/88627828797 797X900.

Fifth row  1794 Catherine Grey, Lady Manners by Sir Thomas Lawrence (Cleveland Museum of Art - Cleveland, Ohio, USA). From their Web site 2774X4495 @150 14.1Mj.

Sixth row left  1794 Elizabeth Holland avec son fils by Louis Gauffier (Musée Fabre - Montpellier, Hérault, Occitanie, France). From Wikimedia 2739X3483.

Sixth row right  1795 Elizabeth, Lady Webster by Louis Gauffier (Christie's -  Live auction 14277 Lot 51). From their Web site. From their Web site; fixed spots & flaws w Pshop 4026X3032.

Seventh row  ca. 1795 Anne, Duchess of Cumberland by Sir Martin Archer Shee (private collection), From tumblr.com/fashion-inspiration-s; fixed spots w Pshop 2048X2852 @72 984kj.

Eighth row left  1795 Madame Fravega by Antoine-Jean Gros (Musée des beaux-arts de Marseille - Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France). From Wikimedia; fixed spots w Pshop and cropped 1544X1555.

Eighth row right  ca. 1796 Madame Boyer-Fonfrède and Son by François-André Vincent (location ?). From tumblr.com/silverfoxstole; fixed spots & blurred background w Pshop 730X888.

[emvidal]

[elyaqim]

Flora, 1812.

“Flora dispensing Her Favours on the Earth,” by Richard Cosway, 1807, reproduced as frontispiece in Temple of Flora, or, Garden of the Botanist, Poet, Painter, and Philosopher, by Robert John Thornton, 1812.

Digitized by the Getty Research Institute from their own collection. Downloaded from the Internet Archive and enhanced.

[justineportraits]

Print made by John Condé. After Richard Cosway

[talonabraxas]

Venus & Mars Richard Cosway (1742–1821)

[pwlanier]

Eye Portrait

END OF THE 18TH CENTURY

SOUVENIR PIN "L'OEIL AMOUREUX"

It is oval in shape decorated with a miniature under glass representing a straight blue eye, in an entourage of calibrated and mounted white stones. The on the other hand decorated with a lock of hair in a small oval frame. Frame in 9K pink gold and silver.

THE EYE OF LOVE

Eye jewellery is highly symbolic. They were in vogue from the last third of the 18th century to the 1840s. Mainly English, they were adorned with eye-decorated miniatures by G. ENGELHERT, Thomas RICHMOND and Richard COSWAY. These sentimental rings evoke love through the eye that looks or watches and that the viewer cannot identify. When it emerges from a cloud, it is a ring to remember a lost love or a deceased loved one.

Tajan

[dreamconsumer]

Portrait of a Gentleman by Richard Cosway.

[santoschristos]

Venus & Mars

Richard Cosway (1742–1821)

[amphibious-thing]

If you don't mind answering, what exactly makes something macaroni?

A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785) defines macaroni as follows:

An Italian paste made of flour and eggs; also a fop, which name arose from a club, called the maccaroni club, instituted by some of the most; dressy travelled gentlemen about town, who led the fashions, whence a man foppishly dressed, was supposed a member of that club, and by contraction stiled a maccaroni.

To put it simply a macaroni was a fop. That is a man who is too interested in fashion. Because interest in fashion was considered a frivolous female trait men who were "foppishly dressed" were often ridiculed for their gender nonconformity. The Natural History of a Macaroni describes the macaroni as follows:

There has within these few years past arrived from France and Italy a very strange animal, of the doubtful gender, in shape somewhat between a man and monkey, which has generated so much within that time, that they form at present no inconsiderable groupe in most of the public circles about town. Its natural height is somewhat inferior to the ordinary size of men, though by the artificial height of their heels, they in general reach that standard; the face is quite effeminate, but sometimes distinguished by a little hair growing on it like a beard; the fore legs, or arms, are disproportionably long, the hind legs of a slender make. Its dress is neither in the habit of a man or woman, but peculiar to itself, and varying with the day; at present it is principally discovered by an Indian flesh-coloured cloth, or silk, clasped all over with broad shining steel, and buttoned at the neck with a large black collar;

~ Walker’s Hibernian Magazine, July 1777, p458

The term macaroni really just means effeminate if someone or something was perceived as effeminate it was macaroni.

However as the term was predominantly used in the 1770s and 1780s it's associated with the fashion from those decades. So while there isn't strict rules dictating what is and isn't macaroni there are certainly some key aspects to the fashion that come up a lot in satire.

The Hair Probably the most iconic aspect of macaroni fashion was the height of the hair. This was mocked in the satirical print What is this my son Tom. However in reality the hair was not worn that tall. Compare the caricature to Richard Cosway's self-portrait in which he is depicted wearing the fashionable style.

[Left: What is this my son Tom, print, c.1774, published by Sayer & Bennett, via The British Museum.

Right: Self-Portrait, Ivory, c.1770–75, by Richard Cosway, via The Met.]

The Suit Menswear of the period consisted of the same basic elements; shirt, stockings, breeches, waistcoat and coat. At a time when English menswear was characterised by plain monochrome broadcloth macaroni fashion was disguised by the fabric, cut, colour and trimmings of the suit. Fashionable were the tightly cut French style suits known as habit à la française. Popular were brocaded and embroidered silks and velvets, sometimes further embellished with metallic sequins, simulated gemstones and raised metallic threads. In contrast to the black suit worn by many Englishmen, macaroni wore pastels, pea-green, pink, purple, red and deep orange.

[Left: The Illiterate Macaroni, print, c.1772, by Matthew Darly, via Lewis Walpole Library.

Middle: The Sleepy Macaroni, print, c.1772, by Matthew Darly, via Lewis Walpole Library.

Right: The Catgut Macaroni, print, c.1772, by Matthew Darly, via Lewis Walpole Library.]

The Accessories But a macaroni's ensemble was not done without accessories. Some examples of popular accessories include red heeled shoes, shoe strings, dress swords, canes, nosegays and muffs.

[Such Things Are, watercolour, c.1787, by Captain Mercer, via Lewis Walpole Library.]

If you want to learn more about macaroni I highly recommend reading Pretty Gentleman by Peter McNeil.

[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