Here's a character study by Richard Caton Woodville (1825-1855).
Politics in an Oyster House (1848) by Richard Caton Woodville
According to American Antiquarian:
"Two men sit across the table from each other in an oyster house, an establishment used commonly as a meeting spot and watering hole. The younger man, dressed all in black and wearing his top hat indoors, is leaning across the table toward his middle-aged companion, arguing some political point. He tightly clutches a newspaper, suggesting that something he has read has instigated the argument. The older man looks out at the viewer, rather than at his young, fiery companion, with a slightly bemused look, perhaps implying that the situation is a familiar one and that he has heard—and probably disagreed with—all of the younger man’s points before. Though we have no way of knowing what the argument is about, the image captures a scenario typical at the time, in which a political argument, instigated or fueled by the latest news, takes place in a public meeting space."
The painting became a popular print and was well received by critics of the day. Woodville only produced about 20 paintings. He died at age 30 from an overdose of morphine.
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4 comments:
This painting could be called, "Me and My Dad." Haha
Too young to die...
I wonder whether Norman Rockwell had ever seen these paintings, with their story and wry humor and precision workmanship. They seem similar to me. Notice the elderly, underfed dog in the old veteran's home. I also noticed the Black people in most of the paintings. These are pre-Civil War - are those folks enslaved?
Pyracantha, I've also wondered if Rockwell saw the work of such genre painters. It was harder to find their work in print in his day, so not as easy to find it. The art books in Rockwell's studio were mostly familiar old masters like Michelangelo and Velazquez. But NR was involved with a lot of groups of illustrators and painters, and would have soaked up anything like a sponge.
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