The Triumph of Art

Date: Saturday 4 July 2020 - Saturday 19 September 2020

The Triumph of Art, Nicolas Pierre Loir (1624–1679). Atkinson Art Gallery Collection.

(With thanks to the Chateau de Sceaux for funding the restoration of the painting and The Art Society Southport for funding a new picture frame)

This exhibition celebrates the restoration of a painting that was given to The Atkinson in the late 19^th century. It has not been exhibited in well over a century because of its poor condition.

In ‘The Triumph of Art’ classical figures representing the visual arts pay homage to Jean Baptiste Colbert, a major patron of the arts and a powerful minister who helped Louis XIV rule over France in the 1600s.

The exhibition also features highlights from The Atkinson’s collection, reflecting the art forms portrayed in ‘The Triumph of Art’, including portraiture, sculpture, music and painting.

The artist

Nicolas-Pierre Loir (1624 – 1679), was a French painter and engraver. He travelled to Italy in the 1640s where he studied the work of fellow French artist Nicolas Poussin. His paintings have often been mistakenly attributed to Poussin.

Nicolas Pierre Loir ‘Allegory of the Foundation of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture’ (1663), oil on canvas, Château de Versailles

Loir benefitted from the support given to French artists by Louis XIV and by his minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert. In 1663 Loir entered the recently formed Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture thanks to the support of the King. One of Loir’s best-known paintings is an allegory of the foundation of the Académie Royale. Now in the Palace of Versailles, it features a portrait of Louis XIV and is similar in style to ‘The Triumph of Art’.

As well as painting for the King and the aristocracy, Loir painted numerous altarpieces and religious paintings. He also designed tapestries at the Gobelins factory in Paris, which was bought and supervised by Colbert. Loir’s work can be found in many of the world’s major galleries from the Louvre to the Hermitage. However, ‘The Triumph of Art’ is the only major work by Loir in a British collection.

The patron

Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) came from a family of merchant bankers. Despite not belonging to the nobility, by the mid-1660s he became the most powerful of Louis XIV’s ministers. In the 19^th century the novelist Alexandre Dumas portrayed him as a ruthless, cold-blooded politician but also as a visionary and patriot. \he was known as ‘Le Nord’ because of his chilly demeanour.

Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, by Philippe de Champaigne (1655) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

After initially managing the finances of Cardinal Mazarin, Colbert was recommended to Louis XIV as an astute accountant. He rapidly took over the ministries for commerce, finance, the colonies and the navy as well as palace affairs. He also developed a sophisticated archival system that became the hub of the government’s totalitarian administration.

Colbert met with Louis XIV almost daily and was so successful in reforming the tax system that the King was able to cement his absolute power over the state. Louis was able to fund the enormously costly Palace of Versailles, as well as embarking on several ill-judged military campaigns.

Colbert supported the development of French culture as a form of propaganda, embedding the image of the Sun King as the source of absolute power. Colbert personally founded the academies of architecture, opera and science. He supervised the first exhibition of living painters in France and acquired several hundred artworks for the Louvre, which at that time was a royal palace.

The history of the painting

The earliest written mention of ‘The Triumph of Art’ appears to be an inventory dating to 1795, during the early years of the French Revolution. The Académie Royale had been suspended in 1793 by the provisional revolutionary government and the Académie’s collection of paintings was dispersed. Two paintings by Loir feature in the inventory, ‘Minerva and the Arts’ featuring a portrait of Louis XIV, and an ‘Allegory with the portrait of Colbert’. ‘Minerva and the Arts’ entered a French public collection and returned to the Palace of Versailles in the 1990s. The story of how ‘The Allegory with the portrait of Colbert’ made its way from revolutionary Paris to Southport remains a mystery.

By 1889 the painting belonged to Samuel Hardman of 191 Lord Street, Southport. At that time it was attributed to the Flemish artist Willem van Herp and carried the title plaque ‘The Triumph of Art’. In 1890 it was presented to Southport Corporation by Alderman Richard Nicholson J.P., a retired Liverpool shipowner, Liberal politician and a great supporter of The Atkinson Art Gallery.

The art historian Jennifer Montagu published an article in 1998, unravelling the history and symbolism of the painting. She put forward the idea that it was by Nicolas-Pierre Loir and identified the portrait as that of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. In the mid-1980s the painting had been partially restored. It is only now, to coincide with the 400^th anniversary of Colbert’s birth, that the painting can finally be seen in something close to its original state.

