Memory and mourning: posthumous portraiture in Britain from the mid-eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries

Thesis

This thesis focuses on posthumous portraiture produced in the years between 1760 and 1834 in Britain. It examines the strategies used by artists and their patrons to portray the dead during a period known as the ‘Age of Sensibility’ in which the expression of emotion gained heightened prominence.

Beginning at the time of George III’s ascension to the throne, soon before the foundation of the Royal Academy, and ending in the year when Henry Fox Talbot created the first reasonably lightfast photographs, this period saw major developments in the art world including the rise of portraiture as the most popular genre of art. This period also witnessed the emergence of a culture of sensibility that promoted the outward expression of virtuous feeling. It is within this context that artists and their patrons sought new ways of commemorating the dead through portraiture that would allow the bereaved to express their grief, maintain the presence of a lost loved one, and seek comfort in an image of the departed.

This thesis considers a range of different portrait types in order to highlight the various ways in which posthumous portraits were commissioned, designed, displayed and used, and how they responded to the specific needs of the living. Rather than looking at these portraits in isolation, I show how it is essential to consider them within the broader artistic, religious and socio-cultural context, in order to adequately assess their place within mourning practices.

The range of portrait types under discussion in this thesis requires differing modes of analysis and, where appropriate, different but interconnected methodologies. Whilst this thesis is historically grounded, I draw upon anthropological and theoretical approaches in my interpretation of works of arts, in order to thoroughly examine the use, function and value of posthumous portraiture during this period.

Authors: Knight, E

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-bmw8dbzrb
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: eighteenth century; portraiture; posthumous portraiture; commemoration; miniatures; death; remembrance; memory; British art; nineteenth century; mourning; death mask
• Subjects: Portraits; Death; Memorials; Arts and history; Death mask