Why de Grange's painting is called strange: "The Saltonstall Family"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

This curious painting by David de Grange draws inspiration from the history of 17th century dynastic tombs, in which the living and the dead merged together. The Saltonstall Family depicts Sir Richard Saltonstall and his two children at the bedside with his late wife. Who is the second woman in the picture with the child? And why is the canvas considered mystical?

About the artist

The authorship is traditionally attributed to David de Grange, who is known as a miniature portrait painter and printmaker. De Grange came from an immigrant family from Guernsey and was baptized in 1611 at the French Church in London. He later became a Catholic. During the Civil War in England and the subsequent Commonwealth period (1642-60), de Grange sided with the royalists (monarchists) and created many miniatures for King Charles II. His father came from Guernsey and settled in central London in the Blackfriars area. David was baptized in London on May 24, 1611 in the French Huguenot Church. He later became a Catholic. The first known works of de Grange are two engravings from 1627 and 1634.

In 1636, the artist married Judith Hoskins, niece of John Hoskins and Samuel Cooper, both miniaturists. It is likely that this relationship helped de Grange become a miniaturist. Many works have survived, signed with de Grange's initials "DDG", dating back to 1639. One large-scale painting is the famous group portrait of the Saltonstall family, now in the Tate Gallery.

"The Saltonstall family": plot

The Saltonstall Family belongs to the collection of the Earl of Guildford, which was sold to Roxton Abbey on May 22-24, 1933. It was lot # 718, and the painting was then called The Saltonstall Family. The painting is believed to depict Sir Richard Saltonstall with his family from Chipping Warden, Oxfordshire. He was widowed in 1630. Based on this, the pale figure in bed, according to art historians, is considered a posthumous image of his first wife, Elizabeth Bass. The couple's children, Richard and Ann, are also depicted here.

3 years after the death of his first wife, Sir Richard remarried a lady named Mary Parker (a richly dressed woman sitting on the right with a child in her arms). By the way, Parker's facial features are very similar to the appearance of Bass. A noticeable difference is the shade of the face (the first heroine has a ruddy healthy face, and the second is deathly pale). A child swaddled in a luxurious red blanket in the arms of Mary Parker - her son with Richard (either John (born in 1634, but died in his youth), or Philip (born in 1636)).

Symbolism and mystery

In the same 1636, Sir Richard Saltonstall ordered a portrait from David de Grange with his family and … his deceased wife. In modern realities, such a plot will seem mystical and even scary. And then this "wonderful" family portrait becomes a whole puzzle for the audience. But the answer to the rebus lies in ancient traditions. It is possible that the artist drew inspiration from the elaborate dynastic monuments of the 16th and 17th centuries, where the living and the dead were one. In the hand of the customer of the painting, the viewer sees a glove, which he holds out to his deceased wife. This can be assessed as an honor and gratitude to Sir Richard, which he expresses to his late wife.

Composition

The painting has a horizontal composition and is poorly lit. The light is artificially created by the artist in order to focus the audience's attention on the faces and the scarf (these are the parts that are highlighted by the light). The viewer probably drew attention to the chain of affection and family ties: children hold hands, the eldest son holds the hand of his father, and he points with his left hand to the deceased wife. Yes, the boy is wearing a girl's dress, which is the norm in the mid-17th century. Boys began to wear trousers only at the age of 6-7.

Red draperies on a canopy around a large bed, a red chair with gold ornaments, richly decorated walls, lace bedding, an oriental carpet on the floor - all this is a sign of luxury and high status of the heroes. The décor also gives this grand dynastic look a festive rather than a gloomy look (given the plot). Thus, de Grange's painting is both a masterful embodiment of a group portrait, and also a canvas based on ancient funerary traditions and the memory of the family.