Conversation piece [ Art & Luxury ]
… on the art world of his day. There are a smattering of references to ‘conversation pieces’ throughout his notebooks of the 1720s, following an established use of the label to describe genre paintings by French and Netherlandish … ‘conversations consisting of many figures ’ (Vertue III, 54, 57; my italics). 2 . See, for example, George Vertue, ‘Notebooks’ : ‘Vertue I’, Walpole Society (vol. 18, 1929-30), p.105, 147; ‘Vertue II’, Walpole Society (vol. 20, 1931-2), … displays of the physical gestures that framed sociable exchange: hands arranged according to the edicts of the conduct books, underscoring pleasantries; directive gestures made gently and courteously to guide attention; tilted heads showing …
Conversation | Painting | Portrait | Tea-table
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