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The Wedgwood family portrait is one of the most prized objects in the Wedgwood Museum Trust collection. Painted in 1780 by the renowned animal artist George Stubbs, it depicts the potter and his family at the height of his career.
The portrait shows Josiah Wedgwood I, his wife Sarah, and their seven surviving children, from left to right: Mary Ann, Sarah, Thomas, Catherine, Susannah, Josiah II, and John. Richard, their third child had died in 1768, the same year that Josiah I had his right leg amputated. No one looking at the picture would realise he was wearing a false limb, which demonstrates the skill of the cabinetmaker who made Wedgwood’s ‘best’ false leg.
The family are shown in the grounds of their home, Etruria Hall. The landscape would now be unrecognisable following the industrial development of Stoke-on-Trent, but on the horizon can be seen the steeple of St Margaret’s Church, Wolstanton, which stands to this day. On the right of the picture you can see the smoke rising from Josiah’s Etruria factory, the source of the family’s wealth.
Portraits can provide many clues about people’s lives; what they felt was important, and how they wanted to be seen. Josiah is shown holding a pen, revealing him to be a man of business and letters. By his elbow is a vase in Black Basalt, a type of ceramic Josiah invented. This form of the vase is known as ‘Shape Number One’ because it was the first design in his potter’s book of shapes that the factory made. The vase was clearly a source of great pride.
By this stage in Stubbs career, he had acquired a reputation as a painter of horses. Unfortunately Josiah thought that whilst the horses in the picture were brilliantly executed, his children looked like “wooden mannequins”. Perhaps because of this Josiah didn’t pay Stubbs in full, and his bill was only settled after Josiah had died.
Category: People , Painting Institute: Wedgwood Museum
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