How far does the apple fall from the tree?
Traditionally, professions were passed down in families in much the same way as certain traits, abilities, and resources. This exhibition tells the stories of eighteen artistic families active in France, Italy, England, Scotland, and India from the late-seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. In some cases, there is a striking visual resemblance between the artworks produced by members of the same family, while in others, the styles of individual artists within a family are highly distinctive. Family relationships also overlap with the roles of teacher and pupil, business partner, and rival.
From highly refined French engravings intended to glorify King Louis XIV and archaeological views of Rome designed for tourists and architects to evocative landscapes of Britain and India, the works in this exhibition chart two and a half centuries of social and artistic change in Europe and beyond. The invention of new printmaking techniques that mimicked the tonal effects of drawings broadened the appeal of prints during this period, and they were enthusiastically collected by a growing middle class. More women entered the profession, too, and more artists traveled internationally in search of inspiration and new markets.
Amidst these significant cultural shifts, the family nonetheless remained a persistent locus of artistic production due to inherited aptitudes as well as close personal and economic connections. Drawing from the Blanton’s collection of European art, A Family Affair presents prints, drawings, and paintings created by some of the continent’s most fascinating artistic families, revealing patterns of inspiration, competition, and evolving family fortunes.
Be sure to visit the first part of this exhibition A Family Affair: Artistic Dynasties in Europe (Part I, 1500–1700), before it closes on June 15, 2025!
Curated by Holly Borham, Curator of Prints, Drawings and European Art, and Sarah Bane, Assistant Curator, Prints & Drawings, Blanton Museum of Art.
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Berthe Morisot, Girl with a Cat (Julie Manet), circa 1889, etching and drypoint, 5 7/8 × 4 5/8 in., Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Isidore Simkowitz in memory of Amy Cecelia Simkowitz-Rogers, 1999.147
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Robert Nanteuil, Moses with the Tablets of the Law, after Philippe de Champagne, 1699, engraving, 20 11/16 × 16 1/8 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.1918
Francis Seymour Haden, An Early Riser, 1897, mezzotint, 8 3/4 × 11 11/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.1810
Anne Allen, Fantastic Flowers with Conical and Hemispherical Blossoms and Berries (Cat. XXVI no. 53), 1775–1800, color etching, inked à la poupée, 10 9/16 x 9 1/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Purchase through the generosity of the Still Water Foundation, 2022.7
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Two Turbaned Magicians and a Boy, from Scherzi di Fantasia, circa 1760, etching, 9 1/16 x 7 1/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1980.54
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, L’Armoire [The Wardrobe], 1778, etching, 13 7/16 × 18 1/4 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Teaching Collection of Marvin Vexler, ’48, 1995.60
Charles-Nicolas Cochin, the younger, Pompe funèbre de Philippe V, Roy d’Espagne et des Indes dans l’église de Notre-Dame de Paris, le 15 décembre 1746 [Funerary Ceremony for Philip V, King of Spain and of the Indies, in the Church of Notre-Dame, Paris, 15 December 1746], 1748, etching and engraving, 19 1/8 × 30 9/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1997.18
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Rotherhithe, from 16 Etchings or The Thames Set, 1860, etching and drypoint, 10 3/4 × 7 11/16 in,. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Teaching Collection of Marvin Vexler, ’48, with a matching contribution from Julia Wilkinson, 2000.45
Camille Pissarro, Self-Portrait, circa 1890, etching, 7 3/8 × 7 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, University Purchase, P1961.91
Pierre-Alexandre Aveline, L’Enseigne de Gersaint [Gersaint’s Shopsign], 1732, etching and engraving, 22 13/16 × 33 9/16 in., 7 3/8 × 7 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1997.133
Credit
A Family Affair: Artistic Dynasties in Europe (Part II, 1670–1900) is organized by the Blanton Museum of Art.
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