Citation
Chicago:
Blythe Sobol, “Edward Foster, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1810,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 3, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.1406.
MLA:
Sobol, Blythe. “Edward Foster, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1810,” catalogue entry. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan. The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, edited by Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, vol. 3, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024. doi: 10.37764/8322.5.1406.
Artist's Biography
See the artist’s biography in volume 4.
Catalogue Entry
One of two silhouettes in the Starr collection, this portrait of a man of an undefined age and identity was made by Edward Foster. It probably dates to the early phase of the artist’s career, like most of his profiles in black, before he began the red profiles for which he was better known.1On the difference between Foster’s red and black profiles, see Sue McKechnie, “Foster, Edward (McKechnie Section 2),” Profiles of the Past, accessed April 14, 2024, https://www.profilesofthepast.org.uk/mckechnie/foster-edward-mckechnie-section-2. This silhouette may have been painted around 1810, when Foster left his role as drawing master at Windsor Castle and embarked on an independent career as a painter of profiles.
The silhouette has the characteristic short bustline used by Foster, which ends in a point in the front. The detailing, which includes fine brushwork defining shadows on the sitter’s coat and details of the buttonholes, his hair, and ear, is laid over the silhouette in black pigment: A dry coloring substance typically of mineral or organic origins until the nineteenth century, when they began to be artificially manufactured. Pigments were ground into powder form by the artist, their workshop assistants, or by the vendor they acquired the pigment from, before being mixed with a binder and liquid, such as water. Pigments vary in granulation and solubility. mixed with gum arabic: Derived from the sap of the African acacia tree, gum arabic was commonly used to bind watercolor pigments with water. In addition to its use as a binder, miniaturists capitalized on its glossy effect to create areas of highlight with larger quantities of gum. As with ivory, its availability benefited from trade routes that were expanding due to colonialism and the Atlantic slave trade. to provide depth and a glossy finish distinct from the matte black ground: An opaque preparatory layer applied to the support, either commercially or by the artist. of the figure. In contrast, Foster’s rendering of the cravat: A cravat, the precursor to the modern necktie and bowtie, is a rectangular strip of fabric tied around the neck in a variety of ornamental arrangements. Depending on social class and budget, cravats could be made in a variety of materials, from muslin or linen to silk or imported lace. It was originally called a “Croat” after the Croatian military unit whose neck scarves first caused a stir when they visited the French court in the 1660s. uses the paper background, now discolored, to provide its white tone, adding detail and dimension with soft gray pigment painted in thin, delicate strokes.2Sue McKechnie provided the most comprehensive overview of Foster’s technique. For example, “Neckwear and shirt-frills are left clear of pigment, and the detail is painted in fine lines of thinned water-colour. . . . Sometimes Foster used a soft grey. All his work, whether black or red, is painted with extremely fine brush-strokes.” McKechnie, “Foster, Edward (McKechnie Section 2).”
The black wood frame, which may not be original, uses a brass hanger, called a “union hanger,” embellished with the rose, thistle, and shamrock, a common design that symbolized the union between the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Foster’s various hanger designs were stamped with his name, but miniatures were often separated from their cases through the process of sale and changes in ownership.
Notes
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On the difference between Foster’s red and black profiles, see Sue McKechnie, “Foster, Edward (McKechnie Section 2),” Profiles of the Past, accessed April 14, 2024, https://www.profilesofthepast.org.uk/mckechnie/foster-edward-mckechnie-section-2.
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Sue McKechnie provided the most comprehensive overview of Foster’s technique. For example, “Neckwear and shirt-frills are left clear of pigment, and the detail is painted in fine lines of thinned water-colour. . . . Sometimes Foster used a soft grey. All his work, whether black or red, is painted with extremely fine brush-strokes.” McKechnie, “Foster, Edward (McKechnie Section 2).”
Provenance
Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1971;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1971.
No known related works, exhibitions, or bibliographic references at this time. If you have additional information on this object, please tell us more.