Picturing the Pacific by James Taylor;

Author:James Taylor;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472955449
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Landing at Erramanga [Eromanga], one of the New Hebrides, painted c.1776 by William Hodges (1744–97), oil on panel. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. BHC1903. Classical references are evident in the postures of some of the New Hebrideans including the standing foreground figure.

The original oil painting by Hodges caught the attention of the reviewer of The General Advertiser and Morning Intelligence of 2 May 1778, who declared: ‘The design of this piece is very faulty’, and that: ‘A confusion in the grouping produces a most disagreeable effect. The subject, indeed is most difficult to trust; it requires the greatest art to combine the characters so as to preserve the unity of the whole. Confusion in the figures ought to be expressed without confusion in the picture; as a writer ought to treat his subject clearly.’

Sherwin is partly responsible for imbuing Hodges’ artwork with a neoclassical feel. The engraving shows several figures – for instance, the man standing holding an axe in the right foreground – that have now been transformed into classical sculpture through clearly defined lines and refined poses. However, the existence of a drawing of this subject by Giovanni Battista Cipriani throws open another explanation as to the neoclassical presence in this picture.

Joppien and Smith in The Art of Captain Cook’s Voyages, Vol. 1 (1985), considered that Ciprani’s Drawing for the Landing at Erramanga executed in pencil, pen and wash, is related to the development of the engraved illustration. Cipriani developed his neoclassical design from an original artwork by Hodges’ painting that was then engraved by Sherwin.

Sherwin’s artistic training and social connections determined that his professional focus was often directed to the old masters and inspired by classical art. He studied under Francesco Bartolozzi, the lifelong friend and frequent collaborator of Cipriani, and at the Royal Academy Schools. After the death of William Woollett he succeeded him as engraver to King George III, and was also appointed engraver to the Prince of Wales. He was closely associated with members of the Society of Dilettanti. However, perhaps his most popular portrait engraving today is of Captain James Cook after Nathaniel Dance-Holland’s oil painting that was published in 1784 by R. Wilkinson. It was engraved in a matter-of-fact style devoid of neoclassical embellishments. Reputedly Sherwin had an annual income of £12,000, most of which was dissipated on reckless gambling, and he died in a London alehouse aged 39.

Many of Hodges’ illustrations of landscapes and portraits featured in the official voyage publication are inscribed ‘Drawn from Nature by W Hodges’, while a lesser number state ‘Painted by W Hodges’. The latter inscription appears to convey to the reader/viewer that the composition lacked the ‘authenticity’ of those ‘Drawn from Nature’ and would therefore contain an interpretation of an event or view with some flights of artistic fancy. It is likely that Hodges – encouraged by Lord Sandwich, Lord Palmerston, James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and Banks – was trying to satisfy two audiences: one that demanded accuracy of observation in his voyager art and another with shared interests to the Society of Dilettanti.

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