The conversation piece was a genre of painting that evolved in Northern Italy during the Renassiance. Later this genre became a vogue in the seventeeth century in the Netherlands and from there was transplanted into Enland.
These conversation pieces depicted family members, and on occasions, other relatives. The purpose of the conversation piece was partly to celebrate the standing of the family,the families intimate life, and the happiness that this supposedly brought.
William Hogarth's conversation pieces were quite theatrical in his attempt to simulate the vivacity of actual life. Hogarth was very successful in this genre of paintings and took commisssions from the gentry and the new "up and coming " entrants to the life of the gentry,i.e. the tradesmen classes,etc.
Hogarth was so successful that George Vertue,a critic of the day, wrote in 1730, "Mr Hogarth's paintings gain every day so many admirers that happy are they that can get a picture of his painting...(he has painted many) family pieces,& conversations consisting of many figures done with great spirit a lively invention & an universal agreeableness".
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Slightly relevant; a reference from Hogarth in a writting sence would be 'a beggars opera' by John Gay and the later adapted 'threepenny opera' by Brecht. Similar subject matter to Hogarth, might be of interest.
Hi! Tim,
Many thanks for your comment...sooo sorry I have taken soo long to get back to you...very simply my slowness in knowing my way around the blog...But the good news is...I am actually geting the hang of it and liking it!!
Yes! your literary ref. are equally enlightening of the attitude and mood of the time...and very useful for cross-referencing...and getting a broader idea of the "difficulties" of that century. Certainly, it sounds as though it was a "hell of a time" in every sense of the word,morally,spiritually,socially,politically, and economically... not to mention the insanitary conditions of the day...it must have been a real tough life...even if one was influential and better off in pocket...the endemic diseases...and the fight for survival,etc.etc. I am very happy not to have been around in those days.
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