SAMUEL WEST (1810-1867) Cardinal Wolsey leaving London after...

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€20,000 - €30,000

SAMUEL WEST (1810-1867) Cardinal Wolsey leaving London after his Disgrace Signed 'S.West' Oil on canvas, 102 x 140cm Exhibited: Royal Academy 1841; British Institution 1842; Cork Art Union Exhibition, 1843. Literature: A Dictionary of Irish Artists, W.G. Strickland, Pg. 518 Samuel West was born in Cork in 1810, to a bookseller father who had moved to Cork from London. West most likely commenced his artistic training in Cork, however, he also travelled to Rome to study during his formative years. Between 1840 and 1867, West exhibited works at The Royal Academy of Arts London and The British Institution. This work was exhibited at the RA in 1841, the B.I in 1842 and the Cork Art Union Exhibition in 1843. In his later years, West turned to copying works of old masters in watercolour such as Titan’s ‘L’homme au Gant’. (A Dictionary of Irish Artists, W.G. Strickland, Pg. 517-518) Born in 1473, Thomas Wolsey was and English statesman and a Catholic cardinal. His rise in status coincided with accession of Henry VIII. As King of England, he appointed Wolsey as his almoner and gave him a seat of his privy council. By 1514, he became the controlling figure in virtually all matters of the state, reaching the position of the Lord Chancellor. Which he held from 1515 until 1529. He was appointed Cardinal Archbishop of York in 1514 by Pope Leo X. Wolsey fell out of favour after failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon and was thus stripped of his government titles. He retreated to York to fulfil his ecclesiastical duties as an archbishop but was called to London to answer the charges of treason, charges commonly used by Henry VIII against those who fell out of his favour. Wolsey died of natural causes following an accident boarding a royal barge at Cawood, before he could reach London. This impressive painting presents the moment Cardinal Wolsey was expelled from his London residence, The Palace of Whitehall, to board a royal barge to York after the loss of his government position. Whitehall was subsequently taken over by Henry VIII as his principal residence in the capital after the apartments of Westminster were destroyed by fire. Whitehall served as the seat for English Monarchs from 1530 until its destruction also by fire in 1698. It was an incredibly impressive complex of buildings and at one time the largest palace in Europe. In this work, West depicts the east side of the palace which faces onto the banks of the river Thames. A large crowd has gathered to witness the Cardinal departing, most of the faces seem forlorn, mourning his expulsion from the city. He is escorted by four armed guards, their halberds raised in the air above crowd. Despite his loss of title, he is still treated with great respect by his attendants and household. Courtiers lift the train on his robe, a tapestry carpet has been laid along the steps, and he is helped into the boat by a gentleman dressed in furs, holding in his hand the letter which sealed the Cardinal’s fate. To the right of the composition is figural group of a woman and two children, set slightly apart from the larger crowds. She looks on in distress at the Cardinal. Wolsey was in a ‘non-canonical’ marriage for a decade with Joan Larke of Yarmouth. They had two children, Thomas (born c.1510) and Dorothy (born c.1512), both were born before he was ordained bishop. While the children in this painting would be too young to be either his son or daughter, West may have used this figural group to add further sympathetic appeal towards the Cardinal. The composition follows two diagonals, the first created by the architectural façade of Whitehall stretching along the banks of the Thames, and into the distance. The second is created by the crowd of people following the Cardinal as he descends steps. He stands at centre of the composition, clad in a bright red clerical vestments and hat. Visually he commands the attention of the crowd and us as the viewer. At this time Cardinals wore red to distinguish themselves from all other clerics, signifying the importance of their standing in the religious hierarchy. Presenting him in his vestments may have been an attempt by West to convey Wolsey’s continued sense of pride in his position even after being stripped of his government titles.