From the life: the art of Francis Barlow (c.1626-1704)

Thesis

Francis Barlow (c.1626-1704) was one of the most prolific picture makers to work in England during the second half of the seventeenth century. Surprisingly, there has not been an account of his life and works in almost forty years, and even then Barlow was presented rather narrowly as the 'first master of English book illustration' (Hodnett, 1978). Barlow is now chiefly remembered for his illustrated Aesop's Fables (1666), but he has also gained attention as a satirist, and as a sporting artist. This dissertation attempts to piece together the many facets of wide-ranging oeuvre. Following the introduction, which reveals new information about his life, Barlow's works are investigated in eight chapters, arranged according to the heuristic categories of natural history; religion and politics; and hunting and travel. As the chapters proceed, the interconnectedness of Barlow's works is revealed, as is the lack of distinction between the aspects of seventeenth-century society and culture, which they reflect.

The dissertation mainly recovers Barlow as a painter. It is argued that Barlow has been forgotten as a painter due to a strong connoisseurial tradition in the history of British art, which has tended to underrate his painting. No less than forty-three paintings are interpreted and placed into a chronology. Striving to understand them in a seventeenth-century context reveals Barlow's craft, his relationships with a wide range of patrons, and the nature of his place in the London community. Extrapolating from what we know about Barlow’s activities as a graphic satirist, the politick of his patrons, and the 'internal' evidence of the narratives of his paintings, this study demonstrates how, at least for Barlow, painting was not merely decorative.

Authors: Flis, NJB

• Publication date: 2012
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-w46p4dxkd
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: etching; painting; Francis Barlow; political satire; birds; allegory; drawing; Aesop's Fables