Maria Luisa Caterina Cecilia Cosway (ma-RYE-ah; née Hadfield; 11 June 1760 – 5 January 1838) was an Italian-English painter, musician, and educator. She worked in England, in France, and later in Italy, cultivating a large circle of friends and clients, mainly as an initiate of Swedish and French
Illuminism
The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
, and an enthusiastic revivalist of the
Masonic Knights Templar
The Knights Templar, full name The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta, is a fraternal order affiliated with Freemasonry. Unlike the initial degrees conferred in ...
.
She exhibited at the
Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
, and commissioned the first portrait of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
to be seen in England. Her paintings and engravings are held by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, and the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. Her work was included in London exhibitions at the
National Portrait Gallery in 1995–96 and
Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
in 2006.
Cosway was an accomplished composer, musician, and society hostess with her husband, painter
Richard Cosway
Richard Cosway (5 November 1742 – 4 July 1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures. He was a contemporary of John Smart, George Engleheart, William Wood, and Richard Crosse. ...
. She had a brief romantic relationship with the widowed American statesman
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
in 1786 while he served in Paris as the envoy to France; the pair kept up a correspondence until his death in 1826.
Cosway founded a girls' school in Paris, which she directed from 1803 to 1809. Soon after it closed, she founded a Catholic convent and girls' school in
Lodi, northern Italy, which she directed until her death.
Childhood in Italy
![Richard Cosway - Retrato de Mrs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Richard_Cosway_-_Retrato_de_Mrs._Cosway.JPG)
She was born in 1760 in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Italy to Charles Hadfield, said to have been a native of
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, England, and an Italian mother. Her father was a successful innkeeper at
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, where he had become very wealthy.
[ ] The Hadfields operated three inns in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, frequented by British aristocrats taking the
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
.
One of eight children, Maria demonstrated artistic talent at a young age during her
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
convent education. She remained a devout Catholic all her life.
Four of the Hadfield children were killed by a mentally ill nursemaid, who was caught after being overheard talking about killing Maria. The nurse claimed that her young victims would be sent to Heaven after she killed them. She was sentenced to life in prison. Maria, her brothers Richard and George, and a younger sister Charlotte were the survivors.
At her father's death, Maria expressed a strong desire to become a nun. Three years later, she and her mother travelled to England; they settled in London in 1779.
Maria's brother
George Hadfield became an architect and designed
Arlington House Arlington House may refer to:
*Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
*Arlington House (London) a hostel for the homeless in London, England, and one of the Rowton Houses
*Arlington House, Margate, an eighteen-storey residential apartment bloc ...
in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. It later was owned by
Robert E. Lee, noted as a
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
general during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
Early career
While still in Florence, Maria Hadfield studied art under
Violante Cerroti and
Johann Zoffany
Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...
. From 1773 to 1778, she copied Old Masters at the
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...
Gallery. For her work, she was elected to the ''Academia del Disegno'' in Florence in 1778.
She also went to Rome, where she studied art under
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...
. She studied with
Anton Raphael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs (22 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German people, German painter, active in Dresden, Rome, and Madrid, who while painting in the Rococo period of the mid-18th century became one of the precursors to Neoclassicism, Neoclas ...
,
Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as ''The Nightmare'', deal with supernatura ...
, and
Joseph Wright of Derby
Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution".
Wr ...
.
Two women artists,
Angelica Kauffman
Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, K ...
and
Mary Moser
Mary Moser (27 October 1744 – 2 May 1819) was an English painter and one of the most celebrated female artists of 18th-century Britain. One of only two female founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768 (along with Angelica Kauffman), Mose ...
, were among the original members of the
Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
in London in 1768. Kauffmann helped Maria Hadfield to participate in academy exhibitions. In 1781 she exhibited for the first time, showing the following three works: ''Rinaldo'', ''Creusa appearing to Aeneas'' (engraved in
mezzotint
Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...
by V. Green), and ''Like patience on a monument smiling at grief''.
Hadfield went on to gain success as a painter of
myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
ological scenes.
Marriage and social success
On 18 January 1781, Maria Hadfield married a fellow artist, the celebrated
miniature portrait
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century el ...
painter
Richard Cosway
Richard Cosway (5 November 1742 – 4 July 1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures. He was a contemporary of John Smart, George Engleheart, William Wood, and Richard Crosse. ...