The meaning of ‘The Triumph of Art’

‘The Triumph of Art’ uses the language of classical art to glorify the king. Although the painting features a portrait of Colbert, the central figure in the composition is that of Apollo, representing Louis XIV, the Sun King. The King saw himself as the modern-day embodiment of the Greek god and Colbert ensured that the image of the sun was consistently associated with Louis.

Apollo – The Triumph of Art, Nicolas Pierre Loir (1624–1679). Atkinson Art Gallery Collection.

Apollo was the god of music and he is pictured holding a lyre. Beneath him the arts are portrayed across the canvas. On the left edge, sculpture is represented by the famous ‘Torso Belvedere’ carried by a woman and child. The child is also standing on a fragment of another classical sculpture, the ‘Laocoon’. Leaning next to them is a sketch in white against a black background of a chateau, possibly of Colbert’s own residence, the Chateau de Sceaux.

Three types or genres of painting are represented. A woman dressed in red rests her arm on a still life painting of flowers. Sat next to her, dressed in blue, an artist is copying the portrait of Colbert. On the right two women are holding a painting which shows a youth drawing the outline of his own shadow on a wall. This represents the invention of painting and is used by Loir as a symbol for history painting.

In the centre of the painting a winged child or putto, representing the spirit of culture, wields a flaming torch to beat down a satyr, the embodiment of ignorance.

Conservation

The Triumph of Art, Nicolas Pierre Loir (1624–1679). Atkinson Art Gallery Collection. (Before restoration)

By the 1970s ‘The Triumph of Art’ was in a very poor state. The canvas had deteriorated, the paint surface was flaking in several areas and it had lost its frame.

In 1979 conservators had stabilised the painting to prevent further losses of paint, wax lined it (attached it to a new second canvas) and removed the varnish.

In 2019 a curator at the Chateau de Seaux who was planning an exhibition to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of Jean Baptiste Colbert contacted The Atkinson. It was agreed that conservation of the painting should be completed and the work was undertaken by Harriet Owen Hughes at the National Museums Liverpool Conservation Centre.

The Chateau de Sceaux, the home of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, which lies about 6 miles outside Paris

There were extensive losses of paint and ground which had been partially filled, and numerous smaller losses, giving the canvas a pitted surface texture. The paint was also worn in several passages, probably from harsh cleaning in the past – on the right side only faint incomplete images of a building and horses remain. The canvas has been extended at both sides, presumably by the artist; there is a noticeable colour change between these sections and the main body of the composition. This is confirmed by X-rays taken in 1979 but they do not clarify the many ambiguous passages.

A corrosive liquid had run down the picture surface since the earlier treatment eating into it and causing further paint loss. This had left a gritty deposit containing particles of gold, probably from the frame. Deposits on the surface were removed with deionised water and a scalpel, and the lifting paint was consolidated.

The painting was surface cleaned and cleaning tests were carried out to determine whether what was thought to be darkened overpaint over some of the figures could be removed safely; but, though darkened, they appear to represent areas in shadow.

A coat of varnish was brushed on and the losses were filled with an inert mixture tinted to match the ground. Retouching of the losses and ambiguous passages was carried out using dry pigments and varnish and the painting was then re-varnished. A new Louis XIV-style frame was provided by frame conservator Germaine Denn.

The Triumph of Art, Nicolas Pierre Loir (1624–1679). Framed painting in studio with conservators.

Exhibition

You can visit the exhibition at The Atkinson 4 July – 9 September 2020.
Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm, free entry

Explore the exhibition in the image galleries and 3D model below.

Portraits

: Miles Barton and Family (c.1783) Attributed to Arthur Devis (1712 – 1787) (Oil on canvas)

Like many early portraits, this painting celebrates an important family occasion. Miles Barton, the older man on the left, is pictured with his family in front of Much Hoole Church. He had recently bought the living of the church for his eldest son Roger. Barton is also celebrated locally as the man who gave the town of Southport its name.

Conserved and reframed with funding from The Arts Society, Southport.

: Portrait of the Artist’s Wife (1888) by Henry Herbert La Thangue RA (1859 – 1929) (Oil on Canvas)

Also known as A Gaslight Study, Kate La Thangue is shown writing at her desk by artificial light. The shadows and pools of light indicate the gas lamp is hanging slightly to her left.

La Thangue is best known for his paintings made from nature in the open air but his interest in the effects of light extended to artificially lit scenes as well.

Ref: 701 – Purchased in 1933

: Dorette’s Sister (c.1939) by Gerald Leslie Brockhurst RA (1890 – 1978) (Oil on Panel)

Brockhurst’s mysterious and evocative portraits are based on examples from the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his portraits of striking young women. Nancy Woodward was the sister of Brockhurst’s young lover and muse Katherine Woodward, whom he renamed Dorette.

