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Gilbert Stuart The Aesthete and The Visionary. 24 March 2004.

By tweetsygalore in tweetsygalore's Diary
Thu Mar 25, 2004 at 12:03:41 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)

For my own part, I will not follow any master.
I wish to find out what nature is for myself,
and see her with my own eyes. This appears
to me the true road to excellence.

--- Gilbert Stuart

My top three favourite artist painters, believe it or not, are Rene Magritte because his work is just wacky, surprising and fun; Edward Hopper because his work is just so calming and soothing in a charming and quaint kind of way; and Amedeo Modigliani because his work is just so bizarre, pointy, absorbing and unusual. (And if my choices are some kind of a Rorschach test in an odd kind of way, then I don't know, exactly, in heaven's name, it's saying about me. Go figure.)
And following closely IN these top three spots in either the number four or number five WOULD BE the celebrated Gilbert Stuart.
I mean, has anybody ever KNOWN a single American artist who painted such elegant, accomplished, pedigreed and beautiful people? (Alright, so I'm star-struck. But at least you don't see these people IN People Magazine. Haha.) Anyway, Gilbert Stuart is like the Kevyn Aucoin of his time, albeit the higher brow AND the more well-bred version.
About two centuries before Frida Kahlo came up with her self-portraits, the venerable Mr Stuart drew Mrs John Bannister, wife of Mr John Bannister, Harvard '64 (and that's 1764), the heir of what was supposedly the biggest fortune in Newport during their time, in an uncanny Frida-like depiction.
And his paintings of the Anonymous Man in a Green Coat --- suspected to be Benjamin Waterhouse, the acknowledged Benjamin Waterhouse, the first bishop of Boston, Bishop Cheverus; Mr George Hamilton in all his regal bearing and probably all the madness that goes with it, Mrs George Hamilton in all her contemporary bling-blings, the ninety-year old John Adams and father of President JQA, John Randolph (I believe it was him who said, I am an aristocrat. I love liberty. I hate equality), the very striking Mrs Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn, Joseph Brant who reminded me of James Brown, Mrs Stephen Salisbury, William Grant of Congalton as a skater, William Woollet the Engraver and many others are just undeniably SO full of character!
And who cannot be smitten and ever forget his stunning portraits of Anne Izzard, Benjamin West, Don Carlos Maria Martinez d'Yrujo, General Matthew Clarkson, the artist himself in a Rubens hat, the luminous and inspiring Henrietta Elizabeth Frederica Vane, Horace Binney, the very young-looking James Ward, Matilda Stoughton de Jaudenes y Nebot and her husband Don Josef, the very young Miss Dick and Miss Foster AND Sarah Siddons?
But of all his captivating portraiture, my favourite by far ARE his portrayals of Josiah Quincy, former Congressman, Mayor of Boston AND President of Harvard University as well as that of the very seductive-looking Mrs Perez Motron, poetess AND wife of another prominent Bostonian.
So whoever said that breeding and sensuality do not mix well just need to get a glimpse of these two paintings and immerse himself or herself in all THEIR splendour and primalness!
And if you haven't seen Gilbert Stuart's paintings at all or lately, they're all over the East Coast. And bask in them as soon as you get the chance.
And do so again and again and again.
They really ARE marvelously satiating and thought-provoking through and through.

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tweetsygalore's Diary

Gilbert Stuart The Aesthete and The Visionary. 24 March 2004. | 5 comments (5 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

lloll (none / 0) (#1)
by Hide The Hamster on Thu Mar 25, 2004 at 06:47:44 AM EST

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Gilbert Stuart The Aesthete and The Visionary. 24 March 2004. (Diaries)

By tweetsygalore
Thu Mar 25th, 2004 at 12:03:41 AM EST

For my own part, I will not follow any master.
I wish to find out what nature is for myself,
and see her with my own eyes. This appears
to me the true road to excellence.

--- Gilbert Stuart

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I mean, has anybody ever KNOWN a single American artist who painted such elegant, accomplished, pedigreed and beautiful people? (Alright, so I'm star-struck. But at least you don't see these people IN People Magazine. Haha.) Anyway, Gilbert Stuart is like the Kevyn Aucoin of his time, albeit the higher brow AND the more well-bred version.

About two centuries before Frida Kahlo came up with her self-portraits, the venerable Mr Stuart drew Mrs John Bannister, wife of Mr John Bannister, Harvard '64 (and that's 1764), the heir of what was supposedly the biggest fortune in Newport during their time, in an uncanny Frida-like depiction.

And his paintings of the Anonymous Man in a Green Coat --- suspected to be Benjamin Waterhouse, the acknowledged Benjamin Waterhouse, the first bishop of Boston, Bishop Cheverus; Mr George Hamilton in all his regal bearing and probably all the madness that goes with it, Mrs George Hamilton in all her contemporary bling-blings, the ninety-year old John Adams and father of President JQA, John Randolph (I believe it was him who said, I am an aristocrat. I love liberty. I hate equality), the very striking Mrs Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn, Joseph Brant who reminded me of James Brown, Mrs Stephen Salisbury, William Grant of Congalton as a skater, William Woollet the Engraver and many others are just undeniably SO full of character!

And who cannot be smitten and ever forget his stunning portraits of Anne Izzard, Benjamin West, Don Carlos Maria Martinez d'Yrujo, General Matthew Clarkson, the artist himself in a Rubens hat, the luminous and inspiring Henrietta Elizabeth Frederica Vane, Horace Binney, the very young-looking James Ward, Matilda Stoughton de Jaudenes y Nebot and her husband Don Josef, the very young Miss Dick and Miss Foster AND Sarah Siddons?

But of all his captivating portraiture, my favourite by far ARE his portrayals of Josiah Quincy, former Congressman, Mayor of Boston AND President of Harvard University as well as that of the very seductive-looking Mrs Perez Motron, poetess AND wife of another prominent Bostonian.

So whoever said that breeding and sensuality do not mix well just need to get a glimpse of these two paintings and immerse himself or herself in all THEIR splendour and primalness!

And if you haven't seen Gilbert Stuart's paintings at all or lately, they're all over the East Coast. And bask in them as soon as you get the chance.

And do so again and again and again.

They really ARE marvelously satiating and thought-provoking through and through.

Related Links

tweetsygalore's Diary

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Gilbert Stuart The Aesthete and The Visionary. 24 March 2004. | 0 comments (0 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment

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The same Waterhouse as in Quicksilver? (none / 0) (#2)
by claes on Thu Mar 25, 2004 at 08:42:58 AM EST

Cool, gotta check it out.

We all like Hopper too.

I also like idyllic, idealized dutch landscapes with accurate architectural and nautical details, like this

. -- claes (your tax dollars at work!)

not sure by tweetsygalore, 03/25/2004 09:06:36 PM EST (none / 0)

Damn and blast! (none / 0) (#4)
by xmedar on Thu Mar 25, 2004 at 09:45:23 PM EST

I only have a Turner...

Another favourite artist (none / 0) (#5)
by tweetsygalore on Fri Mar 26, 2004 at 10:14:48 PM EST

of mine IS Francesco Clemente.

Best
C

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Gilbert Stuart The Aesthete and The Visionary. 24 March 2004. | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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See our legalese page for copyright policies. Please also read our Privacy Policy.
Kuro5hin.org is powered by Free Software, including Apache, Perl, and Linux, The Scoop Engine that runs this site is freely available, under the terms of the GPL.
Need some help? Email help@kuro5hin.org.
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