The family is depicted in the morning or breakfast room at their beautiful country house, Compton Verney in Warwickshire, which Lord Willoughby was then remodeling according to plans submitted by the prominent Scottish neoclassical architect, Robert Adam.Įvery detail in this apparently informal composition is carefully rendered: Lady Louisa’s shimmering, light-blue gown, the landscape painting with its rich gilded frame above the elegant fireplace mantel, the fine China porcelain tea service, and the reflections on the highly polished silver urn (which remains in the possession of the descendants of the family today).Ĭhinese porcelain and tea-drinking were the rage of European elites when Zoffany was painting this portrait, and by about 1750 tea had become the British national drink. Since 1763 John Peyto-Verney had enjoyed the position of Lord of His Majesty’s Bedchamber and the commission of the painting could well have been inspired by the recent conversation pieces that Zoffany had executed for King George III and Queen Charlotte. Lord Willoughby is an attentive and affectionate father, but he is also at the summit of a triangular composition, expressive of his role as head of the family. The painting is permeated by a playful mood and there is a clear emphasis on openly displayed affect. The two boys wear gowns, as it was customary in Europe until an age that varied between two and eight. The younger son, George, on the other side, tries to take a piece of buttered bread from the table while receiving an admonishing gesture from his father. Lady Louisa is seated, holding her daughter, Louisa, who stands on the table attempting a first step, but her attention is attracted by their eldest son, John, who enters from the right pulling a bright red wooden horse on wheels. They appear about to take tea with their three young children. We see John Peyto-Verney, 14th Lord Willoughby de Broke, in a brown frock suit and red waistcoat trimmed with gold, and his wife, Lady Louisa North. Only an ancient, titled family of the British ruling class would adopt the deliberate casualness of the olive-drab walls and worn carpet. In this painting, a wealthy family is on view in a sparse room that reveals something about the family’s social position. In these pictures, particular care is devoted to a meticulous rendering of furniture, decor, clothing, and other accessories, all elements that became important indicators of social status, wealth, culture and “good taste.” He has been sometimes labeled as the inventor of this new genre, an informal group portrait, showing people-often families, sometimes groups of friends-in domestic interiors or garden settings, which became very popular at the time. In 1760 he moved to London, where he enjoyed the patronage of the royal family and became famous for his fashionable portraits and “conversation pieces.” One of my favorite paintings at the Getty Museum in this respect is the portrait of John, 14th Lord Willoughby de Broke, and His Family, painted in about 1766 by Johann Zoffany.īorn in 1733 in Frankfurt, Zoffany studied in Germany and completed his apprenticeship in Italy. It also signaled the growth of global trade and the development of new trends coming from distant cultures. It was the time when drinking tea became an essential component of the European, and especially British, way of life. There is something very appealing in the informality and domesticity of these pictures that make you think about how life was lived and what people used to do at home. I chose two examples from the 18th century, a period when the depiction of contemporary interior spaces and objects from daily life had become widespread, revealing precious details about decoration and furnishing taste. As someone passionate about paintings, I have been reflecting on the many different ways in which interior spaces and everyday occupations were represented in the history of European art. While most of us aren’t being served tea in 18th-century country houses, in these unprecedented times we might be rethinking our relationships with our own interior spaces.
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