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18. Robert Carver c. 1730-1791
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‘Figures Conversing in a Classical Landscape’
Oil on canvas, 98 x 142cm
In its original Irish carved giltwood frame
Offering a vivid evocation of the scenery he paint- ed for the Dublin and London theatres which aston- ished Georgian theatre-goers (‘the sudden changes of the beautiful variety of scenery, seemed to sur- prise and alarm the audience, as the effect of real magic’) here, as often with Robert Carver, the cen- tral motif is one of dialogue between two figures, a largely nude standing male and a seated female. It seems to be a moment of quiet before an act of drama. A comparable silent confrontation await- ing resolution takes place, in this instance between two semi-nude male figures, in a landscape at Cas- tle Ward, County Down. To the left, in a motif that occurs elsewhere in his oeuvre, fishermen pull in nets while, as almost invariably, the dramatic land- scape includes theatrical architecture and a cascade of water. All elements combine to make for a high- ly characteristic and appealing example of the art of Robert Carver who with George Barret was the lead- ing landscape artist in Dublin in the 1750s and ’60s.
Carver’s easel paintings are rare and mostly date from his period in Ireland. However, as more of them are identified his ability becomes more and more apparent and the reasons become obvious for the contemporary praise which was showered on his production. His birth date is uncertain but about 1730 seems to be a reason- able guess. The landscape relates closely, both in detail and overall composition, to two signed works of 1754. The first in the National Gallery of Ireland includes Carver’s favoured motif of two figures gesticulating to each other as they converse in a landscape. In many ways 1754 can be seen as a turning point in Carver’s life and development as an artist. February of that year saw the death of his father Richard (who ‘finding himself taken ill as he was walking on College Green, went into a house and instantly expired’); and later in the year, he was appointed, in succession to John Lewis, as scene painter at Smock Alley theatre. Several defining aspects of Carver’s art are clearly apparent in the picture – as Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin have noted, Carver’s pictures are instantly recognizable. In addi- tion to the figures in conversation – very much Carv- er’s hallmark motif – and the fishermen, the bathers on the far side of the expanse of water are repeated in a work sold at Gorry Gallery (May 2010, no. 15). But there are also overlaps with a signed and dated work of 1764 in a private collection, so too precise a dating should not be insisted on, but it seems reason- able to identify the painting as having been painted in Dublin and quite likely to have been one of Carver’s exhibits at Society of Artists in Ireland to which he contributed twenty landscape between 1765 and 1768.
Carver subsequently followed Barret to London in 1769 where he found fame, for his much-admired designs for the stage, and status as the President of Society of Artists. and status as the President of Society of Artists. Al- though of an older generation, he was also closely connected with the talented coterie of artists who came to prominence in the 1760s and ‘70s and who can be seen as a closely interlocked ‘Dublin Group’ of landscape painters. No doubt his ‘generous and com- panionable qualities’ made him a mentor to younger artists and he is recorded as being a friend of George Mullins and having taught James Coy, while his in- fluence has also been detected on Thomas Roberts. Towards the end of his life Carver was hailed as ‘one of the first scene painters in Europe’ and an obitu- ary on his death in 1791 recorded ‘The celebrated scene painter at Convent Garden Theatre died about a week since; he was a native of Dublin…He has been absent from this country a number of years’.
Price: Enquire
‘Figures Conversing in a Classical Landscape’
Oil on canvas, 98 x 142cm
In its original Irish carved giltwood frame
Offering a vivid evocation of the scenery he paint- ed for the Dublin and London theatres which aston- ished Georgian theatre-goers (‘the sudden changes of the beautiful variety of scenery, seemed to sur- prise and alarm the audience, as the effect of real magic’) here, as often with Robert Carver, the cen- tral motif is one of dialogue between two figures, a largely nude standing male and a seated female. It seems to be a moment of quiet before an act of drama. A comparable silent confrontation await- ing resolution takes place, in this instance between two semi-nude male figures, in a landscape at Cas- tle Ward, County Down. To the left, in a motif that occurs elsewhere in his oeuvre, fishermen pull in nets while, as almost invariably, the dramatic land- scape includes theatrical architecture and a cascade of water. All elements combine to make for a high- ly characteristic and appealing example of the art of Robert Carver who with George Barret was the lead- ing landscape artist in Dublin in the 1750s and ’60s.
Carver’s easel paintings are rare and mostly date from his period in Ireland. However, as more of them are identified his ability becomes more and more apparent and the reasons become obvious for the contemporary praise which was showered on his production. His birth date is uncertain but about 1730 seems to be a reason- able guess. The landscape relates closely, both in detail and overall composition, to two signed works of 1754. The first in the National Gallery of Ireland includes Carver’s favoured motif of two figures gesticulating to each other as they converse in a landscape. In many ways 1754 can be seen as a turning point in Carver’s life and development as an artist. February of that year saw the death of his father Richard (who ‘finding himself taken ill as he was walking on College Green, went into a house and instantly expired’); and later in the year, he was appointed, in succession to John Lewis, as scene painter at Smock Alley theatre. Several defining aspects of Carver’s art are clearly apparent in the picture – as Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin have noted, Carver’s pictures are instantly recognizable. In addi- tion to the figures in conversation – very much Carv- er’s hallmark motif – and the fishermen, the bathers on the far side of the expanse of water are repeated in a work sold at Gorry Gallery (May 2010, no. 15). But there are also overlaps with a signed and dated work of 1764 in a private collection, so too precise a dating should not be insisted on, but it seems reason- able to identify the painting as having been painted in Dublin and quite likely to have been one of Carver’s exhibits at Society of Artists in Ireland to which he contributed twenty landscape between 1765 and 1768.
Carver subsequently followed Barret to London in 1769 where he found fame, for his much-admired designs for the stage, and status as the President of Society of Artists. and status as the President of Society of Artists. Al- though of an older generation, he was also closely connected with the talented coterie of artists who came to prominence in the 1760s and ‘70s and who can be seen as a closely interlocked ‘Dublin Group’ of landscape painters. No doubt his ‘generous and com- panionable qualities’ made him a mentor to younger artists and he is recorded as being a friend of George Mullins and having taught James Coy, while his in- fluence has also been detected on Thomas Roberts. Towards the end of his life Carver was hailed as ‘one of the first scene painters in Europe’ and an obitu- ary on his death in 1791 recorded ‘The celebrated scene painter at Convent Garden Theatre died about a week since; he was a native of Dublin…He has been absent from this country a number of years’.