Margaret ('Peg') Woffington, Actress
Oil Painting
ca. 1738 (made)
ca. 1738 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Although this is technically a portrait, the image of a young woman at a window with a pet bird in a cage was a frequently employed motif in popular paintings and prints of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Sometimes the women depicted were actresses or courtesans.
People
Margaret Woffington, (1718-1760), popularly known as `Peg', and the most famous actress of her day, enjoyed a lively and unconventional life. Various artists painted her, and this is almost certainly a portrait of her, although many pictures of attractive young women of that period are wrongly thought to be of her. This portrait is not signed, but the delicate treatment of the flesh tones and the sensitive rendering of the costume justify the attribution to Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684-1745). He was so successful as a portrait painter, by 1738 he had to give five sittings a day at his studio in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, and prospective sitters were forced to apply six weeks in advance.
Although this is technically a portrait, the image of a young woman at a window with a pet bird in a cage was a frequently employed motif in popular paintings and prints of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Sometimes the women depicted were actresses or courtesans.
People
Margaret Woffington, (1718-1760), popularly known as `Peg', and the most famous actress of her day, enjoyed a lively and unconventional life. Various artists painted her, and this is almost certainly a portrait of her, although many pictures of attractive young women of that period are wrongly thought to be of her. This portrait is not signed, but the delicate treatment of the flesh tones and the sensitive rendering of the costume justify the attribution to Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684-1745). He was so successful as a portrait painter, by 1738 he had to give five sittings a day at his studio in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, and prospective sitters were forced to apply six weeks in advance.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Title | Margaret ('Peg') Woffington, Actress |
| Materials and techniques | oil on canvas |
| Brief description | Oil painting, 'Margaret (Peg) Woffington', attributed to Jean-Baptiste van Loo, ca. 1738 |
| Physical description | Oil painting |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
This portrait shows the popular actress Peg Woffington wearing lace from Flanders (now Belgium) in a Rococo design. It was possibly painted by Jean-Baptiste van Loo, a French painter, who came to London in 1737. The painting has a splendid scrolled Rococo frame of a slightly later date.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
| Object history | Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type Although this is technically a portrait, the image of a young woman at a window with a pet bird in a cage was a frequently employed motif in popular paintings and prints of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Sometimes the women depicted were actresses or courtesans. People Margaret Woffington, (1718-1760), popularly known as `Peg', and the most famous actress of her day, enjoyed a lively and unconventional life. Various artists painted her, and this is almost certainly a portrait of her, although many pictures of attractive young women of that period are wrongly thought to be of her. This portrait is not signed, but the delicate treatment of the flesh tones and the sensitive rendering of the costume justify the attribution to Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684-1745). He was so successful as a portrait painter, by 1738 he had to give five sittings a day at his studio in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, and prospective sitters were forced to apply six weeks in advance. |
| Bibliographic reference | Ashton, Geoffrey. Catalogue of Paintings at the Theatre Museum, London. ed. James Fowler, London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 224p. ill. ISBN 1851771026 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 601-1882 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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