Thomas Hudson (1701-1779) - Lady Lucy Manners (1717–1788), Duchess of Montrose - 290369 - National Trust

A drapery painter refers to a specialist painter commissioned to complete the dress, costumes and other accessories worn by the subjects of portrait paintings. They were employed by portrait painters with a large workshop in 18th century England.Drapery painter
in Oxford Reference While the portraitist completed the face and hands, the drapery painter was responsible for the pose and costume. The specialists were not necessarily assistants in the workshop of the portrait painters but rather subcontractors.Thomas Hudson (1701–1779), ''Joseph Van Aken, the drapery painter''
at Lowell Libson & Jonny Yarker Ltd

History

It is believed that the practice arose in Flemish and Dutch painting practices. Collaborative paintings were a common practice in Antwerp art production. Rubens, for instance, often made collaborative paintings with specialist landscape, still life or animal painters. The use of drapery painters was common for all leading British portraitists of the early and mid-18th century. They typically relied on one or more drapery painters to add the clothes and other accessories to their portraits. Only Hogarth and Gainsborough seem not to have used these specialist painters. The practice gradually disappeared by the end of the 18th century.

Key figures

Lady Elizabeth Russell (Keppel) (1739-1768

The best known drapery painter in 18th-century London was the Flemish painter Joseph Van Aken from Antwerp (c.1699–1749). He had settled in London, England around 1720, together with his brothers Arnold and

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(known as Alexander van Haecken) who were also painters. He first painted genre scenes and

conversation piece A conversation piece refers to a group portrait in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other.Allan Ramsay, Thomas Hudson,

Joseph Highmore Joseph Highmore (13 June 1692 – 3 March 1780) was an England, English painter of Portrait painting, portraits, conversation pieces and History painting, history subjects, illustrator and author. After retiring from his career as a painter ...

and

George Knapton George Knapton (1698–1778) was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765 to 1778. Life and work Knapton was born in Chri ...

as well as lesser figures also outside of London. The portrait painters would send the unfinished pictures to his London studio or painted the head on a separate piece of canvas so it could be pasted onto the costumed figure. Van Aken's participation in portraits in the 1730s and 1740s is evidenced by a series of drapery studies preserved in the

Scottish National Gallery The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

which relate to his collaborations with Hudson and Allan Ramsay. Van Aken's contributions helped popularise the Van Dyck costume amongst patrician sitters in the 1730s. The contributions of Van Aken were highly regarded by contemporaries and

George Vertue George Vertue (1684 – 24 July 1756) was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period. Life Vertue was born in 1684 in St Martin-in-the-Fields, ...

placed him on the same level as the portrait painters themselves. As Van Aken and his brother worked for a great many portrait painters Vertue observed that 'its very difficult to know one hand from another' (i.e. it was difficult to distinguish which portrait painter was responsible for a particular portrait). Peter Toms was an English painter who apprenticed with Thomas Hudson. He later became a drapery painter working for

Francis Cotes Francis Cotes (20 May 1726 – 16 July 1770) was an English painter, one of the pioneers of English pastel painting, and a founding member of the Royal Academy in 1768. Life and work He was born in London, the eldest son of Robert Cotes, an ...

. After Cotes' death, he was employed by Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

and

John 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 ...

amongst others. The fact that Toms was a founding member of the

Royal Academy 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 pur ...

in 1768 shows that drapery painters were held in high regard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversation Piece Portrait art Visual arts terminology English art