, in what is thought to have been a
marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. There are ...
. He was 20 years her senior, known as a libertine, and was repeatedly unfaithful to her.
Richard was "commonly described as resembling a monkey."
Her Italian manners were so foreign that her husband kept Maria secluded until she fully mastered the English language. Cosway also forbade his wife from selling her paintings, possibly out of fear of the gossip which surrounded female painters. Her ''Self-Portrait with Arms Folded'' is seen as a response to his limitation of her work, her folded arms acting as a sign of her inability to practice. But, in time he realised his wife's talent and helped her to develop it.
[Henry Gardiner, ''A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography,'' p. 214] More than 30 of her works were displayed at the
Royal Academy of Art
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
from 1781 until 1801.
She soon enhanced her reputation as an artist, especially when her portrait of the
Duchess of Devonshire in the character of Cynthia from ''
The Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'' was exhibited. Among her personal acquaintances were
Lady Lyttelton; the
Hon. Mrs. Darner, the Countess of Aylesbury; Lady Cecilia Johnston, wife of
General James Johnston; and the
Marchioness of Townshend.
In 1784, the Cosways moved into
Schomberg House
Schomberg House at 80–82 Pall Mall is a prominent house on the south side of Pall Mall in central London which has a colourful history. Only the street facade survives today. It was built for The 3rd Duke of Schomberg, a Huguenot general i ...
,
Pall Mall, and developed a fashionable salon for London society. Richard was Principal Painter of the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, and Maria served as hostess to artists, members of royalty including the Prince, and politicians including
Horace Walpole
Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician.
He had Strawb ...
,
Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the U ...
and
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...
.
She could speak several languages and due to her travels in Italy and France, she gained an international circle of friends.
These included
Angelica Schuyler Church
Angelica Church (née Schuyler ; February 20, 1756 – March 6, 1814) was an American socialite. She was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and a sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and sister-in-law of Alexander ...
and the artist
John Trumbull
John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...
. Maria Cosway organised concerts and recitals for her guests. She became known as "The Goddess of Pall-Mall".
The Cosways employed the former slave
Ottobah Cugoano
Ottobah Cugoano, also known as John Stuart (c. 1757 – after 1791), was an abolitionist, political activist, and natural rights philosopher from West Africa who was active in Britain in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Captured in th ...
as a servant. In 1791, they moved to Stratford Place where they undertook substantial renovations.
Richard and Maria had one child together, Louisa Paolina Angelica, but the couple eventually separated. Maria often travelled on the continent, on one occasion accompanied by
Luigi Marchesi
Luigi Marchesi (; 8 August 1754 – 14 December 1829) was an Italian castrato singer, one of the most prominent and charismatic to appear in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. His singing was praised by the likes of Mozart ...
, a famous Italian
castrato
A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...
. (Richard Cosway had painted his portrait, which afterward was engraved by
Luigi Schiavonetti
Luigi Schiavonetti (1 April 1765 – 7 June 1810) was an Italian reproductive engraver and etcher.
Life
Luigi Schiavonetti was born at Bassano in Venetia. He was the maternal nephew of Teodoro Viero. After having studied art for several ...
(1790). At the same time Richard was having an open affair with Mary Moser, with whom he travelled for six months. In his notebooks he made "invidious comparisons between her and Mrs Cosway," implying that she was much more sexually responsive than his wife.
When staying in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, France, Maria Cosway made a pilgrimage to the shrine of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
at
Loreto. This was to fulfill a vow she had made after giving birth to a living child. While she was travelling on the continent, her young daughter Louisa died.
Work in Napoleonic France
Throughout this period Cosway cultivated international contacts in the art world. When she sent an engraving of her allegorical painting ''
The Hours'' to her friend the French painter
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
, he replied, ''"On ne peut pas faire une poésie plus ingénieuse et plus naturelle"'' ("one could not create a more ingenious or more natural poetic work"). Cosway became well known throughout France and had customers from all over the Continent.
Cosway also showed an interest in French politics. In 1797, then living on
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
in London, she commissioned artist Francesco Cossia to create what was to be the first portrait of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
seen in England. Cosway may have been the first person in Britain to see the face of Napoleon.
