Just dropping this magnificent c1779 portrait of French art dealer Abraham Fontanel on your Twitter timeline. Study his face, his hands, his lace & the 242 years which separate him from you will vanish, and the past will seem alive.
Oil on canvas by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis.
I try to be positive, caring for my mom as her
#Alzheimers
progresses well into Stage 6, but some days (like today) she tells me everything I do for her is awful & she hates being with me.
I know this isn't about me. I know her suffering is worse.
But still. It breaks me.💔
Forgive my straight off the plane exhausted selfie, but not only am I in
#Bath
for the
#JaneAustenFestival
, but I’m staying in a house where Gainsborough lived & painted. 🥰
After my
#ArLovers
tweet from earlier (a saucy “Before & After” sex duo from Hogarth), some followers have asked about artistic depictions of Georgian sex. I will make this a 🧵to hide the dirty pics from those who don’t want to see. (1/8)
For my
#ArtLovers
followers who appreciate
#C18th
photorealistic painting, I present Christian Seybold’s mid-century portrait of an old woman to absolutely explode your mind. Zoom in on every detail—especially the reflection in her glistening eyes—& she is alive again.
@skdmuseum
I can’t have a series on naughtiness in
#C18th
gardens without mentioning Fragonard’s “The Swing” c1767. This one is so good I’ll make it a 🧵. (1/4)
@WallaceMuseum
#ArtLovers
‘The White Hat’ from 1780, featuring a stunningly beautiful woman (her face likely a product of the artist’s imagination) wearing a lushly detailed hat, a pretty pastel-striped fichu, & displaying a rather random nip slip.
#ArtLovers
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Boston
Let’s wrap up the week of Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun with one more precious portrait of her daughter Julie. Everything about this painting tugs at my heartstrings: the chubby hands; the flowers on the mirror; the knot on her headscarf; the little fichu.🥹
#ArtLovers
1787
I'm pleased to announce that I'm rep'd by
@RobbieGuillory
at the Kate Nash Literary Agency. With his help, I shall provide readers with warm & snuggly historical happily-ever-afters: little rays of sunshine in these hard times.
Thanks to all those who encouraged me.😘💛🥰
The old Harnham Mill is a remarkably well preserved C15th building (with portions of the original C12th building). It is now a hotel/restaurant/pub & just LOOK at it. It is everything. It belongs in a historical adventure romance (definitely one with highwaymen).
Today I bring my mom to live with me for 3mos. Though only 74, she has later stage Alzheimer’s. In prepping her room, I realized how similar it is to readying a nursery & I’ve nurtured that feeling. It’s my turn to hold her; Robert Munsch’s ‘Love You Forever’ resonates profoundly
The original fashion dolls were created not as playthings but as examples of current fashions (often from France & sent to other countries). Clients used the dolls to consult with their dressmakers; dressmakers could actually see the garment construction & replicate.
My birthday is this weekend, and I can’t decide if I’d rather make a lemon cake iced with a lemon glaze or a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting …
So the correct answer is to make both, right?
The silk & lace details from Drouais’s 1763-4 portrait of Madame de Pompadour are exquisite. Take a moment to imagine the hand that replicated this in oils, as well as the hands that made the silk & lace originally. Stunning, isn’t it?
#ArtLovers
Nat’lGallery
Full pic in comments
Men dominated the
#18thCentury
art world, but Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun began painting professional portraits as a teenager. She painted aristocracy & royalty, but here’s one of my favs: a 1786 self-portrait with her daughter Julie.
#InternationalWomensDay
#ArtLovers
I won Christmas this year by gifting myself & my mama matching flannel pyjamas. It makes her soooooo happy when we are ‘twins’. Her eyes light up every time she rediscovers that we match! Y’day she genuinely thought I was her sister—but that’s okay.
#Alzheimers
Another one for the fans of
#18thCentury
realist portraits. When I look at this spectacular 1755-56 pastel portrait of 7yo Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone by Swiss painter Jean-Étienne Liotard (
@GettyMuseum
), I feel as if she’s ready to hop up and play with her puppy.
Scottish courtesan Grace Elliott, mistress to the future George IV & to the Duke of Orléans, barely escaped the guillotine several times for her role in saving French aristocrats. I like to think of her as an epic *female* Scarlet Pimpernel.
Gainsborough, 1778
#ArtLovers
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s 1786 self-portrait with her precious daughter Julie is one of the loveliest depictions of motherhood ever created. Happy
#MothersDay
to those
#ArtLovers
celebrating today.
@MuseeLouvre
Two years ago, this kid & I were just two passionate Janeites & aspiring authors who happened to meet on Twitter. We supported each other through multiple drafts & through the querying process & today we spoke at a symposium at Waterstones in Bath.❤️📚❤️
@NovelistJessica
I found a miniature of Elizabeth Bennet’s aunt Mrs Gardiner from the 1995
#PrideandPrejudice
!! (Not really, it’s a
#Regency
era self-portrait by governess Mary Ann Flaxman
@NPGLondon
. But don’t you think she & actress Joanna David are doppelgängers??)
