I gave a talk recently on George Stubbs (1724 – 1806) – known as the 'horse painter' … a man who shunned the conventional way of artistic learning: copying others' works – he taught himself.
|
Whistlejacket (1762) Probably his most famous painting |
He'd have none of it … his drawings, paintings, etchings would be 'all done from Nature'. Starting young, aged 8, he drew bones loaned from a doctor in his home town of Liverpool, unfortunately none survive …
|
Horses coming in, in all directions |
... and that is the (lack of) story of Stubbs' life – he was a loner … silent to the world ... other than the extraordinary artistic works he left us.
|
side view Skeleton of a horse (1766) {Courtesy of Wellcome Cllection} |
Some notes were correlated in the 1800s – which became known as the (Ozias) Humphry (1742-1810)/(Joseph) Mayer(1803-1886) 'essay'.
|
Poor little zebra - her mate died on the journey over; Stubbs painted her in her green setting - not at all usual - but his backgrounds were guessed at ... he never left Europe. (1763) |
He is known today mostly for his incredible horse paintings … yet probably his greatest skill was in the study of anatomy of animals. Two hundred and fifty years later … his horse ones are still considered definitive …
|
Cheetah and Stag with two Indians (1765) It is painted as the Indian way of hunting with cheetah, using a collar and sash to restrain the animal, the hood has been pushed back as she's about to be released. (This was commissioned by Lord Pigot, who had been Governor of Madras) |
Before I go on – a thought … how will future generations think of us: 250 years on (2275 AD or so)??… as we are progressing life, so were our ancestors – many not in a way we approve of today.
|
Two Leopards (c1776) |
The 1700s were when lots of change was happening … scientific, exploration and agricultural revolutions … menageries were held by the wealthy and royals …
|
Rhinoceros (1780 - 91) This was commissioned by Dr John Hunter - the brother of William Hunter both Scottish physicians and anatomists. Poor animal died of injuries inflicted as a result of its predilection for sweet wine - it's hard to be sure!
|
The art work I show here are of his exotics … due to the demand of the wealthy … whereby Stubbs could spend time at menageries to study these creatures … so accurate, even today …
|
Soldiers of the 10th Light Infantry (1793) The King commissioned it. Very stilted - as was the norm in the 1700s |
Then I came across the work being done by Pauleen Bennett an Australian scientist studying anthrozoology at La Trobe University, in Victoria, Australia – a field of study she founded.
|
The human body |
Stubbs at the end of his life was wanting to compare the anatomy of the Human Body ...
|
Common fowl |
... with a common fowl, and a tiger body - sadly they were never finished.
|
Tiger body |
We have moved on … we continue to learn, study, research – yet George Stubbs gave us this amazing record of anatomy … while letting us see his beautiful art works …
|
Self-portrait in 1782 |
I'd love to know what our successors will think about us in 250 years time … and obviously your thoughts on George Stubbs' …
I've included many of his exotics with notes, together with one or two of his anatomical horse engravings ...
Royal Academy of Arts – George Stubbs …
The artsdesk.com – review of exhibition I saw in 2019 in Milton Keynes, UK
Wikipedia's article on Pauleen Bennett - anthrozoologist
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories