Tea at Trianon: The Journey of 'The Blue Boy'

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

The Journey of 'The Blue Boy'

From Daily Art Magazine:

The Blue Boy is a large painting about 48 inches (120 cm) wide and 70 inches (180 cm) tall. It is believed that this painting wasn’t commissioned, but was created expressly for the Royal Academy exhibition of 1770. Standing in the center is an ostentatiously dressed young boy with dark wavy hair and dark eyes. In his right hand is a black hat and his left supports a cloak. His cheeks and lips are flushed pink. His left foot is advanced to emphasize his captivating clothing. The boy is set within a backdrop of typically Gainsborough-esque stormy skies and there is a slight illumination over the low horizon to the left. It has long been speculated that the subject of this painting was its early owner, Jonathan Buttall, however, this has never been conclusively established. There have also been speculations that suggest the sitter may have been Gainsborough’s nephew, Gainsborough Dupont. (Read more.)

More HERE.