MATTHEW WILLIAM PETERS RA (1742 - 1814) A Woman in Bed (Lydi...
Hammer
€7,500
MATTHEW WILLIAM PETERS RA (1742 - 1814) A Woman in Bed (Lydia) Oil on canvas 35.5 x 40cm (14 x 15) Provenance: Private collection Paris The present work, which exists in several versions including one in Tate Britain, relates to Peters' 1777 Royal Academy exhibit, the titillating 'A Woman in Bed.' The work was painted for Lord Grosvenor, and draws on the example of Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) whose art Peters had studied in Paris. A review noted the problematic dynamics involved in the display of such an overtly erotic work to the mixed audience at the Royal Academy rather than in the libertine circle of Lord Grosvenor, who kept Peters' painting behind a curtain to heighten the voyeuristic effect as it was unveiled. The subject’s leer, the reviewer wrote, and ‘her still more inviting bosom…prevent the pictures around them from being so much seen and admired as their merits demand, for every man who has either his wife or daughter with him must, for decency sake, hurry them away from that corner of the room’. After a period in Dr Sheridan’s School, in Dublin, Peters embarked on his artistic career, studying under Robert West, whom he portrayed in a fine charcoal double portrait showing the master painting his pupil (1758, National Portrait Gallery, London). Having won a series of prizes at the Schools, and after a period working under Thomas Hudson (1701-79) in London, Peters was dispatched to Italy by the Dublin Society to complete his studies. In Rome, he studied at the Accademia del Nudo and at Pompeo Batoni’s private academy. He moved to Florence in 1763 where he copied Masaccio’s frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel and – with more lasting effect on his art – Titian’s Venus d’Urbino, one of the jewels of the grand ducal collection on display in the Tribuna of the Uffizi. In September of that year Peters was elected to the Florentine Accademia del Disegno. Peters returned briefly to Dublin in 1765, or early the following the year, but, despite flattering press coverage in the Freeman’s Journal, he soon sought the larger stage of London. He exhibited at the Society of Artists in London until 1769, when he showed both with the Society and the newly formed Royal Academy, thereafter transferring allegiance to the latter body. For this, in 1771, he was rewarded with associate status with full membership following – after another sojourn in Italy – in 1777. Despite his success in the metropolis, Peters did not entirely forget Dublin but sent work back to the Society of Artists’ shows on two occasions, in 1768 and 1777.
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Good overall condition Re-lined canvas (in the last 10 years probably) Early stages of lifting of paint surface to bottom right hand corner - see photos Spots of overpainting mostly around the shoulder area Frame is good Painting has come from a private Irish client who acquired the from a private collection in Paris - nothing further of note beyond that See additional images
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Hammer
€7,500
MATTHEW WILLIAM PETERS RA (1742 - 1814) A Woman in Bed (Lydia) Oil on canvas 35.5 x 40cm (14 x 15) Provenance: Private collection Paris The present work, which exists in several versions including one in Tate Britain, relates to Peters' 1777 Royal Academy exhibit, the titillating 'A Woman in Bed.' The work was painted for Lord Grosvenor, and draws on the example of Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) whose art Peters had studied in Paris. A review noted the problematic dynamics involved in the display of such an overtly erotic work to the mixed audience at the Royal Academy rather than in the libertine circle of Lord Grosvenor, who kept Peters' painting behind a curtain to heighten the voyeuristic effect as it was unveiled. The subject’s leer, the reviewer wrote, and ‘her still more inviting bosom…prevent the pictures around them from being so much seen and admired as their merits demand, for every man who has either his wife or daughter with him must, for decency sake, hurry them away from that corner of the room’. After a period in Dr Sheridan’s School, in Dublin, Peters embarked on his artistic career, studying under Robert West, whom he portrayed in a fine charcoal double portrait showing the master painting his pupil (1758, National Portrait Gallery, London). Having won a series of prizes at the Schools, and after a period working under Thomas Hudson (1701-79) in London, Peters was dispatched to Italy by the Dublin Society to complete his studies. In Rome, he studied at the Accademia del Nudo and at Pompeo Batoni’s private academy. He moved to Florence in 1763 where he copied Masaccio’s frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel and – with more lasting effect on his art – Titian’s Venus d’Urbino, one of the jewels of the grand ducal collection on display in the Tribuna of the Uffizi. In September of that year Peters was elected to the Florentine Accademia del Disegno. Peters returned briefly to Dublin in 1765, or early the following the year, but, despite flattering press coverage in the Freeman’s Journal, he soon sought the larger stage of London. He exhibited at the Society of Artists in London until 1769, when he showed both with the Society and the newly formed Royal Academy, thereafter transferring allegiance to the latter body. For this, in 1771, he was rewarded with associate status with full membership following – after another sojourn in Italy – in 1777. Despite his success in the metropolis, Peters did not entirely forget Dublin but sent work back to the Society of Artists’ shows on two occasions, in 1768 and 1777.
More Information
Good overall condition Re-lined canvas (in the last 10 years probably) Early stages of lifting of paint surface to bottom right hand corner - see photos Spots of overpainting mostly around the shoulder area Frame is good Painting has come from a private Irish client who acquired the from a private collection in Paris - nothing further of note beyond that See additional images
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Time, Location
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