John Jennings Esq., his Brother and Sister-in-Law

Alexander Roslin1769

Nationalmuseum Sweden
Stockholm, Sweden

The portrait shows the iron-foundry proprietor and businessman John Jennings, his brother and sister-in-law. John Jennings is shown sitting at the front of the painting, proudly showing off his relations with a sweeping gesture. This group portrait invites us into the androgynous role-playing of the 18th century. The characters are all wearing makeup, they are finely dressed and they act out gestures and looks towards the beholder of the painting.

This theatricality is also evident in the bodies of the characters. Look at the sister-in-law’s upright stance and the elegant gestures of the brothers. These show how our bodies and the way in which we move are formed by the age in which we live. The 18th century was an age of tight corsets, ceremonial rituals and obligatory ballet exercises at court. These exercises were common to both men and women and they had a strong influence on the way people moved their bodies. Try holding your hands in the same positions that we see in the painting. The positions feel strange to say the least. Practice was needed!

Role-playing and masquerades were favourite pastimes of 18th century aristocratic society. There was no strict boundary between female and male appearance. Not even in everyday terms.

Our meeting with Roslin’s 18th century portraits helps us to understand the conventions of our own time regarding what is considered masculine, feminine, androgynous, sexual and erotic. We are reminded that the conventions are in a constant state of change.

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Details

Title: John Jennings Esq., his Brother and Sister-in-Law
Creator: Alexander Roslin
Creator Lifespan: 1718/1793
Creator Nationality: Swedish
Creator Gender: Male
Date Created: 1769
Title in Swedish: Brukspatron John Jennings, hans bror och svägerska
Signature: Roslin a Paris 1769
Physical Dimensions: w1480 x h1210 cm (without frame)
Artist Information: Roslin was a Swedish portrait painter, working predominantly in Paris. He portrayed the elite of Europe at the time, receiving commissions in Paris, St. Petersburg, Bayreuth and Stockholm. Roslin was born in Skåne, in the south of Sweden in 1718. At the age of 15 he moved to Stockholm and was apprenticed to court painter Georg Schröder. The beginning of the 18th century was a period of material reconstruction in Sweden as the country tried to recover from the huge costs of King Charles XII’s wars therefore relatively few commissions were forthcoming from the court, the church and the nobility. Many of the newly trained Swedish artists, among them Alexander Roslin, went abroad to search for a living. Thanks to contacts and letters of recommendation he became a court painter both in Bayreuth and in Parma. On his travels he also met many patrons and painted portraits of numerous European aristocrats. In 1752, when Roslin settled in Paris, the same year he was elected a member of the French Académie. He then spent the rest of his life in France, except for two years in the service of Catherine II in St Petersburg. However, he maintained contacts with the Swedish royal household throughout his career. He also painted numerous portraits of Swedes who visited Paris. In 1759 he married the pastel painter Marie-Suzanne Giroust (1734-1772). The couple had six children. The Swedish one hundred kronor notes are adorned with Linnaeus’s face based on Roslin’s portrait from 1775.
Type: Painting
Rights: Nationalmuseum
Medium: Oil on canvas