Chevalier d'Eon
“Thomas Stewart is an English Painter who was actively painting around the end of the 18th century. The details of his life and career have been lost to history, but he has recently come to the attention of historians and collectors after a painting recently attributed to American Painter Gilbert Stuart, was reattributed to him. The painting is of The Chavalier d'Eon and is a thought to be a copy of a work which was originally painted by
Jean-Laurent Mosnier. The Chavalier d'Eon is a fascinating character who is remembered today as a British spy and cross dresser. The Chavalier d'Eon would fascinate spectators as he was known to put on fencing demonstrations in which he would wear a woman's dress. It is thought that he began dressing in drag as part of his punishment after being deported from France after he was uncovered as a British Spy. The term "eonism"–i.e. cross dressing or when a man adopts feminine mannerisms– comes from the Chavalier d'Eon”
Citation: "Chavalier d'Eon" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 16 March 2013. Web. 21 March. 2013.
I chose this painting because the style of painting and subject matter are a nice match for the look and feel of Capitol Cider, and thought the subject matter might be of interest to those in Capitol Hills LGBTQ community and to history lovers alike.
Mastercopy after Thomas Stewart
Chevalier d'Eon
1792
My process was to begin with a wipeout underpainting done in burnt umber, then use a technique known as "tiling" to completely cover the portrait in a single pass. The palette used was a limited palette of mostly earth colors with the addition of cadmium red, ultramarine blue, and alizarin crimson. The white I used is a lead based white which I chose for its translucency, and neutral tone. The painting posed many technical challenges as it contains so many various textures such as lace, satin, velvet, and feathers.
Portrait of George Washington
"Gilbert Stuart was born in Rhode Island December 3rd 1755. Stuart is most known for his portraits of founding fathers such as George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and many others. Gilbert Studied at the Royal Academy in England, before returning back to America where he would go on to paint his most famous work The Athenaeum– an unfinished portrait of George Washington painted in a single sitting, which he would use a reference for over a 100 portraits of Washington which were in high demand. Stuart lived out his final years in Boston where he mentored many other painters including Thomas Sully and John Trumbull before he passed in 1828."
Citation: "Gilbert Stuart" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 19 March 2013. Web. 21 March. 2013.
I chose this painting because the style of painting and subject matter are a perfect fit for the look and feel of Capitol Cider. This particular painting is one of the nicer copies by Stuart with an atmosphere, attention to detail and depth lacking in some of his other works.
Mastercopy after Gilbert Stuart
Portrait of George Washington
20 March 1797
My process was to begin with a wipeout underpainting done in burnt umber, then use a technique known as "tiling" to completely cover the portrait. The palette used was limited to historical colors used by Stuart with the exception of Cadmium Red substituting vermillion. The final pass was done with fluid paint to help build luminosity and add dimension depth to the piece.