Frances Bunsen
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Baroness Frances Waddington Bunsen (4 March 1791 – 23 April 1876) was a
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
painter, author and diplomatic hostess, wife of
Christian Charles Josias Bunsen Christian Charles or Karl Josias von Bunsen (25 August 1791 – 28 November 1860), also known as , was a German diplomat and scholar. Life Early life Bunsen was born at Korbach, an old town in the German principality of Waldeck. His fath ...
, and the older sister of
Lady Llanover Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover (21 March 1802 – 17 January 1896), born Augusta Waddington, was a Welsh heiress, best known as a patron of the Welsh arts. Early life She was born on 21 March 1802, near Abergavenny, the youngest daughter of ...
.


Early life

Frances Waddington was born in 1791 at Dunston Park in Berkshire, one of the five daughters of landowner Benjamin Waddington (d.1828) and Georgina Mary Ann, (née Port) (1771–1850), the eldest daughter and co-heiress of her father. Her younger sister Augusta Waddington became
Lady Llanover Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover (21 March 1802 – 17 January 1896), born Augusta Waddington, was a Welsh heiress, best known as a patron of the Welsh arts. Early life She was born on 21 March 1802, near Abergavenny, the youngest daughter of ...
on marriage to
Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover (8 November 1802 – 27 April 1867), known as Sir Benjamin Hall between 1838 and 1859, was a Welsh civil engineer and politician. The famous "Big Ben" may have been named for him. Background Hall was a son o ...
. Frances' mother Georgina was a great niece of
Mary Delany Mary Delany ( Granville; 14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks" and botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence. Early life Mary Delany was born at C ...
, a
bluestocking ''Bluestocking'' is a term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), the "Queen of the Blues", including Eliz ...
and botanical artist. Frances later lived at "Tŷ Uchaf",
Llanover Llanover (; cy, Llanofer) is a village in the community of Goetre Fawr in Monmouthshire, Wales. Location Llanover is located four miles south of Abergavenny just off the A4042 road to Pontypool. The community includes the separate hamlets o ...
,
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
where she and her sister were educated by her mother. Frances was a talented
watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
painter. Several of her pictures are owned by
Newport City Council Newport City Council () is the governing body for Newport, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It consists of 51 councillors, who represent the city's 20 wards. The council is currently, and has historically been, held by the Labour Party. ...
.


Marriage

In 1816, the Waddington family spent the winter in Rome and Benjamin Waddington struck up a friendship with
Christian Charles Josias Bunsen Christian Charles or Karl Josias von Bunsen (25 August 1791 – 28 November 1860), also known as , was a German diplomat and scholar. Life Early life Bunsen was born at Korbach, an old town in the German principality of Waldeck. His fath ...
, a young Prussian diplomat who was involved in the cultural life of the city, and introduced him to his family. On 1 July 1817 Frances Waddington married Baron Bunsen in the chapel of the Palazzo Savelli, home of his friend and mentor
Barthold Georg Niebuhr Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr wa ...
. Frances didn't return to Britain for 21 years after her marriage. The couple had ten children, five sons and five daughters, including the biblical scholar Ernest Christian Ludwig de Bunsen. Frances' British connections proved invaluable to the success of her husband's career. In 1823 her husband succeeded Niebuhr as
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n minister to the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
and the couple remained in Rome for twenty two until 1838, living in the Palazzo Caffarelli on the Capitol. Their home became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals. The Bunsen family's first visit to Britain lasted from August 1838 to October 1839 when Christian Bunsen was appointed ambassador to Switzerland, where the family stayed until the spring of 1841. Bunsen was then appointed Prussian ambassador to the court of St James in 1842, serving in this role until 1854. As in Rome, Frances von Bunsen was active in supporting her husband's career, hosting many guests from a wide social and cultural network at their home in Carlton Terrace in London. After her husband's death in 1860, she published a memoir of his life: ''A Memoir of Baron Bunsen, Drawn Chiefly from Family Papers, by His Widow, Frances, Baroness Bunsen'' (1868). She moved to
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
where she looked after the children of her late daughter Theodora, Baroness von Ungern Sternbergwhere. She travelled to visit frends and family across Europe, and was an avid correspondent. Frances von Bunsen, Baroness von Bunsen died in Waldhorn Strasse, Karlsruhe on 23 April 1876, in the presence of many of her children and grandchildren, and was buried next to her husband in Bonn.


Works


Paintings

*''Swansea'' (1808) *''Hills beyond Crickhowell'' (1808) *''Monmouth'' (1810) *''Basaleg Church'' (1813) *''Tredegar Park'' (1813) *''Abergavenny Church'' (1838) *''Abercarn'' (1847)


Writings

*''Memoir of Baron Bunsen'' (1868) *Hare, ''Life and Letters of Frances, Baroness Bunsen'' (London, 1882)


References


External links


Ask CymruWatercolours by Frances Bunsen held on Gathering the Jewels
* * * Richmond, J. M. (2015). ''Nine Letters from an Artist: The Families of William Gillard, Porphyrogenitus'', {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunsen, Frances 1791 births 1876 deaths 19th-century British women artists 19th-century Welsh painters Welsh biographers Welsh women painters