#ArtLovers
Jean-Étienne Liotard created “The Chocolate Girl”, which you likely recognize, in c1743. Even in its day, this pastel was considered a masterpiece. It is pure perfection: clean lines; photorealism (the apron wrinkles, the water!!); sublime composition.
#ArtLovers
@skdmuseum
#Alzheimers
🧵:
The other day, my mom was playing with her two stuffed animals (having them talk to each other) & then she put them on her bed like this & it broke my heart bc it reminded me of her playing with us as kids, when she was so brilliant & capable & wise. 1/5
I’m madly in love with this 1762 portrait of Olive Craster, which features a rather random assortment of hair accessories, a mishmash of patterns, a gown covered in bows, a truly pinched expression, & a pet squirrel on a silver chain.
#ArtLovers
Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland
My daughter doesn’t like watching very old movies because she can’t stop thinking about how all the actors are dead, but I love them for the same reason—it’s like ghosts & time travel together. Where do others stand on this issue? Do you ever think about this?
This 1755-56 portrait of 7yo Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone by the incomparable Jean-Étienne Liotard brings the past to life before our eyes. She’s ready to hop up and play with her puppy the moment the artist or her mama says she may.
#ArtLovers
@GettyMuseum
Original: The only authenticated portrait of
#JaneAusten
. A pencil and watercolour sketch by her sister, Cassandra Austen, now on display at the
@NPGLondon
.
Cost of recreation: 🇨🇦$0. All clothes from my wardrobe.
Recreation photo taken by my patient husband.
Hope you enjoy!
Little sweetheart: Alexandrine-Emilie & her knitting bag in 1788, just before the start of turbulent times in France. A-E was the daughter of architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, & she’s painted here by the ever incredible Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.
#ArtLovers
NG London
I love paintings that depict details of everyday life like this 1770s tea tray ready to be served. The tea, the toast, the cutlery, the cups, & the sugar lumps are frozen in time, allowing us to travel 250 years into the past.
Jean-Étienne Liotard
#ArtLovers
@GettyMuseum
Sir Thomas Lawrence’s 1815 painting of celebrated beauty Mrs John Allnutt is one of my favourite
#Regency
portraits. It’s in private collection … imagine this hanging in your living room for you to look at while enjoying your Sunday morning coffee in your pyjamas.
#ArtLovers
More stunning paper collages from Mary Delany. She created hundreds and hundreds of these & the patience and precision required to cut and paste such perfect replicas of flowers astonishes me.
#ArtLovers
C18th
All photos from the British Museum
#ArtLovers
, zoom in on this 1790 portrait of writer Madame de Genlis—The lace! The hair ribbon! The green gloves! The velvet & the satin. Isn’t it splendid? (Interestingly, M de Genlis’s husband & her lover were guillotined together in 1793.)
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard
@LACMA
The Georgians produced erotic novels that would make modern steamy romance blush. You can download some for free—all in the public domain, of course. If you want to read one, try “Fanny Hill” by John Cleland (1748). Pure smut—here are some C19 illustrations to demonstrate. (8/9)
This 1785 self-portrait of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard with two of her students deserves its fame. The composition, the lighting, & the exquisite textures (zoom in on the feathers, satin, ruffles & velvet!!) are all *chef’s kiss* 💋!!
#ArtLovers
At the Met
I shall conclude bookish
#ArtLovers
with this stunning portrait of Madame de Pompadour looking up from a good novel, painted in 1756 by Boucher. Hope you enjoyed the week of C18th ladies reading!!
I’m glad so many enjoyed my Twitter tour of 18th century items at the fantastic
@batashoemuseum
. Here’s one more delight: a pair of magnificent blue silk “clocked” stockings. Clocked referred to the embroidery work, which served both a decorative & a strengthening purpose.
I wish men still wore shirts like this every day!! 🔥 (Dr G in Gainsborough’s house, readying himself for the ball last night.🥰)
#RegencyFelicity
#JaneAustenFestival
Here’s four more erotic drawings to wrap things up (which, btw, Georgians could do if they wanted to—condoms existed). Hope you enjoyed my little thread! Tell me, are you at all surprised, or did you already know the Georgian had such a naughty side? (9/9)
It is likely that at this moment, I am
#writing
.
But I *might* be reading history or historical fiction. Or browsing history and writing accounts on Twitter.
Bath Day 2:
1. Coffee in Gainsborough’s garden (happening now)
2. Breakfast with my agent (soon!)
3. Speaking at a romance writers’ panel at Waterstones Milsom St
4. Sign my books in local shops
5. Yet-to-be-determined adventures w/Dr G after that😉
(Owning the frizzy hair today)
1792 self-portrait of French portrait artist Marie-Geneviève Bouliar—a serenely beautiful painting created during turbulent times indeed.
