The cheeky art critic column
By Owen Hebbert, Contributor
To be perfectly honest, if I was attempting to present the stunning talent of this woman, this is one of the last paintings I would choose as it does a far better job of showcasing her love for her husband than her competence as a painter.
As someone who often sees paintings and thinks âheh, thatâs funnyâ and then researches them as much as possible, I would like to share a particularly bitter truth of my trade: the more you know about a painting, the less funny it seems. Sadly, this is also true of dictators, sexual reproduction and the lemur. I will illustrate the point by discussing this portrait by Pre-Raphaelite Evelyn de Morgan of her husband, William.
My first impression upon seeing this image was âAha! De Morgan has painted her husband clutching the urn she has promised heâll wind up in if he ever again uses the phrase âprobably good enoughâ to describe one of her paintings.â
And that struck me as funny because I am what I am.
What possible reason would there be for a man to be illustrated clutching an urnâeven if it is, confusingly, referred to as a âvase.â Apparently, people in Victorian England had a different approach to displaying flowers which seemingly involved a little round lid.
Well, perhaps if I knew the first thing about the history of pottery, I would understand that William de Morgan played a not insignificant role during the Arts and Crafts Movement in England by reviving the art (and craft) of âlustrewareââa practice whereby a crockery objet dâart is finished with a metallic, iridescent glaze. It seems that Mr. De Morgan was really good at this. He was also really good at writing and Mrs. De Morgan has, kindly, placed several of her husbandâs better-known novels on the bookshelf behind him. Itâs worth noting that it wasnât until he started writing that she finally got to stop subsidizing his art (and craft) with the income she generated by painting. This just goes to show that taking a pottery class doesnât make you ready to quit your day job, Alex.
Even though he is the subject of the work, I should be loath to discuss the artistâs husband more than the artist herself. I should also be loath to meet anyone who uses the word âloath.â Donât even think about it; I know that Iâm doing it, but Iâm a terrible ass. Evelyn de Morganâoriginally Mary Evelyn, but went about without the Mary after a while because she thought that it would fool people into thinking her a man… named Evelynâwas a pioneer whose entrance into the almost exclusively masculine world of professional art was only made possible by her remarkable ability and tireless work ethic. To be perfectly honest, if I was attempting to present the stunning talent of this woman, this is one of the last paintings I would choose as it does a far better job of showcasing her love for her husband than her competence as a painter.
I trust you see my point now. I think it is pretty clear that the snarky, cheeky attitude with which I originally approached this work has been overtaken and boarded by piratical sentiments of admiration, curiosity and respect. What a woman! What a man! What a marriage! What a vase!
The price of this change of heart? Humour. Thatâs the price. I am so terribly sorry.
