Handel and the Foundling Hospital: The Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum
2008; Volume: 55; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2471-156X
Autores Tópico(s)Musicology and Musical Analysis
ResumoThe Foundling was established by Royal Charter in 1739, after a long struggle by Captain Thomas Coram, a successful shipwright and sailor who had retired to England after a life's work in the New World of America. Coram had been appalled by the number of abandoned and dying children in the streets of London, and his scheme for a Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children, to provide a refuge for foundlings, was the first of its kind in England, although other countries were ahead in this respect. Nevertheless, Coram encountered a good deal of prejudice from those who thought it would encourage irresponsible behaviour on the part of the mothers, and it was only when he enlisted the ladies of the nobility to support his request to Parliament that he was successful in obtaining the necessary Royal Charter. The site for the Hospital, originally fifty-six acres in the country just north of the City of London, was acquired from the Earl of Salisbury in 1740, and money was raised by public donations. In 1745, children were able to move into the new buildings, designed by Theodore Jacobsen, who was also a Governor of the Hospital. From the start, the artistic influence on the was established, led by the artist William Hogarth. He was a founding governor of the and recognised the opportunity for artists to display their work whilst supporting the charity, by donating works to decorate the fine rooms in the building--chiefly the Governors' offices, where polite society and potential donors could be received. There were no art galleries in England at this time and Hogarth's designs were no less groundbreaking for artists than Coram's were for abandoned children. Patronage was unreliable and there were few opportunities to display artists' work in public. A generous donation of artwork to the Found ling could bring many rewards, raising the artist's profile and attracting future commissions. The first endowment--Hogarth's portrait of Thomas Coram, given to the in 1740--served as an example to his peers of the benefits of philanthropy. These intentions were well realised as both artists and collectors donated pieces for the ornamentation of the hospital, as gestures of goodwill which would receive wide attention. Other artists of the time contributed to what is still one of the most impressive eighteenth-century interiors in London, the Hospital's Court Room, which was formally opened in 1747. It includes paintings by Hogarth, Francis Hayman, James Wills, and Joseph Highmore, all featuring children or foundlings from Biblical stories--Moses was represented as one of the first foundlings. The room includes an ornate plasterwork ceiling, chimney-piece, Rysbrack's bas-relief over the fireplace, plaster busts and a series of roundels all donated by the artists and craftsmen; the roundels have landscapes and views of eight London hospitals, including Greenwich, Christ's, and Charterhouse, painted by artists including Gainsborough, Samuel Wale, Edward Haytley, and Richard Wilson. The unique environment of the Foundling Hospital, which had been designed from the outset not only as a children's home but also as a place of polite assembly, meant that it quickly became one of the most fashionable places to visit during the reign of George II (1727-1760), and a hub of philanthropic activity, where artists, children, and patrons were able to benefit together from the contemporary culture of 'enlightened self-interest'. The inclusion of a Picture Gallery added to the attraction for polite society, and another fundraising initiative, the Ladies' Breakfasts, became so popular that in 1747 it is recorded that the windows had to be nailed shut to prevent uninvited guests from climbing in. The governing artists benefited from the not only as an exhibition space but also as a place to meet and discuss their activities, as an alternative to the St Martin's Lane Academy. …
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