In the private collection of some person who hopefully appreciates it.
#ArtLovers
Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was apparently not a fan of this scrumptious portrait by Lawrence, but I’m obsessed with how her hair matches her gown & lace. That’s impressive accessorizing.
#ArtLovers
1789
Plus detail of her gorgeous hand
An
#ArtLovers
favourite fits well into my current series on women painters of the
#C18th
: the 1791 selfie by Rose-Adélaïde Ducreux, who was a talented musician *and* painter. Even the stuffy old critics at the Academy admitted Ducreux could paint satin to die for.
@metmuseum
Once more defying her critics, Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun created this smiling, teeth-bearing selfie of herself painting the Queen in 1790—she was Marie Antoinette’s official painter. The glory of the French court would soon end, but ELVB would keep painting teeth.
#ArtLovers
Füger’s late
#C18th
portrait of Maria Carolina Barbara Claudia Puthon von Tschoffen (try saying that without a stumble) is perfection, in my opinion. It was also up for auction recently. Sigh—it would’ve been fab above my writing desk. Isn’t she lovely?
#ArtLovers
Many thanks to all who enjoyed my tweets about my trip to Bath et al. I had the loveliest time, but I’m now back in Toronto & real life begins again. The good news is my imagination still dwells in the UK: I have a book to finish & a 2nd one to draft before the end of the year.
I’ll get a few
#ArtLovers
in before I fall off the Twitter algorithm with the new changes. ‘The Wool Winder’ is a lovely example of C18th genre painting. The kitten, the scissors on a ribbon & the lovely pale blue striped dress are 😍.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Frick Collection
1759
This c1818 portrait by Füger depicts another
#Regency
stunner. Unfortunately, her name is lost to time, but can’t you picture her as the strong-willed, “handsome” heroine in a romance novel? Not sure on a current location, but she is so gorgeous I had to share with my
#ArtLovers
.
#ArtLoversAdvent
5:
Sir Thos Lawrence🇬🇧(1769-1830) was a child prodigy who became the greatest portraitist of his era. Notice how his bold, blurred lines still manage to suggest remarkable detail. His colours pop & he beautifully conveys his sitters’ personalities.
#ArtLovers
This ca1775 ‘Domestic Scene’ by an unknown German artist is full of fun details for a time-travelling experience: the patterns on wallpaper & gowns; papa’s red-heeled slippers; mama/big sister’s lace-making; the clutter on the bookcase shelves & top.
#ArtLovers
The Met
I decorated my mama’s room with many significant things, including this 150-year-old crazy quilt made by her great-grandmother. Not only is it an item she has seen since childhood, but it is a meaningful part of our family history. Past generations of mamas are here with us.
Stunning portrait of ‘bluestocking’ Mary Delany (1700-1788), a writer, botanist, artist & freethinking feminist. Also, three of her gorgeous botanical collages.
#ArtLovers
John Opie
1782
Nat’l Portriat Gallery, London
A precious, very Rococo depiction of two sisters with their wheeled horse & Polichinelle doll (a masked clown in a cocked hat), rendered in pastels by Jean-Claude Richard de Saint-Non, a hobbyist artist & friend of Fragonard.
#ArtLovers
1770
@metmuseum
And he drew lots of orgies. In the middle one here, the cats even get in on the fun, although a woman at the inn tries to whip them for it. The poor dogs are chased off by a women wielding a broom before they get to do it. (6/9)
I’m in love with the photorealism of this 1755-56 pastel portrait of 7yo Maria Fredericksburg van Reese-Athlone by Swiss painter Jean-Étienne Liotard (
@GettyMuseum
).
Perfect for a Friday—the day I join
@18thCent_Kitty
for
#FridayNightFrills
, the best of 18th-century fashion!
In 1780, Joshua Reynolds declared of prostitute/courtesan Emily Warren that he had “never seen so faultless and finely formed a human figure”. She became Sir J’s muse, but here she is painted by George Romney in 1781. An exquisite beauty, indeed.
#ArtLovers
@metmuseum
With
#ArtLovers
posts, I try to share the time travel that I experience when I look at art. It’s as if the veil of centuries lifts: the hand that painted the picture was once as alive as I am now & in the case of portraiture, so was the sitter. A 🧵 (1/7)
I’m amused by the comments on Wellington & Napoleon’s tight breeches in recent
#ArtLovers
posts. My friends, this is why studying art tells us so much which history books omit. How otherwise would we know Wellington dressed to the right and Napoleon to the left?
