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A conversation piece refers to a group
portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...
in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other.Conversatiestuk
at the
Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...
The persons depicted may be members of a family as well as friends, members of a society or hunt, or some other grouping who are shown sharing common activities such as hunts, meals, or musical parties.British Conversation Pieces and Portraits of the 1700s
at The National Gallery. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
It was an especially popular genre in 18th-century England, beginning from the 1720s, largely due to the influence of
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
. Similar paintings can also be found in other periods and outside of England.D'Oench, Ellen G. "Conversation piece"
Grove Art Online. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
The setting of various figures "conversing" in an intimate setting appears to call for small-scale paintings, but some artists treated this subject manner in the Grand Manner, with almost life-size figures.


Term and origins

The term derives from the Latin word 'conversatio' and was related to the French 'conversation', the Italian 'conversazione' and the Flemish/Dutch 'conversatie'. In the 17th century Habsburg Netherlands 'conversatie' described paintings of informal groups.Chin-Jung Chen, 'From genre to portrait: The etymology of the 'conversation piece' ', The British Art Journal Vol. 13, No. 2 (Autumn 2012), pp. 82-85 In 1629 Rubens referred to a group of women as a 'conversatie van jouffrouwen' ('conversation of ladies', also known as ''conversatie à la mode'' and ''The Garden of Love'' (Prado)). In 1670s Antwerp the low-life genre scenes of Adriaen Brouwer and Joos van Craesbeeck as well as the more elegant dance and social gatherings by Hieronymus Janssens and Christoffel Jacobsz van der Laemen were referred to as 'conversaties' and 'conversations'. In England the term 'conversation' or 'conversation piece' was first used at the end of the 17th century to describe unpretentious narrative or anecdotal pictures in the Flemish/Dutch style. Somewhat later it was also used for
Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised 10 October 1684died 18 July 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French Painting, painter and Drawing, draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour ...
's ''fêtes galantes''. Only in 1730 it was used in England for the type of small-scale intimate portrait paintings painted by British painters such as Gawen Hamilton. The conversation piece's primary characteristic of representing a private interaction were already present in 15th-century paintings such as
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( ; ; – 9 July 1441) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Nort ...
's ''
Arnolfini Portrait ''The Arnolfini Portrait'' (or ''The Arnolfini Wedding'', ''The Arnolfini Marriage'', the ''Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife'', or other titles) is an oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, dated 14 ...
'' (1434) and
Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...
's ''Lodovico Gonzaga with his Family'' (1471). The genre developed from 17th century portraiture in the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. The compositions of merrymaking companies (''vrolijk gezelschap'') and garden parties (''buitenpartij'') painted by artists such as Dirck Hals, David Vinckbooms, Adriaen van de Venne and Willem Buytewech were an important influence on the genre. In addition, representations of elegant companies and balls by Hieronymus Janssens and the works of
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...
, in particular his '' Garden of Love'' ( Prado Museum), gave an impetus and direction to the development of the genre. In this last work, Rubens showed how a garden could be used as a setting for amorous dalliance and courtship.Mary Tavener, ''Nicolas Lancret: Dance Before a Fountain'', Holmes Getty Publications, p. 13-14 More informal forms of portraiture developed showing the sitters in an intimate environment evoking new social ideals of friendship and marriage. Flemish and Dutch painters active in the mid 17th century started to paint families and friends at home in small-scale paintings such as David Teniers the Younger,
Gonzales Coques Gonzales Coques (between 1614 and 1618 – 18 April 1684) was a Flemish painter of portraits and history paintings.Veronique van Passel, "Coques ocks; Cox Gonzales onsael; Gonsalo, ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, ccessed ...
, Gerard ter Borch">ccessed ...
, Gerard ter Borch, Gabriel Metsu, Caspar Netscher">Gerard ter Borch, Gabriel Metsu">Gerard ter Borch">ccessed ...
, Gerard ter Borch, Gabriel Metsu, Caspar Netscher and Jacob Ochtervelt.


Development of the genre in England

The 'conversation piece' started with families and friends depicted on a small scale in intimate settings. People were portrayed sharing common activities such as hunts, meals, or musical parties. Dogs and/or horses are also frequently featured. Arthur Devis was a regional painter famous for his small conversation pieces, popular with the gentry of
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
.
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
also worked in the genre, and parodied it in his print ''A Midnight Modern Conversation'', which depicted a group of men whose conversation has degenerated into drunken incoherence. Johann Zoffany specialized in complicated conversation pieces, and most portraits by
George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds and Thoma ...
take this form, with horses and carriages in the composition.
Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...
would on request produce conversation pieces in the Grand Manner, and at his usual near-life scale.


References


Further reading

* * * Mario Praz, ''Conversation Pieces: A Survey of the Informal Group Portrait in Europe and America'' (University Park and London: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999)


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversation Piece Portrait art Iconography English art