Portraits in disguise - NPG 3124a
Jane, Lady Munro
by Sir Martin Archer Shee
1819
NPG 3124a
This
painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1820 and (as in
the Kauffmann painting of John Simpson) Archer Shee paints Lady
Munro (d.1850) in dress which echoes that of an earlier painter,
in this case the Flemish artist Rubens. A good comparison would
be the portrait Rubens painted of Catherine Manners, Duchess
of Buckingham, now in The Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Such visual quotations and allusions to other masters add glamour
and a kind of appropriated fame. Most importantly, they give
a feeling of timelessness beyond mere fashion.
In 1851, Queen Victoria held a "Restoration Ball" when everyone had to dress up in costume of the time of Charles II. With more concern for splendour than for accuracy, Prince Albert wore a coat of brocaded orange satin, the sleeves turned up with red velvet embroidered in gold and silver, breeches of crimson velvet with pink satin bows and gold lace, and lavender stockings. Victoria's dress (now in the Museum of London) was a grey watered silk trimmed with gold and silver lace, with an underskirt of gold trimmed with embroidery and silver fringe. Both the Queen and Consort are portrayed in this finery by Winterhalter. Their troupe of children ensured the success of tableaux vivants and fancy-dress parties, and Winterhalter's watercolour of the Princess Royal and Princess Alice depict the two girls in their eighteenth-century-style bal poudre costumes, like a miniature Octavian and Sophie from "Der Rosenkavalier".
Sarah Coleridge,
detail of 'Sarah Coleridge
& Edith May Warter'
by Edward Nash, 1820
NPG 4029 (Detail)
The lack of a corset at the period gives a natural and revealing look enhanced by the soft flowing fabrics. The high 'Empire line' waist helps achieve this classical style.
