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拍品專文
Daniel Gardner initially trained under George Romney (1734-1802) in Kendal, before moving to London, circa 1767. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1770 and the following year was awarded a silver medal. The same year, he exhibited a portrait at the Royal Academy, which appears to be the only time that he ever publicly exhibited his work. On leaving the Royal Academy, Gardner was offered work in Sir Joshua Reynolds' studio, which the young artist took up, before establishing himself as an independent portrait painter. Although Gardner only stayed with Reynolds for a short time, he was there when Reynolds was at the height of his career and thus Gardner not only saw at first hand the work that Reynolds was producing at this time, but was at the forefront of portrait fashions of the period. Furthermore he would also have met a number of influential artists and sitters, which can only have helped when he established his own practice.
Indeed, Gardner rapidly established a highly successful portrait practice, despite a reputation for being somewhat antisocial. Little has been written on the artist and during the 19th Century he fell into relative obscurity, but the range and importance of his sitters clearly demonstrate the artist's popularity during his lifetime. Furthermore many of his works were widely disseminated through engravings, which not only provided a lucrative additional income for the artist, but also helped to further his reputation.
Both Romney's and Reynolds' influence on Gardner can be clearly seen in many of his works. Indeed the younger artist echoes on a small scale, the pose, handling and sentiment inherent in the large oil paintings of the two older artists. Poses were sometimes directly lifted from Reynolds' work and in some of his preparatory strokes you can see the influence of Romney in the loose, elegant sweeping brush strokes. Part of his success as probably due to the fact that Gardner specialized in smaller scale works, more suited to a wider domestic setting.
The influence of Reynolds is apparent in this work, particularly in the pose which is reminiscent of Reynolds' portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1776 (Huntington Library, San Marino, California). Both figures are depicted in a wooded landscape, standing leaning against a piece of architecture and turned towards the viewer.
Gardner's figures often have a tendency towards mannerist elongation, which in his most sophisticated works enhances rather than detracts from the elegance of the composition.
Gardner developed a highly original and experimental technique, where he combined pastel 'scraped to dust with a knife' with a liquid medium, apparently often brandy or some other spirit. It was technically quite difficult to work with, as the media had to be applied fairly rapidly and built up in layers which left little margin for error. However, the results were similar to the effects of oil and the slightly rough surface clearly appealed to the artist. Often he would mix different media in his work, using 'dry pastel for faces, gouache for dresses and watercolour for backgrounds'. (N. Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, 2006, p. 191).
The present portrait depicts Lady Elizabeth Townsend (1757-1821), daughter of Other Lewis Windsor, 4th Earl of Plymouth (1731-1771) and the Hon. Catherine Archer (d. 1790). It was probably commissioned to celebrate her marriage to Gore Townsend (1752-1826) in 1776.
Indeed, Gardner rapidly established a highly successful portrait practice, despite a reputation for being somewhat antisocial. Little has been written on the artist and during the 19th Century he fell into relative obscurity, but the range and importance of his sitters clearly demonstrate the artist's popularity during his lifetime. Furthermore many of his works were widely disseminated through engravings, which not only provided a lucrative additional income for the artist, but also helped to further his reputation.
Both Romney's and Reynolds' influence on Gardner can be clearly seen in many of his works. Indeed the younger artist echoes on a small scale, the pose, handling and sentiment inherent in the large oil paintings of the two older artists. Poses were sometimes directly lifted from Reynolds' work and in some of his preparatory strokes you can see the influence of Romney in the loose, elegant sweeping brush strokes. Part of his success as probably due to the fact that Gardner specialized in smaller scale works, more suited to a wider domestic setting.
The influence of Reynolds is apparent in this work, particularly in the pose which is reminiscent of Reynolds' portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1776 (Huntington Library, San Marino, California). Both figures are depicted in a wooded landscape, standing leaning against a piece of architecture and turned towards the viewer.
Gardner's figures often have a tendency towards mannerist elongation, which in his most sophisticated works enhances rather than detracts from the elegance of the composition.
Gardner developed a highly original and experimental technique, where he combined pastel 'scraped to dust with a knife' with a liquid medium, apparently often brandy or some other spirit. It was technically quite difficult to work with, as the media had to be applied fairly rapidly and built up in layers which left little margin for error. However, the results were similar to the effects of oil and the slightly rough surface clearly appealed to the artist. Often he would mix different media in his work, using 'dry pastel for faces, gouache for dresses and watercolour for backgrounds'. (N. Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, 2006, p. 191).
The present portrait depicts Lady Elizabeth Townsend (1757-1821), daughter of Other Lewis Windsor, 4th Earl of Plymouth (1731-1771) and the Hon. Catherine Archer (d. 1790). It was probably commissioned to celebrate her marriage to Gore Townsend (1752-1826) in 1776.