City Merchants and the Arts 1670-1720

City Merchants and the Arts 1670-1720 Edited by dint of Mireille Galinou Oblong, for the Corporation of London, 1650 [pound sterling] ISBN 0953657442

This work was inspired by the talk 'City Merchants and the Arts' that took place in November 2002 and sought to examine the artistic patronage and aspirations of London's merchant class in the aftermath of the Great Fire, up to the financial disaster of the southerly Sea Bubble. The volume contains the contributions not absented on that occasion, with single very useful additional chapter. It is rare indeed for discourse papers to appear in print with of the like kind alacrity, time lags of five or six years being quite for the use of all and it is therefore a real pleasure to welcome the apt appearance of this handsomely produc convolution The subject matter has not been explored in deepness elsewhere, most previous studies having focused upon matters historical and architectural, which makes this publication an important addition to the literature. It is unusually generously illustrated, including a number of les familiar and intriguing images.

After an introduction by means of Mireille Galinou, the book is divided into four sections: 'London after the Great Fire', 'Art in Private Lives', 'Art in Public Places' and 'A Day in the Life of a Merchant Taylor'. With the exception of the last, each section is then sub-divided into chapters which vary from shut up scrutiny of the individual (for example, 'Case Study: the Story of a Merchant's House', by the agency of Katharine Goodison) to wider-ranging topics ('The Art Market and Merchant Patronage in London' through Gordon and Philippa Glanville).

sum of two units artists are given particular attention as a come of their City connections. The first is Robert Robinson (1651-1706) who was responsible for panels depicting exotic make submissive matter derived from a variety of sources, publicly on display at the Guildhall Art Gallery, on the other hand originally inserted into the panelling of the Painted space at 32 Botolph Lane (he may also be the author of panels with similar displays in the Victoria and Albert Museum). A chapter by dint of James A. Ganz that did not form part of the conversation 'A City Artist: Robert Robinson', does abundant to elucidate his career and connections with the Painter-Stainers Company. It discusses not sole these and other panels, on the other hand also the artist's productions in the not long ago developed medium of mezzotint. Robinson is the dedicatee of this book; the throwed opening of his Painted extent having originally inspired Galinou to direction her research and establish a series of conferences

The a great deal of better-known Jan Siberechts (1627-c. 1703) is the subdue of two chapters. His View of a house and its estate in Belsize, Middlesex, 1696 (Tate) and its commissioning by means of the goldsmith banker John Cogg is considered in deepness by Karen Hearn, who reveals the reality of the statement by Buckeridge that he worked for one as well as the other 'nobility and gentry'. This chapter is revealing for its of the highest order illustrations and thoughtful consideration of the documents relating to the two the painter and the house he depicted. In City Merchants' Landownership around Henley-on-Thames and the Paintings of Jan Siberechts', Laura Wortley discusses Siberechts' views of the area, none of which displays an individual house, unlike the Belsize picture, and considers what they may reveal about the possession of land there by the agency of a small group of City merchants.

Anthony Hotson in 'Tomb statuary and Dynastic Ambition' examines the ways in which funeral testimonials outside London for two City families, the Langhams and the Claytons, the latter decidedly grandiose in design, are evidence for their propel from 'trade to land'. The important station of twenty-two portraits of the 'Fire Judges' (i.e. those charged with settling post-Fire disputes), the first commission known to have been made for the Guildhall (1670) on the other hand sadly damaged by insensitive restoration and overpainting, are station by Vivien Knight into the connected thought [i]or[/i] thoughts of others of the period, like as Lely's Flagmen. She also discusses the reasons wherefore John Michael Wright ultimately received the commission, although he was probably not the first choice of the sub-committee appointed by dint of the Court of Aldermen. Ann Saunders' 'Realistic Fantasy' recreates a day in the life of Sir William gymnast Merchant Taylor and Mayor.

A useful appendix provides brief biographies of the principal merchants beneath discussion, while two others give short extracts from the southerly Sea inventories of 1721 and the London Orphans' Court Inventories, the one and the other vital sources for this inquiry although the brevity of the samples shut outs any overall impression of their contenteds In addition to endnotes, there are numerous marginalia in the main body presumably occasioned by pressure of space, a crushing which has clearly had its issue on some of the wider-ranging pieces, where efforts at concision may leave the reader craving rather more concentrated information and a les piecemeal approach. Greater consistency in the use of these additional forms of information would have been desirable, as the reader does not know whether an endnote will consist only of a bibliographic reference, or contain the sort of additional information also ground in the (unnumbered) marginalia. It is regrettable that the more minimalist endnotes mean that it is sometimes impossible to trace sources without conducting an exhaustive search elsewhere.