In What Ways Did Art Become More Widely Accessible in England in the Eighteenth Century?

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Amanda Hobson 05133527

In What Ways Did Art Become More Widely Accessible in England in the Eighteenth Century?

In this day and age we take public art displays for granted; every town has its own small gallery and each city has at least one building for the presentation of art works. However, there were no real public art exhibitions until more modern times, with the exception, perhaps, of in Ancient times when the Greeks and Romans would display artefacts and paintings looted from other countries, and decorated the exterior of their buildings with statues. In Europe they were more forthcoming in presenting exhibitions. From the sixteenth century an annual public exhibition of art was held in the Pantheon and in other churches in Italy, although this was designed more to honour the saints than to display art. “In France, Napoleon’s plunder of works of art was parade through the streets of Paris in a revival of ancient roman triumph”. Also in France the French Academy, exhibited artists’ work in order to familiarise French people with French art as a way of allowing the state to manipulate public taste.

In Britain however public art display is a more recent idea. In the Medieval period art tended to be commissioned and therefore was rarely displayed, it was also only the wealthy who could afford to buy paintings. After the reformation in the 1500s when England became a protestant country, puritan antagonism to images and extravagance meant there were far fewer works of religious art, relenting progress and development of British art. Although the first British museum/art gallery, The Ashmolean Museum, was opened in Oxford, June 1683, it was only in the eighteenth century when art became more general public friendly. Castle Howard in York was the first stately homes to open its doors to the general public, permitting them to enter and see the various paintings and objects on display inside. This also gave the opportunity to expose the work of contemporary artists for the general public to see.

William Hogarth was a famous eighteenth century artist whose goal was to make art accessible to everyone. He was also a pioneer of ‘conversation’ pieces; painted or engraved scenes with a moral message. He was mostly renowned for his satirical representations of ‘modern moral subjects’, generally a sequence of images relating a story of six to eight scenes recounting in each case a reproving tale of conceit, dishonesty and treachery, leading to the downfall of the character and ultimately, to their demise. Hogarth aimed for a lower-class audience and adopted a moralizing approach for his popular remarkably imaginative works, which were overflowing with vibrant characterisations and a wealth of detail. Through his choice of subject (every day scenes, the ‘down-and-outs’ of society, etc.) made his pictures more accessible to the general public, being easier for the lower classes to relate to. Furthermore his depiction (and ridicule) of current affairs in his work made his paintings and engravings more relevant, for example the satirical genre painting An Election based on the campaign in the Oxford elections of 1754. Apprenticed as an engraver, Hogarth made engraving of the majority of his paintings so that prints could be made. These prints were cheaper and thus permitted the lower classes to afford to have art in their homes.

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After the puritan eradication of holy imagery in churches, the Crown failed to encourage secular art, with an exception of perhaps portraiture, although this was only available for the wealthy due to high costs. Almost the only demand for painting was that of supplying likenesses and even this role was “met by foreign artists such as Holbein and Van Dyck, who were called to England after they had established their reputations abroad”. Yet in the mid- 1700s this began to change with native British artist beginning to attain portrait commissions from royals and aristocrats. In the 1740s the Foundling ...

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