I’m thrilled my
#ArtLovers
followers are enjoying the fabulous pastels of Jean-Étienne Liotard. I❤️the details of letter, pen, gown, & inkwell in this c1750 portrait of actress Louise Jacquet, but her expression is *chef’s kiss*. She smiles as if she knows an amusing secret.
Courtesan Kitty Fisher was one of the first celebrities famous *simply* for being famous. With her beauty & audacity alone, she took Britain by storm in her short life. This portrait contains a play on her name: a cat fishing. Read on for more. 1/6🧵
N Hone 1760s
#ArtLovers
The young lady in Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s “The White Hat” (1780) is such a
#FridayNightMood
: she’s got her fancy party hat on, but her comfy attire (complete with random nip slip) says: “Honestly, I just wanna stay in.” Zoom in on that hat lace!
@ArtLovers
@mfaboston
#ArtLoversAdvent
23:
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard🇫🇷(1749-1803) deserves a top spot amongst GOAT
#C18th
artists. A sublime portraitist, she was also the first woman allowed to have a teaching studio at the Louvre. Many of her students (like the two pictured) were women.
#ArtLovers
By virtue of a fine singing voice, commoner Lavinia Fenton clawed her way onto the London stage, where she debuted the role of Polly Peachum in Beggar’s Opera. She was mistress to the Duke of Bolton for 23yrs until the death of his wife, whereupon she became duchess.
#ArtLovers
French C18th courtesan Rosalie Duthé was dubbed “the first officially recorded dumb blonde”, but I think she had the last laugh. After running several noblemen’s fortunes into the ground, she survived the Revolution & lived to be 82.
Portrait by Perin-Salbreux
#ArtLovers
Trinquesse’s 1776 “Interior with a Lady, her Maid, & a Gentleman” has some striking similarities to yesterday’s Madame de Pompadour. This painting is full of delicious interior details. Step into
#18thCentury
luxury in the 🧵. I ❤️ to time travel into art. (1/7)
#ArtLovers
A Tuesday treat for those who appreciate early-C19th hotties: the 1818 self-portrait of Léon Cogniet🇫🇷. Cogniet was regarded as a great teacher; more than 100 of his students achieved significant acclaim, including Degas and Meissonier. He died forgotten in 1880.
@MbaOrleans
The most prolific pornographic illustrator of the
#GerogianEra
(that I know of) was the the British political caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827), who produced a LOT of erotica for private clientele. (2/8)
V. short video of me putting on my stays in Gainsborough’s house, basking in Bath’s golden evening light. (Btw, historically accurate
#Regency
stays are neither constricting nor uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, in fact—they are comfier than most modern bras.)
#RegencyFelicity
Courtesan Kitty Fisher (who is arguably the first celebrity famous simply for being famous) was just one of many
#GeorgianEra
sex workers whose lives I studied when writing
#ACourtesansWorth
. Detail of portrait by Hone, 1765. Note the play on her name: the cat fishing.
#ArtLovers
Hoping to bring joy to your Sunday with Hogarth’s 1742 portrait of the children of Daniel Graham, apothecary to George II. It’s a delightful picture of childhood—besides the happy faces, my fav detail is the cat salivating after the bird. What’s yours?
#ArtLovers
@NationalGallery
Liotard’s skill with pastels is 🤯. In the Lavergne Family Breakfast (1754), zoom in to see *reflections* on the cups, milk pitcher, & coffee pot! I❤️the paper curlers in the daughter’s hair—a sweet touch of realism. A lazy Saturday morning, perhaps?
#ArtLovers
@NationalGallery
Fragonard’s “Young Girl Reading” is a perfect, sunshiny Friday mood as we go into this last weekend before the start of school. It’s also one of my very favourite paintings.
#ArtLovers
1770
Nat’l Gallery of Art, Washington DC
I planned an exhibition of pastels for
#ArtLovers
this week. This medium, which became popular in the C18th, amazes me. Zoom in on the exquisite details of François & Élisabeth de Jullienne’s lace, jewels, fabric, hair, flowers—beautifully frozen in time.
Coypel, 1743
@metmuseum
How adorable is Lavinia Spencer (ggg-granny to Princess Di)? When the future 2nd Earl Spencer fell in deeply love with her despite her lack of dowry, his parents consented to the match b/c she was so pretty & smart. She was also an artist herself.
#ArtLovers
J Reynolds
1762
Tate
I can easily sum up the little we know of the sitter in this exquisite portrait: Sarah Campbell was the daughter of a Scottish MP, later married a man named Woodhouse, had 3 sons, & died in 1802. But here she is, immortalized in youthful beauty.
#ArtLovers
Reynolds 1777
Yale
I am by no means talented at (or patient with) making TikTok videos (I’m a writer, not a videographer, dammit!), but here’s my effort. 💕 Please tell me what you think. 👒 Fellow reenactors, let me know if I make any mistakes!! 🌸💐
#RegencyFelicity