Oil Sketch - 'Charles II Giving Audience at Christ's Hospital', Antonio Verrio, ca. 1680

On the left hand-side King Charles II sits on a throne among masters, governors and children and is shown a large drawing on the right.

Purchased, 1956
Commissioned by Charles II for a larger painting at Christ's Hospital

Historical significance: This painting is a preparatory sketch for a larger painting commissioned by Charles II to Antonio Verrio. This kind of work is commonly known as modello, i.e. a reduced-scale detailed preparatory drawing or painting that shows how the final composition would look like. The present sketch presents Charles II (1630-1685) with the governors, masters and children of Christ's Hospital, a London charity school. The final composition was never completed as the King died suddenly and the final version (still in situ) shows his successor James II promoting the art of mathematics among an audience of eager pupils. These two compositions reflect the same idea of propaganda piece showing the King as a Father, Benefactor and Educator of his subjects.
The asymmetrical composition and the lively gesture of the figures are typical of Verrio’s manner. He specialised in providing his designs with a theatrical grandeur that helped to establish the vogue for Baroque decoration in England. The palette dominated by strong hues of red and reddish brown enlightened by touches of pure white are reminiscent of the art of Rubens (1577-1640) and Van Dyck (1599-1641), still en vogue in England when Verrio came to London in 1671. His figures are often of beautiful quality, influenced by Neapolitan and French painting, which he knew before even travelling there thanks to Giovanni Andrea Coppola (1597-1659) with whom he collaborated in Lecce. The dramatic gestures and rich colours are typical of his larger-scale work in the palace rooms of Windsor Castle, painted between 1675 and 1684, which helps to date the present painting in the 1680s.

History painting, i.e. depictions of non recurring events based on religious, classical, literary or allegorical sources, particularly developed in Italy during the Renaissance (15th-16th centuries). History painting could include religious themes, or depictions of momentous recent events, but the term was most frequently associated with Classical subject-matter. However a renewed impetus was given to religious subjects after the Council of Trent (1545-63), which stipulated new iconographical programmes. The development of art treatises, in which the compositional rules guiding the art of painting were discussed also notably, influenced the evolution of history painting. From around 1600 history painting's principal rivals: still-life, landscape and genre painting began to emerge as independent collectable genres. Furthermore, the Rococo taste for the ornamental in the early 18th century prioritised the decorative quality of history painting, so that subject matters became more entertaining than exemplary. There was a renewed interest in history painting during the Neo-Classical period after which the taste for such pictures faded towards the end of the 19th century when an innovative approach to the image was led by the Symbolists and was developed further by subsequent schools in the early 20th century.

Commissioned by Charles II for a larger painting at Christ's Hospital

Antonio Verrio (ca. 1639-1707) was born in Lecce, South Italy and trained either in Lecce or Naples. He travelled through Italy and France where he settled for a while in Toulouse. He then went to London where his main commissions were the decoration of the state rooms at Windsor Castle (1675-ca.1684) and the new state apartments at Hampton Court Palace (1700-02).

This painting is a preparatory work for a larger picture which main theme was the glorification of Charles II (1630-1685). It shows the King with the governors, masters and children of Christ's Hospital, a London charity school. This painting probably dates from the 1680s when Verrio was decorating the state rooms at Windsor Castle.

P.2-1956