Purchased 1944

: Self Portrait with Agonised Expression (c.1979) by John Bratby RA (1928 – 1992) (Oil on Canvas)

In the 1950s Bratby was the leading artist in the gritty style of social realist painting referred to as the ‘kitchen sink’ school.

By the date of this painting Bratby was using a much lighter palette. He produced a number of often playful portraits in an exuberant expressionist style.

Purchased 1980

Still Life

: French Salad (c.1890) by James Paterson (1854 – 1932) (Oil on canvas)

This is a style of still life painting derived from the ‘banquet’ or ‘breakfast’ paintings that were popular in Holland in the early 17th century. They gave artists the chance to demonstrate their skill in describing the play of light on everyday objects.

Paterson was associated with the Glasgow Boys and had studied advanced impressionistic styles of painting as a student in France in the 1870s.

Gift from Mrs Jacomb-Hood, 1934

: White Peonies (1893) by William Samuel Horton (1865 – 1936) (Oil on canvas)

The heavy white peony heads are strongly lit from above and have a luminous, radiant quality.

An American artist, Horton trained in Paris and was a good friend of Monet. He painted in a loose impressionist style, focusing on the effect of light on the landscape and on loosely arranged floral subjects.

Purchased by the Art Committee in 1894

: Still life with lobster (c.1950) by Stanley Reed (1908-1978) (Oil on panel)

Many early still life paintings were intended as a reminder of our mortality and as a warning against vanity. In contrast, the Dutch 17th century artist Jan Davidsz de Heem pioneered a style of painting that embraced the show and display of earthly pleasures, often featuring his trademark image of a beautifully painted lobster. The Liverpool artist Stanley Reed has painted a similarly sumptuous display.

Purchased 1954

Architecture

: The Abbey Church, c.1945 by Sir John Alfred Arnesby Brown (1866 – 1955) (Oil on Canvas)

This is a view of Wymondham Abbey in Norfolk where Arnesby Brown lived in later life. He enjoyed painting the flat landscape and deep clouds typical of East Anglia. In this painting he has captured the fleeting effect of cloud-shadow on the weathered stonework of the old abbey.

Ref: 987. Purchased in 1946

: A Sunlit Square, Victoria Station (1913) by Charles Ginner ARA (1878 – 1952) (Oil on Canvas)

The shadowed figures and buildings in the foreground frame the view of this sunny square giving a convincing contre-jour effect. Ginner’s work is characterised by intense colour, inspired by Van Gogh’s art, but applied with carefully controlled, mosaic-like dabs of colour.

Ginner was one of the Camden Town Group of artists who illustrated modern London life. The Camden Town Group responded to the visual excitement and variety of the city. Ginner specialized in painting crowded cityscapes. He had worked for three years in an architect’s office in Paris and found beauty in the ordinary, unidealized urban landscape.

Ref: 1329/B29. Gift of the Contemporary Art Society.

: Street Scene (1935) Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887 – 1976) (Oil on Canvas)

Lowry lived in Station Road, Pendlebury from about 1912 to 1948; this is a view of nearby George Street with the imposing Acme Mill rising claustrophobically in the background. When Lowry saw the mill in 1916, dwarfing the millworkers’ cottages, it was a moment of revelation. That was the moment when he decided to concentrate on painting the northern industrial landscape.

Purchased in 1939.

: An Ancient Melody (1893) by William Henry Longmaid (1835 – 1919) (Oil on canvas)

Longmaid was an art teacher in Southport in the 19th century. He worked in a typically ‘Aesthetic’ style, demonstrating the art critic Walter Pater’s idea, that ‘art aspires to the condition of music’.

In this painting the subject or narrative is played down and more abstract qualities of form and composition take precedence.

Purchased by the Art Committee in 1894

History Paintings

: Bacchus in India (c.1910) by Charles de Sousy Ricketts (1886-1931) (Oil on Canvas)

Ricketts looked to classical history and myth for subjects that were epic in scale and deeply romantic. He was influenced by French artists such as Eugene Delacroix and Gustave Moreau. In classical mythology Bacchus is said to have conquered India and is picyured here riding an elephant in a triumphal procession.

Ref SOPAG788. Purchased 1935.

: The Wappenshaw: A Shooting Match, 1875 by John Faed (1820 – 1902) (Oil on Canvas)

The subject of this painting is a Highland shooting match, which was both a clan gathering and a lively social occasion. Packed with incident and detail, the social class of the participants and their individual roles in the drama are all carefully described.

