 |
ATAVUS Library articles are available exclusively Burke's Peerage & Gentry's online subscribers.
Click here to login or subscribe now!
ARTISAN ARTICLES
THE CRAFTSMAN’S CRAFTSMAN – AN INTERVIEW WITH PETER BREARS
Peter Brears is an exceptionally fortunate man. An early fascination with
history, an unusual range of artistic and technical skills and talents and even
what might have appeared, at the time, rather restricted educational
opportunities were, as it turned out, an ideal foundation on which to build up a
considerable expertise in, and evident passion for, food and kitchen history and
conservation. Read the article.
THOMAS CHIPPENDALE (1718-1778): EXCEEDINGLY TALENTED CRAFTSMEN
Thomas Chippendale was working during the golden age of English furniture-
making when creative vitality and financial resources were married to satisfy
the demand for the highest standards of craftsmanship. Commenting on Georgian
society, Jane Austen asserted: "It is a truth universally acknowledged,
that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a
wife", she might well have added that he was also in want of a splendid
mansion and glorious furnishings. Chippendale, often referred to as the
Shakespeare of cabinetmakers, was ideally placed to supply the latter. Read the article.
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788)
On a spring day in 1727, in the bustling market town of Sudbury, Suffolk, John Gainsborough (a wool handler) and his wife, Mary, welcomed into the world their tenth child and, on 14th May, they baptised him Thomas.
Read the article.
JOSIAH WEDGWOOD (1730-1795)
The fascinating story of Josiah Wedgwood is that of a man at the very centre of the Industrial Revolution. Armed with little formal education, he founded the Wedgwood pottery dynasty and secured the patronage of many of the nobility and gentry. He made his fortune, became a patron of the arts, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a promoter of the fledgling canal system and an anti-slavery supporter. He was, without a doubt, a truly remarkable individual.
Read the article.
SIR JOHN VANBRUGH (1664 – 1726)
Only four years prior to the birth of this remarkable and talented man, the British monarchy had been restored when Charles II ascended the throne so dramatically left vacant by his father, Charles I. The re-establishment of the Stuart monarchy altered the social climate. As puritan austerity faded, Christmas and May Day festivities were re-instated and theatres opened. The intellectual liveliness of the time provided an individual such as Vanbrugh with a wealth of opportunity.
Read the article.
ROBERT ADAM
More than 200 years have elapsed since Robert Adam took a piece of charcoal
in his talented hand, yet his name still commands worldwide recognition and the
"Adam style" enjoys regular revivals. It is hardly an exaggeration to
say that he transformed the architectural style of Britain and America to such
an extent that, when we think of Georgian architecture, often we have in our
mind’s eye an Adam house. But where did Robert spring from? How did he get his
ideas? In short, who was he? Read
the article.
IAN G BRENNAN - SCULPTOR AND WOODCARVER TO THE BRITISH ROYAL HOUSEHOLD
Ian G Brennan has been producing carved and painted Coats of Arms and Crests
from designs provided by the client in wood and bronze for nearly twenty years.
During this period Ian has also been working on a variety of other more
naturalistic commissions as diverse as producing a six feet high bronze
sculpture of an ‘Osprey catching a Pike’ for a fountain, to carving a
life size statue of the Risen Christ for a local church. Read
the article.
"AN ART THAT ORIGINATED IN ENGLAND"
As medieval castles became palaces and manor houses, and the Renaissance
influenced ideas of design, magnificent gardens were created to complement grand
houses and realise the dreams of their owners. Garden design became a
fashionable passion, the classical gardens of Mesopotamia, China and Greece
serving as inspirations. Britain's country estates were becoming some of its
greatest treasures. Read
the article.
FACES OF SCOTLAND - THE REFERENCE SECTION AT THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT
GALLERY
With the establishment of the National Portrait Gallery in London in 1856,
the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 1882 and the National Portrait
Gallery, Dublin in 1884 the ideology of the nineteenth century historian and
essayist Thomas Carlyle had been realised. A series of lectures Carlyle gave in
1840 on the theme of the heroic in history seemed to be tailor-made as publicity
material to support the founding of portrait galleries. Read
the article.
THE ALNWICK GARDEN - DESIGNS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
An extraordinary contemporary garden is being created in Alnwick,
Northumberland. Inspired by Jane, Duchess of Northumberland, the innovative
garden designs reflect her fascination with the potential for combining advanced
water and lighting technology with nature to dramatic and artistic effect. Read
the article.
INTRODUCING NEIL BROMLEY
Heraldic artist on the 107th Edition of Burke's Peerage, Baronetage &
Knightage
Neil Bromley studied at Art College for six years, whilst studying he was awarded two bursaries from the Worshipful
Company of Scriveners and
Painters/Stainers.
Read the article
GLORIOUS BEAUTY WITH NEEDLES AND THREADS
By Jan Towers
Needlework is often damned by faint praise as a "craft" rather than an "art" and feminist art historians would suggest the underlying reason for this is the significant, but not exclusive, role of women in its production. However, the definition of an artist as a uniquely creative "genius", usually male and somehow set apart from an artisan or a craftsman, is quite a modern one, dating only from the middle of the 1800s, whereas the production of decorative textiles can be traced to the embroidered burial cloths of the ancient Egyptians or samplers from the
Nazca, pre-Inca culture of Peru.
Read
the article.
|
|
