Lot Essay
The present picture follows the direction of Hall's engraving but does not copy the diamond pattern in the tapa cloak introduced by Hall but not depicted in Hodges' drawing. The clouds in the background of the engraving are reduced to areas of shade in the painting. Tu's quizzical expression in Hodges' portrait drawing is lost in the engraving and, consequently, in the present oil.
Hodges' drawing probably dates to August 1773, during Cooks 'First Tropical Sweep' (June-October 1773) in search of a southern continent. The Resolution and Adventure has sailed north-east from southern New Zealand and anchored in Vaitepiha Bay, Tahiti on 18 August. They remained at the Society Islands from 18 August to 18 September 1773 before heading towards Amsterdam Island (Tongatapu or Tonga).
Cook and his crew enjoyed friendly relations with the inhabitants of Tahiti, enabling Hodges to execute his fine series of portraits of Tahitians: 'The masterpiece of this group is the splendid portrait of Tu, the founder of a dynasty. Tu, or Otoo as they called him, was the arii nui or leading chieftain of the Pare region of Tahiti, which lay adjacent to Matavai Bay. He was so timorous as a young man that he could not bring himself to put in an appearance when the Endeavour visited Tahiti. But he was ambitious; and by a strange irony of history, and the assistance of a succession of British ships, it was Tu who succeeded in uniting the whole of the Society Islands under his own rule as Pomare I. The Pomare dynasty lasted for seventy years before the French annexed the group, and it maintained its social and ritual roles for another forty years. At the time Hodges drew Tue he was just beginning to emerge onto the scene of European-Tahitian contact. George Forster has provided vivid description of him:
His head, notwithstanding a certain gloominess which seemed to express a fearful disposition, had a majestic and intelligent air, and there was great expression in his full black eyes.
Forster also tells us that he was 24 or 25 and was 6 feet 3 inches in height, the tallest man they had seen on the island. Cook thought him considerably older, about 30 or 35, and wrote that 'all his actions shew'd him to be a timerous Prince'. ... In his portrait of Tu ... Hodges has captured that blend of timidity, apprehension, intelligence and cunning with raised him fromthe position of a local chieftain to become the first ruler of the Tahitian Kingdom.' (Joppien and Smith, p. 59)
Hodges' drawing probably dates to August 1773, during Cooks 'First Tropical Sweep' (June-October 1773) in search of a southern continent. The Resolution and Adventure has sailed north-east from southern New Zealand and anchored in Vaitepiha Bay, Tahiti on 18 August. They remained at the Society Islands from 18 August to 18 September 1773 before heading towards Amsterdam Island (Tongatapu or Tonga).
Cook and his crew enjoyed friendly relations with the inhabitants of Tahiti, enabling Hodges to execute his fine series of portraits of Tahitians: 'The masterpiece of this group is the splendid portrait of Tu, the founder of a dynasty. Tu, or Otoo as they called him, was the arii nui or leading chieftain of the Pare region of Tahiti, which lay adjacent to Matavai Bay. He was so timorous as a young man that he could not bring himself to put in an appearance when the Endeavour visited Tahiti. But he was ambitious; and by a strange irony of history, and the assistance of a succession of British ships, it was Tu who succeeded in uniting the whole of the Society Islands under his own rule as Pomare I. The Pomare dynasty lasted for seventy years before the French annexed the group, and it maintained its social and ritual roles for another forty years. At the time Hodges drew Tue he was just beginning to emerge onto the scene of European-Tahitian contact. George Forster has provided vivid description of him:
His head, notwithstanding a certain gloominess which seemed to express a fearful disposition, had a majestic and intelligent air, and there was great expression in his full black eyes.
Forster also tells us that he was 24 or 25 and was 6 feet 3 inches in height, the tallest man they had seen on the island. Cook thought him considerably older, about 30 or 35, and wrote that 'all his actions shew'd him to be a timerous Prince'. ... In his portrait of Tu ... Hodges has captured that blend of timidity, apprehension, intelligence and cunning with raised him fromthe position of a local chieftain to become the first ruler of the Tahitian Kingdom.' (Joppien and Smith, p. 59)