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A FOCUS ON…. Sir Godfrey Kneller and his portraits of the Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722). The painter. Kneller was born Germany. He studied mathematics and military fortification, and was then apprenticed in Amsterdam to the painters Ferdinand Bol and Rembrandt.
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A FOCUS ON… Sir GodfreyKneller and his portraits of the Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722)
The painter Kneller was born Germany. He studied mathematics and military fortification, and was then apprenticed in Amsterdam to the painters Ferdinand Bol and Rembrandt. He travelled to Italy, particularly Rome and Venice. He settled in England in 1676, and by 1678 had secured royal patronage. Kneller was appointed in 1688 as Principal Painter to William III and was knighted in 1692. Kneller became a leading fashionable portrait painter. He became the exponent of the baroque portrait in England.
Comment upon the use of colours in this painting by Kneller.
Whichelementsindicatethatwhen the portrait was made, around 1705, the Duke of Marlborough wasacclaimed as a militaryhero ? After William of Orange’scoronation, hewasawarded the earldom of Marlborough as a reward for hismilitaryaccomplishments. During the reign of Queen Anne, after 1702, Marlborough reached the zenith of his powers and secured his fame and fortune. Anne made him the Master-General of the Ordnance, a Knight of the Garter and Captain-General of her armies at home and abroad.
Presumably a sketch for a full-scale allegorical painting which seems never to have been carried out. This oil sketch shows Queen Anne's great Commander-in-Chief, the victor of Blenheim and Ramillies, in triumph. On the left is Hercules with his club and a key (possibly a symbol of submission) and a woman offering him a castle. Under Marlborough's horse's hooves is the dishevelled figure of Discord, while in the clouds sits Justice; below her, Victory crowns the duke with laurel. It appears that the full-scale allegorical painting for which this is presumably a study was never completed. Stylistically the work is heavily influenced by Rubens, while in spirit it conveys Britain's confidence as a European power. National Gallery
The composition The canvascanbedividedintotwo parts: the lower part, or the foregroundfeatures Marlborough as well as mythological and allegorical figures on eachside of the Duke; the upper part is a celestialscenewith divine characters and angels in the manner of religiouspaintings. The two parts are separated by the sky. Marlborough isplaced right in the middle of the canvassothat the viewer’s attention isdrawn by his figure. A vertical axis, unitingMarlborough’sleg and chest and the arm of victory, furtherenhances the character.
Light Kneller uses light to enhanceMarlborough’s figure. While the foreground and the upper part of the sky are painted in brownishcolours or darkgrey, Marlborough’sbreast plate and armour are highlighted in a vividway. The reflection of natural light on the victor’schestsymbolizeshisvictory and triumph. While the skyiscloudy, in the very background the wind has cleared up the sky. This patch of blueskycertainlyevokespeace and hope for Englandnowthat the waris over. The trampled figure of Discord backs up thisinterpretation.
Style The movement of the cloudsrenderedthrough serpentine lines and thinswirlingbrushtrokesadds to the liveliness of the composition. The greyish hues of the clouds and theirbillowsecho the Duke’swig. The contrastedcolours of the cloudscontribute to the dramaticeffect of the scene. The putti are painted in movement and in natural positions. The foreshortening technique for the figure of Victory and the round draperies are alsotypical of the Baroque style.
One can notice the combination of long fluidstrokeswithshorter, bluntstrokes, whichadd to the movement. Highlights of lead white add to the volume of the clouds. Transparent browns are used as well as glazes to suggest the volume of the clouds and light effects. The presence of the shadowy figure of Justice enables the painter to heighten the sense of depth. This area suggest a complexlayering of colours and pigments.
The fiery horse as well as the highly expressive figure of discord foreshadowromanticism. Knellerfavorscurvilinearforms and serpentine lineswhichdramatize the emotions. The brownhalf-tones are variedyettheyunifythis part of the painting. The disorderedloosestrokes, the gentle scratches, the impulsive brushworkoffer a contrastwith the muchneater figure of the Duke. The distorted body and dishevelled face of Discord are renderedwithmuchexpressivity.
Red ColourPigments These included the orange-red pigment Vermilion (China Red), Carmine, "Lac", the yellow red Realgar, and the bright red "Dragons Blood", and earthy hues like Venetian Red. Blue ColourPigments These included the superlative pigment Ultramarine, as well as its leftovers known as Ultramarine Ashes, Azurite, and Egyptian Blue. During the Baroque period of the mid-17th century, colour-makers developed an improvement on Egyptian Blue called Smalt, in which they replaced copper with Cobalt. Purple ColourPigments These included the plant colourants Indigo and Madder. Green ColourPigments These included the blue-green Verdigris, the variable Green Earth (Terre Verte, Verona Green or Celadonite) and the bright-green Malachite, also known as Verdeazzuro. Yellow ColourPigments These included the bright and transparent yellow colourantGamboge, Massicot (a lead oxide), Naples Yellow (Giallorino), the rich lemon hue Orpiment, and Lead-Tin Yellow. Brown ColourPigments These were mostly clay pigments like raw Sienna, burnt Sienna, raw Umber and burnt umber, to which was added, during the Baroque era, the rather unreliable Van Dyck Brown. White ColourPigments These included Lead White, Gypsum, and Chalk. Black ColourPigments These included Ivory Black (from burnt ivory/bones), Lamp Black (from soot collected from oil lamps), and Vine Black (from charred grape vines). Red/Black Chalks In addition, like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and other great Renaissance draughtsmen, 18th century Rococo artists used natural chalks made from mineral pigments, for drawing, as exemplified in works by Jean-Antoine Watteau. New Pigments Developed in the Eighteenth Century Several advances in colour chemistry had a major impact on the 18th century colour palette, as follows: • Prussian Blue Known also by a variety of names like Berlin Blue, Bronze Blue, Chinese Blue, Milori Blue, Parisian Blue, and Steel Blue, this dark-blue (developed accidentally by the Berlin chemist Diesbach) was the first modern, synthetic pigment. It became available to artists' palettes from about 1724. Although it possessed excellent tinting strength, it was only fairly permanent to light and air. Nevertheless it became a popular alternative to Indigo dye, Smalt, and Tyrian purple, all of which were prone to fading, and an alternative to the costly ultramarine. Prussian Blue was taken up by such masters as Pieter van derWerff and Antoine Watteau. Prussian Blue endured into the 20th century before being replaced by Pthalo Blue. • Turner's Yellow Named after the chemist who invented it, rather than the English watercolourist artist, JMW Turner (1775-1851), this lead-based pigment was a fashionable addition to the 18th century colour palette for a period because of its low cost, although it was vulnerable to both impermanence and blackening. Hues varied from bright yellow to orange. Eventually supplanted by Cadmium Yellow in the 19th century. • Bremen Blue During the latter part of the 18th century, colour technicians developed a beautiful synthetic copper blue, known as Bremen Blue. However, by the early 1800s it was superceded by Cobalt Blue, although it survived until the 1910s because of its range of attractive hues. • Cobalt Green A semi-transparent but extremely permanent bright green pigment discovered in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Rinmann, it was employed in all painting mediums. However, its unsatisfactory tinting strength and high cost has restricted its use.
