{"id":634,"date":"2015-10-15T16:27:42","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T16:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/zelixart102\/?post_type=chapter&p=634"},"modified":"2016-01-06T00:29:14","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T00:29:14","slug":"john-singleton-copley","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-arthistory2\/chapter\/john-singleton-copley\/","title":{"raw":"John Singleton Copley","rendered":"John Singleton Copley"},"content":{"raw":"The Copley Family<\/i> (figure 1)\u00a0is a large work of art; it measures in at 89 by 107 inches in its frame. The figures appear roughly life-size and seem remarkably life-like; the sense of depth is so strong, that when you stand before the painting, you almost get the impression that you could walk right into the picture and join in the group portrait. It\u2019s a very sweet, charming scene: the children playfully twist out of their formal poses (as would unruly kids for any family photo), and interact with their adult family members. If you pay attention to the individual figures, you notice that each is in his or her own unique position and sports a distinctive facial expression. The tender embrace between mother and child\u2014a personal moment revealing the sentimental bond between the two\u2014is a detail that hints at the psychology, personality, and family dynamics of the painting\u2019s subjects. The level of intimacy in the work is not surprising when we learn that the head of the family, the man standing in the rear and looking out directly at the viewer, was also the artist: John Singleton Copley.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_636\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"959\"]\"The Figure 1. John Singleton Copley, The Copley Family<\/em>, 1776\u201377, oil on canvas (National Gallery, Washington)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFor many students new to art history, American portraiture of the colonial period can be difficult to love. When visiting museums and historic houses, viewers are often taken aback by how stiff and unnatural the subjects of these early paintings appear, how expressionless their faces, how contrived their positions. An example is John Smibert\u2019s The Bermuda Group<\/i> (figure 2), a painting deserving of its own attention and place in history, but a work that is more somber, less legible to modern eyes, and harder for us in the twenty-first\u00a0century to relate to. Copley\u2019s work stands out starkly against that of his contemporaries and predecessors: his subjects appear to inhabit a three-dimensional world instead of resting shallowly on the canvas, they seem natural, effortless, and have distinct personas. His paintings are rife with eye candy, with every illusion\u2014the sheen of a lady\u2019s garment, the long fur of a King Charles spaniel\u2014painstakingly rendered in incredible detail. While more \u201cPuritan\u201d early American paintings are also fascinating and noteworthy, it was John Singleton Copley who first truly awoke my interest and breathed life into early American art.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_635\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"A Figure 2. John Smybert, The Bermuda Group (Dean Berkely and His Entourage)<\/em>, 1728\u201339, oil on canvas, 69.5\" \u00d7 93\" (176.5 cm \u00d7 236.2 cm), Yale University Art Gallery[\/caption]","rendered":"

The Copley Family<\/i> (figure 1)\u00a0is a large work of art; it measures in at 89 by 107 inches in its frame. The figures appear roughly life-size and seem remarkably life-like; the sense of depth is so strong, that when you stand before the painting, you almost get the impression that you could walk right into the picture and join in the group portrait. It\u2019s a very sweet, charming scene: the children playfully twist out of their formal poses (as would unruly kids for any family photo), and interact with their adult family members. If you pay attention to the individual figures, you notice that each is in his or her own unique position and sports a distinctive facial expression. The tender embrace between mother and child\u2014a personal moment revealing the sentimental bond between the two\u2014is a detail that hints at the psychology, personality, and family dynamics of the painting\u2019s subjects. The level of intimacy in the work is not surprising when we learn that the head of the family, the man standing in the rear and looking out directly at the viewer, was also the artist: John Singleton Copley.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Figure 1. John Singleton Copley, The Copley Family<\/em>, 1776\u201377, oil on canvas (National Gallery, Washington)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For many students new to art history, American portraiture of the colonial period can be difficult to love. When visiting museums and historic houses, viewers are often taken aback by how stiff and unnatural the subjects of these early paintings appear, how expressionless their faces, how contrived their positions. An example is John Smibert\u2019s The Bermuda Group<\/i> (figure 2), a painting deserving of its own attention and place in history, but a work that is more somber, less legible to modern eyes, and harder for us in the twenty-first\u00a0century to relate to. Copley\u2019s work stands out starkly against that of his contemporaries and predecessors: his subjects appear to inhabit a three-dimensional world instead of resting shallowly on the canvas, they seem natural, effortless, and have distinct personas. His paintings are rife with eye candy, with every illusion\u2014the sheen of a lady\u2019s garment, the long fur of a King Charles spaniel\u2014painstakingly rendered in incredible detail. While more \u201cPuritan\u201d early American paintings are also fascinating and noteworthy, it was John Singleton Copley who first truly awoke my interest and breathed life into early American art.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Figure 2. John Smybert, The Bermuda Group (Dean Berkely and His Entourage)<\/em>, 1728\u201339, oil on canvas, 69.5″ \u00d7 93″ (176.5 cm \u00d7 236.2 cm), Yale University Art Gallery<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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