Her commission of the portrait would later be called the "earliest recorded evidence of British admiration for Napoleon."
Later acquired by
Sir John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...
, the painting is displayed in the Breakfast Room of
Sir John Soane's Museum
Sir John Soane's Museum is a house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of neo-classical architect, John Soane. It holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects, and ...
.
While living in Paris between 1801 and 1803, Cosway copied the paintings of the Old Masters from the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
for publication as etchings in England. After the death of her daughter while she was in France, she did not finish the project.
Maria Cosway met Napoleon while copying ''
Napoleon Crossing the Alps
''Napoleon Crossing the Alps'' (also known as ''Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass'' or ''Bonaparte Crossing the Alps''; listed as ''Le Premier Consul franchissant les Alpes au col du Grand Saint-Bernard'') is a series of five oil on canvas e ...
'' by her friend David. She became close friends with Napoleon's uncle, Cardinal
Joseph Fesch
Joseph Fesch, Prince of France (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of his nephew, he became Archbishop ...
. During the
Peace of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...
, she gave British visitors tours of the Cardinal's art collection. One historian pointed out that her admiration for Napoleon may have been inspired by her then-lover
Pasquale Paoli
Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...
, a
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
n general in exile in London, who had been an associate of Bonaparte.
Relationship with Thomas Jefferson
![Thomas Jefferson by John Trumbull 1788](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Thomas_Jefferson_by_John_Trumbull_1788.jpg)
At the Grain Market (''Halles aux Bleds''), in Paris, August 1786,
John Trumbull
John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...
introduced the Cosways to Jefferson, then a widower at 43 serving as American Minister to France. Maria was 27.
Jefferson then begged off his scheduled dinner companion, saying he needed to tend to official business, and instead spent the evening with Maria at the
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...
.
Cosway and Jefferson shared an interest in art and architecture; together they attended exhibits throughout the city and countryside.
He would write of their adventures: "How beautiful was every object! the
Pont du Neuilly, the hills along the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
, the rainbows of the Machine of
Marly, the terraces of
Saint Germain, the chateaux, the gardens, the statues of Marly, the Pavilion of
Louveciennes
Louveciennes () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, between Versailles and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and adjacent to Marly-le-Roi.
Population
...
... In the evening, when one took a retrospect of the day, what a mass of happiness had we travelled over!"
Over the course of six weeks,
Jefferson developed a romantic attachment to Cosway, spending each day with her.
At her husband's insistence, the Cosways departed for London.
Jefferson's 4,000-word "The Dialogue of the Head vs. the Heart" love letter followed dated 12–13 October 1786. He describes his head conversing with his heart—a struggle between the practical and the
romantic.
Scholars suggest that Jefferson was particularly partial to a romantic attachment at this point in his life.
Martha Jefferson
Martha Skelton Jefferson ( ''née'' Wayles; October 30, 1748 – September 6, 1782) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson. She served as First Lady of Virginia during Jefferson's term as governor from 1779 to 1781. She died in 1782, 19 years before ...
had died four years before; he had just learned of the death of his youngest daughter Lucy; and his other two daughters were away at school.
During the same period, Jefferson began a relationship with
Sally Hemings
Sarah "Sally" Hemings ( 1773 – 1835) was an enslaved woman with one-quarter African ancestry owned by president of the United States Thomas Jefferson, one of many he inherited from his father-in-law, John Wayles.
Hemings's mother Elizabet ...
, a mixed race enslaved girl and the half-sister of his late wife, at the time aged between fourteen and sixteen, who was pregnant by him when the household returned to Washington in 1789.
At least one account held that Cosway began to develop stronger feelings for Jefferson, but when she travelled to Paris to meet him again, she found him more distant.
A devout Catholic who did not want to have children, she worried about pregnancy. Some historians believe nothing further developed besides correspondence. Since Jefferson was very discreet, no one knows for certain the extent of their relationship.
Jefferson eventually stopped writing her until some time later when she contacted him; their renewed correspondence continued until his death.
Historians such as Andrew Burstein have suggested the relationship was romantic mostly on Jefferson's side, and that Cosway was his opposite, more artistic than rational.
Their correspondence survives.
Before Jefferson left Paris, he wrote her, "I am going to America and you are going to Italy. One of us is going the wrong way, for the way will ever be wrong that leads us further apart."
