Author's program note. One day in 1901 at the beginning of his long-deferred reign, the new and enthusiastic 60-year-old sovereign Edward VII by the Grace of God king, emperor, ruler of plum properties everywhere on Earth, was surveying his picture collection at Buckingham Palace (itself worth a king's ransom) along with Frederick "Fritz" Ponsonby, later Lord Sysonby (1867-1935).
Fritz was one of those most useful of beings; a man who had grown up in a courtly family; his father was Sir Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria's long-time private secretary. He was a courtier to his finger tips, knowing all the ins and outs and where all the bodies were buried. Such a man was expected to be available at the monarch's slightest command, know everything, say nothing... and do it all for a pittance. Oh, yes, such people were useful indeed.
On this particular day, the new king and young Fritz were surveying the picture galleries which still had the dour mark of Queen Victoria on them. This meant the greatest masterpieces of the greatest European masters cheek by jowl, higgledy-piggledy with daubs in water color by minor princesses of minor German states. ("Dear Maria had no talent, poor thing.")
There was no order to it, just one thing on top of another. Edward VII, a man who understood his craft, his metier of kingship, was appalled but not dismayed. He had waited a lifetime for this moment, and he told Ponsonby, standing by with notebook in hand, "I may know nothing about arrrrrrrt," he intoned in his idiosyncratic mixture of English and guttural German. "But I think I know something about arrrrrrangement."
And so he did... in art, in music, in life. Thus, to accompany this article I have selected the "Enigma Variations" by Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934). Find them now in any search engine. They were composed in 1898-1899, just in time for the lush richness of England and her empire at their peak in the reign of a man who knew every nuance of being a king, including which artists should be allowed to paint him and so provide the desired look for all time.
One of the most favored of these artists was Heinrich (later Baron) von Angeli, persona gratissima at all the Courts of Europe, not merely talented, but arguably the best connected painter of his day. How had this happened?
Favored by an unhappy princess.
Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's beautiful and obsessively loved husband, fathered 9 children, of whom two were of major political significance: Princess Victoria, Princess Royal (1840-1901) and Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (1841- 1910). She was married far too young (just 17 years old) to Prince Frederick of Prussia, Crown Prince (1831-1888). It was a love match fervently desired by her parents, who saw thereby a means to expedite German unification and hence create a liberal, progressive nation under a constitutional monarchy, a highly desirable solution to the thorny "German problem" to the benefit of all Europe.
It was, on paper, a brilliant plan... except for one thing: neither Fritz's father, King (later Emperor) William of Prussia (1797-1888) or his chief henchman Otto (later Prince) von Bismarck (1815-1898) wanted what those meddling Englanders wanted... quite the reverse, "blood and iron" being more their cup of tea. And so young, idealistic, home-sick Princess Victoria, now Crown Princess of Prussia, went to her fate... to be ridiculed, derided, humiliated and isolated by Bismarck, past master in the art of exquisite torments.
She became the most unhappy princess on Earth, for all that she had the man of her dreams as her wedded husband. She needed a friend and here at least the fates were kind, for she got as her painting tutor just the right man, Heinrich von Angeli. His visits lessoned the burdens of her royal life. He made her smile and this skill, linked to undeniable talent, made von Angeli and his meteoric career.
Mirror, not just painter.
He saw the princes of Europe as they wanted to be seen, picturing them as larger than life, bold, audacious, people of vision and destiny. And on this basis he networked his way through the interconnected dynasties which constituted the acme of Europe in this last, greatest age of monarchy.
Paint box in hand, he trod the corridors of undeniable power, great pictures always the result of his visits... pictures of his loyal patron the Crown Princess of Prussia, her husband the Crown Prince.... Queen Victoria (to whom in 1877 he presented his own most attractive self portrait)... Austrian Emperor Franz Josef... and, of course, Prince Edward, The Prince of Wales. It is the study for this magnificent portrait of 1890 that you see above, the dirty, distressed, undistinguished "before" image... and then, as if painted today, the splendid "after", a prince indeed.
For if von Angeli had been fortunate in his patron, so, too, both he and his image of the man who became Edward VII were equally fortunate in the conservator who brought this woebegone picture back from the brink, saving it for grateful generations yet to come. This gifted conservator is Simon Gillespie of Cleveland Street, London, an expert adept at saving portraits of royalty... and every other kind of person or scene. I know. He has worked his undeniable magic on over three dozen such pictures for me, this being the latest.
"Kaiserhaus und Historika" sale, Dorotheum, Lot 260, 8 May, 2012.
This picture was placed for auction at the very end of a long day when I had had almost no luck, until I acquired Lot 256, a superb signed photograph of the Prince of Wales' brother-in-law, Emperor Frederick III photographed as Crown Prince of Germany. I owed its "steal" price to the fact that the auction was nearly over, most folks already gone. My spirits upbeat from this pip of an acquisition, I awaited the signed and 1890 dated portrait of Edward of Wales with equanimity. In the event, its unappealing condition linked to a much diminished audience carried the day. It was mine, and at a very attractive price. All it needed now was Simon Gillespie.
Simon's review.
Simon's work demands utter and complete honesty and integrity. This is essential, and here with this distressed artifact he gave full measure. Upon delivery from Vienna, he emailed a full report of its disfigurements and discolorations. Most of the background, which is now a light gray and for its time a modern conceit, had been glazed over with a brown paint. Further to this, the last treatment it had received had included painting out broad brush strokes around the head in an attempt to "tidy up" and make presentable the regal image.
Gillespie never commits such solecisms... for his credo is to return venerable objects to their pristine state... conserving, not inventing. He is the painter's latter-day incarnation, as true to the painter's original intention as possible... and his intentions in this work were clear: to make an energetic sketch, to render the bravura techniques and prowess of his middle age, to capture the good personality of the sitter. The artist succeeded in his objective because Simon Gillespie, master, succeeded in his.
There is only one question left. Did this splendid study lead to one of Angeli's royal masterpieces? It constitutes the perfect query for my older age. Therefore I am not chagrined to have found no answer yet. For now it is enough that this engaging sketch has survived and faces its future with a mixture of royal pride and affability, the attributes of the sitter, captured by von Angeli, saved by Gillespie and now, chez moi, an object of grandeur and appeal, truly fit for a king, perfectly positioned for maximum effect... for I know something about arrrrrrangement, too.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Services include home business training, affiliate marketing training, earn-at-home programs, traffic tools, advertising, webcasting, hosting, design, WordPress Blogs and more. Find out why Worldprofit is considered the # 1 online Home Business Training program by getting a free Associate Membership today. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol http://WorkingAtHome101.com
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