055

  • Allegorical Figure of Painting

  • ca. 1768-1785
  • Gavin Hamilton (Scottish/British 1723-1798)
  • Pastel
  • 102.4 x 74.1 cm., 40-1/4 x 29-1/4"
  • Catherine Carter Goebel, Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts Purchase, Paul A. Anderson Art History Collection, Augustana College 2000.67

Essay by Chris Johnson, Class of 2007

The Allegorical Figure of Painting, a large pastel by Scottish artist Gavin Hamilton, appeared at the dawn of the Neoclassical period. Hamilton was a key figure in both founding and defining this important movement in art history and was celebrated as a major European tastemaker of the time. Through his passion for the study and collecting of Classical antiquities, he advanced a revival of the characteristics of ancient art which appropriately helped generate Neoclassicism. Spurred on by the rediscovery of the lost Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum (buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE), Neoclassicists rejected the previous feminine, decadent Rococo style in favor of a return to ancient Greco-Roman ideals, which they perceived as demonstrating such noble attributes as honor, loyalty and intelligence.

Hamilton's Allegorical Figure of Painting, represents the discipline of painting, symbolized by the painter's palette and brushes that have been cropped off from view. She is looking at a canvas covered with a preliminary sketch of figures that she will presumably finish in oil. This pastel is packed with classical references and represents many ideals of Neoclassical art, such as the use of the ideal figure of a woman with a calm, rather expressionless demeanor. This work helps to create a peaceful, serene image to represent the art of painting. Both her demeanor and her clothing are typical of Neoclassicism. The adornments in the woman's hair and her classic Greek profile further reinforce the classical basis for the depiction. The woman also stands in a typical classical contrapposto position with her hip jutting forward and her arm propped against her side. This is a natural stance, based on Classical sculpture, which illustrates an even, natural weight distribution in the figure. The contrapposto pose as well as proper anatomical proportion reflect the artist's clear understanding of the form of the human body, fundamental in classical portrayals of figures.