Cosway introduced Jefferson to her friend
Angelica Schuyler Church
Angelica Church (née Schuyler ; February 20, 1756 – March 6, 1814) was an American socialite. She was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and a sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and sister-in-law of Alexander ...
, the sister-in-law of his rival
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
. Church kept up a correspondence with both Jefferson and Cosway in later life; her correspondence with them is held at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
's archive.
Cosway and Jefferson both held images of the other. He kept an engraving by
Luigi Schiavonetti
Luigi Schiavonetti (1 April 1765 – 7 June 1810) was an Italian reproductive engraver and etcher.
Life
Luigi Schiavonetti was born at Bassano in Venetia. He was the maternal nephew of Teodoro Viero. After having studied art for several ...
from a drawing by Maria's husband.
Trumbull was commissioned by Maria to paint a portrait of Jefferson;
This remained in the collection of Cosway's paintings and papers looked after by the nuns at the convent school she had founded in Lodi until the Italian government put immense pressure on the nuns at the American Bicentennial to relinquish it so that Italy could gift it to the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, where it remains aside from a brief display as part of a
Smithsonian exhibition.
Later life
Cosway eventually returned to the continent, travelled with her brother
George Hadfield in Italy, where she lived in the north for three years and then returned to England after her daughter's death at age 6, concentrating on painting, completing several religious pictures for chapels.
Despite Napoleon's war with England, she travelled to France. In Paris Cardinal
Joseph Fesch
Joseph Fesch, Prince of France (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of his nephew, he became Archbishop ...
persuaded her to establish a college for young ladies, which she managed from 1803 until 1809. The
Duke of Lodi The title of Conte di Magenta was created on 30 December 1619 for Don Luigi Melzi, of a Milanese patrician family. His descendant Gaspare, eighth Count, married Maria Teresa d'Eril, daughter and heiress of the Marchese de Fuente Sagrada, and their d ...
invited her to Italy to establish a
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
and Catholic school for girls in
Lodi (near
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
). She directed the ''Collegio delle Grazie'' in northern Italy until her death in 1838.
In 1821 Cosway briefly returned to England to care for her husband before his death. With the aid of her friend
Sir John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...
, she auctioned Richard's large art collection, and used the funds to support the convent school.
For a short period of time, following the death of
Richard Cosway
Richard Cosway (5 November 1742 – 4 July 1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures. He was a contemporary of John Smart, George Engleheart, William Wood, and Richard Crosse. ...
, her close friend
Sir John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...
served as the executor to her estate.
In a letter to Jefferson (held by the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
), Cosway mourned the loss of mutual old friends following the death of
Angelica Schuyler Church
Angelica Church (née Schuyler ; February 20, 1756 – March 6, 1814) was an American socialite. She was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and a sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and sister-in-law of Alexander ...
. As a tribute to Church, Cosway designed a temple ceiling depicting the
Three Graces surrounding her friend's name.
In June 1826, she wrote to the Italian engraver
Giovanni Paolo Lasinio Junior, respecting the publication of her husband's drawings in Florence.
[The folio volume is entitled : ''Raccolta di Disegni Originali scelti dai Portafogli del celebre Riccardo Cosway, R.A., e primo pittore del Serenissimo Principe di Wallia, posseduti dalla di lui vedova, la Signora Maria Cosway, e intagliati da Paolo Lasinio, figlio'' (1826).]
The end of her life included service at her school, making substantial renovations and additions to the medieval building. Cosway died in 1838 at her school in Lodi. Amongst her bequests was one for
Charlotte Jones who was a previous student of her husband but who had failing eyesight at the end of her life.
[Annette Peach, ‘Jones, Charlotte (1768–1847)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200]
accessed 17 Jan 2015
/ref>
Collections
Cosway's engravings from the Old Masters of the Louvre are held in the collection of the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. Two of her paintings that relate to a poem by Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
were acquired by the New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. They were included in the exhibit ''Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli, Blake
Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...
and the Romantic Imagination'' at the Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
museum in London in 2006.
From 1995 to 1996, the National Portrait Gallery in London held an exhibition entitled ''Richard and Maria Cosway: Regency Artists of Taste and Fashion,'' displaying 250 of their works.
Works and reproductions
Cosway's principal works exhibited at the Royal Academy and later engraved are:
*''Clytie'' (engraved by V. Green; engraver's name shown in parentheses below)
*''The Descent from the Cross'' (V. Green)
*''Astrea instructing Arthegal'' (V. Green)
*''The Judgment on Korah, Dathan, and Abiram'' (S. W. Reynolds)
*''A Persian'' (Emma Smith)
*''H.R.H. the Princess of Wales and the Princess Charlotte'' by S. W. Reynolds
* ''The Hours'' by Francesco Bartolozzi
__NOTOC__
Francesco Bartolozzi (21 September 1727, in Florence – 7 March 1815, in Lisbon) was an Italian engraver, whose most productive period was spent in London. He is noted for popularizing the "crayon" method of engraving.
Early life
Ba ...
*''Lodona'' by Francesco Bartolozzi
*''The Guardian Angel'', by S. Phillips
*''Going to the Temple'', by Peltro William Tomkins
Peltro William Tomkins (1759–1840) was an English engraver and draughtsman.
Life
He was born in London, and was baptised 15 October 1759, the younger son of William Tomkins (1730?–1792), a landscape-painter, and his wife Susanna Callard; Cha ...
*''The Birth of the Thames'', by Tomkins
*''Creusa appearing to Aeneas'' by V. Green
*''The Preservation of Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego'', by W. S. Reynolds
*''Louis VII, King of France, before Becket's Tomb'', by W. Sharp.
Cosway drew ''The Progress of Female Dissipation'' and ''The Progress of Female Virtue'', published in 1800. She also published a series of 12 designs, entitled ''The Winter's Day'' contributed to Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery and Macklin's ''Poets''. She etched all the plates in a large folio work entitled ''Gallery of the Louvre, represented by etchings executed solely by Mrs. Maria Cosway, with an Historical and Critical Description of all the Pictures which compose the Superb Collection, and a Biographical Sketch of the Life of each Painter, by J. Griffiths, &c. &c.,'' (1802). Her numerous other plates, some in soft-ground etching, are held mostly by the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
.
In film
* ''Jefferson in Paris
''Jefferson in Paris'' is a 1995 historical drama film, directed by James Ivory, and previously entitled ''Head and Heart''. The screenplay, by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the ...
'', 1995 movie by Merchant and Ivory
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...
in which Maria Cosway is portrayed by Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi, OMRI (; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress. She holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship. She is best known for her roles in the films '' White Mischief'' (1987), '' Presumed Innocent'' (1990), '' The Pla ...
See also
* Women artists
The absence of women from the canon of Western culture, Western Art history, art has been a subject of inquiry and reconsideration since the early 1970s. Linda Nochlin's influential 1971 essay, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?, Why ...
References
Further reading
* Burnell, Carol. ''Divided Affections: The Extraordinary Life of Maria Cosway, Celebrity Artist and Thomas Jefferson's Impossible Love''
* Byrd, Max. ''Jefferson'' (1993)
* Lloyd, Stephen. ''Richard and Maria Cosway'', Edinburgh and London (1995)
* Barnett, Gerald. ''Richard and Maria Cosway: A Biography''
* Beran, Michael Knox. ''Jefferson's Demons: Portrait of a Restless Mind''
* Beretti, Francis (ed.). ''Pascal Paoli à Maria Cosway, Lettres et documents, 1782–1803'', Oxford, Voltaire Foundation (2003)
* Brodie, Fawn. ''Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History''. New York: Norton (1974)
* Halliday, E. M. ''Understanding Thomas Jefferson''
* Kaminski, John P. ''Jefferson in Love: The Love Letters Between Thomas Jefferson and Maria Cosway''
* McCullough, David
David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United State ...
. ''John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
''
External links
''Jefferson in Love: The Love Letters Between Thomas Jefferson and Maria Cosway''
at Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosway, Maria
1760 births
1838 deaths
Italian emigrants to the Kingdom of Great Britain
English women painters
Italian engravers
Italian British musicians
Italian people of English descent
19th-century Italian women artists
18th-century Italian women artists
18th-century Italian painters
19th-century Italian painters
19th-century British women artists
18th-century British women artists
18th-century British painters
19th-century British painters
Italian Roman Catholics
Women engravers
18th-century English women
18th-century English people
19th-century English women
19th-century English people