Ref 417. Bequeathed by John Henry Bell, 1929.

: Sinn Feiners, (c.1910) Walter Sickert RA (1860 – 1942) (Oil on Canvas)

Sickert reinvented the genre of history painting, focusing on the minor characters rather than iconic villains and heroes. He developed his own form of Post-Impressionism, featuring low toned, drably coloured interiors. His characters are anonymous working-class people and the relationship between them is often ambiguous. Many of these are set in Camden Town, where Sickert lived and worked.

Ref: 260. Gift of F. Hindley Smith Esq, 1924

: Trooper in Full Marching Order (1918) by Sir Alfred James Munnings (1878 – 1959) (Oil on Canvas)

This is a Trooper from Lord Strathcona’s Horse, a Canadian cavalry regiment. Munnings served in eastern France with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1918.

Munnings was commissioned to paint a large canvas of the ‘Charge of Flowerdew’s Squadron’, the last major cavalry charge of the war. Lieutenant Flowerdew led Strathcona’s Horse against German machine gun positions. Though the battle was won, three-quarters of the Canadian troops were killed or injured.

Purchased in 1938.

: The Death of General Wolfe (1770) after Benjamin West (1738-1820) (Oil on canvas)

The original painting of Wolfe’s death at the moment of victory over the French, marked a turning point in history painting. Previously the subjects would have been shown in classical dress. The painting was so successful that subsequent history paintings became much more realistic and documentary in character.

Bequest of John Henry Bell in 1929.

: The Arrest of a Peasant Royalist, Brittany 1793 (1855) by Frederick Goodall (1822 – 1904) (Oil on Canvas)

Subjects from the French Revolution were popular with Victorian artists and their sympathies generally lay with the royalists. A basket of broken eggs in the foreground expresses the devastating impact that the loss of the breadwinner will have on the family. The distaff lying on the ground, a spinning tool and a symbol of domesticity, reinforces the message.

Ref 1160. Purchased 1962.

: The Orphan of the Temple (1875) by Edward Matthew Ward RA (1816 – 1879) (Oil on Canvas)

The central character in this painting is Marie-Thérèse, the eldest daughter of Louis XVI of France and Marie-Antoinette. During the French Revolution her parents were executed, while she was held in the Temple Tower unaware of their fate.

Marie-Thérèse is shown in the grounds of her prison, drawing the fortress under the close supervision of her chaperone, Madame de Chanterenne. The male figure approaching may be Robespierre, a leader of the Revolution, who visited her in May 1794. Marie-Thérèse was finally released in December 1795 after three years in captivity.

Ref: 188. Gift of Geo. Audley Esq., 1921.

Sculpture

: Milo of Croton (c.1880) after Edme Dumont (1722–1775) (19th century bronze copy of the marble original made in 1768)

Milo was a famous wrestler from the Greek city of Croton. He is said to have been the wrestling champion at five successive Olympic games.

This sculpture is an allegory on the theme of pride. While attempting to tear a tree apart, Milo’s hands became trapped in a crevice in its trunk and a pack of wolves surprised and devoured him.

: Boy with an open bird cage (after 1749) by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714-1785) (Bronze)

Pigalle was one of France’s leading sculptors in the 18th century and this sentimental subject was one of his most popular compositions. Several bronze copies were made of the marble original, which is in the Louvre.

: Three Way Piece: Points (1966) by Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) (Bronze)

This sculpture by Moore is entirely abstract although it was inspired by a flintstone with three points touching the ground. Moore wrote that the sculpture ‘was an attempt to show one work from below as well as from on top and from the side. My idea was to make a new kind of sculpture, less dependent on gravity, which could be seen in at least three positions and be effective in all of them…’

Donated by the Friends of the Atkinson Art Gallery

: Daedalus Winged (1960) by Michael Ayrton (1921 – 1975) (Oil on board)

Michael Ayrton was fascinated by the myth of Daedalus and identified himself with the great inventor and sculptor of ancient Greece. In Greek mythology Daedalus made wings for himself and his son Icarus.

In this piece there is a tension between the grossly heavy, earth-bound body and its desire to rise into the air.

Purchased with a grant from the V&A and with the assistance of the Friends of the Atkinson Art Gallery

: The General (1956) by Elisabeth Frink (1930 – 1983) (Oil on board)

Frink said that the ‘The General’ was ‘really a satirical piece on some aspects of leadership – it’s a rather flamboyant person on a horse, a send-up of generals.’

Purchased with assistance from the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund, 1982