Offered by Galerie de Frise
REQUEST INFORMATION
Henry SINGLETON
(London 1766 - London 1839)
The Elegant Woman's Exit
Oil on canvas
H. 35.5 cm; W. 30 cm
Singleton, the quintessential London painter, devoted his career to painting scenes with a strong emphasis on figures.
Singleton was born in London in 1766, into a family of artists. He was raised by his uncle, himself a pupil of Ozias Humphrey, and was already working as a professional artist by the age of 16. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1783 and exhibited at the Royal Academy from the following year until his death.
In 1793, Singleton received a major commission to paint a large portrait of the Royal Academicians in General Assembly (1795), showing all these learned men in the Council Chamber of Somerset House. Charles Bestland, an engraver and dealer who published an engraving of this image, probably commissioned the work. Despite this important work, Singleton never became an Academician himself. His candidacy was rejected twice, in 1807 and 1811.
Singleton first made a name for himself as a history painter. He never realized his potential in this genre, but remained popular throughout his life, notably as a portraitist, devoting his career to painting scenes in which figures have pride of place. He lived comfortably in London and died at a friend's home in 1839.
Our scene, whose subject is not perfectly identified, is one of a series of works in the same format executed at the very end of the 18th century. Measuring 35.5 cm high by 30 cm wide, these are always small scenes with two or three central figures, usually accompanied by a rosy-cheeked child. Scenes range from Marchand de rubans to Bal à la campagne to La visite du berger. All these works blend the different strata of society.
Our work shows an elegant woman being led by a child holding a torch. The child guides her towards a carriage, whose door is open on the right. An elegant man from behind, wearing a long black coat trimmed with white fur and wearing a hat, seems to stop the young woman, holding her basket and her arm. Is he offering her a lift home? No one knows. Nevertheless, it's safe to assume that we're at a theater or opera outing, certainly in London if the protagonists' outfits are anything to go by. Is this a scene from literature?
