After 1827]. · [Virginia
by [Mount Vernon]: [After Jukes, Francis, and Alexander Robertson]
[Virginia, After 1827].. Watercolor painting, 14½ x 19 inches, matted to 18½ x 23 inches. A few spots of soiling, even tanning and dust soiling. Closed tears in lower portion of sheet, touching two letters in the manuscript title. Very good overall. An attractive watercolor painting of Mount Vernon by an unidentified, presumably amateur, artist inspired by the national craze for images of Washington's legendary home. The painting is signed, but the name is slightly obscured by a small stain, leaving only what appears to read "Pleskon" (?). The view is quite significant for featuring at least one enslaved person in the image, making it likely one of the first portrayals of an enslaved person at Mount Vernon.
One of the most famous images of Mount Vernon is the engraving by Francis Jukes after Alexander Robertson. Published in 1800 just a few months after Washington's death, this image has been copied and adapted numerous times over the past two centuries. One notable adaptation is German-American artist C.A. Düring's BERG VERNON IN VIRGINIEN, completed in 1827, which appears to have inspired the painting in hand, as well as its title: VERNON IN VIRGINIEN.... Like Jukes/Robertson, Düring and our artist place the house at the center of the image viewed from the northeast, framed by trees and rolling hills, with the Potomac River stretching to the south. The choice of view and framing highlights Mount Vernon's distinct architectural features, such as its long piazza, cupola, Palladian windows, and the connection to the buildings leading off the rear of the house. Lydia Mattice Brandt notes that "the river view is an essential component of the composition, offering a visual connection between the rural plantation and the nation beyond....Waterways were essential components in American views, providing the artist with an easy way to create spatial depth in a picture while also hinting at America's rich natural infrastructure." Accordingly, Düring and our artist follow Jukes/Robertson in exaggerating the height of the hill, the breadth of the river, and the size of the ships, to emphasize the vast resources coming from Mount Vernon (though they change the location of the ships).
From here, Düring and our artist diverge significantly. In the Jukes/Robertson engraving, a lone female figure walks the grounds, perhaps referencing Washington's recent death. Düring and our artist portray two couples, one in the foreground and another closer to the house. Of the two figures in the foreground of Düring's painting, one is clearly African American and may be one of the first portrayals of an enslaved person at Mount Vernon. Our artist seems to have reversed the couples; those in the foreground are clearly not enslaved, while the couple closer to the house are too vague to discern, although one person is carrying a tool or farm implement of some sort. Further, our artist, while certainly competent, forgoes some of the detail found in Jukes/Robertson; they also follow Düring in misrepresenting the size of the cupola in relation to the chimneys. Otherwise, our artist sets forth a handsome homage to both Düring and Jukes/Robertson.
George Washington was certainly the most famous figure in early America, and his private home was no less captivating to the American public. Images of Mount Vernon were quite common in the late 18th century, usually incorporated into larger depictions of Washington himself. However, by the late 1700s, depictions of historic buildings, battlefields, and other significant locales became increasingly popular, and Mount Vernon was one of few private homes to receive such attention. Depictions of Mount Vernon not only idealized the house itself, but also captured the mystique of Washington as the embodiment of the ideal classical statesman who, like Cincinnatus, voluntarily relinquished his sword and national command to return to his farm and a noble life of agriculture.
We could find no record of this painting and no other examples of images under this title. The Düring painting has appeared at auction twice. Lydia Mattice Brandt, "Picturing Mount Vernon" in IMPRINT: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL PRINT COLLECTORS SOCIETY 38:1 (Spring 2013). (Inventory #: WRCAM57604)
One of the most famous images of Mount Vernon is the engraving by Francis Jukes after Alexander Robertson. Published in 1800 just a few months after Washington's death, this image has been copied and adapted numerous times over the past two centuries. One notable adaptation is German-American artist C.A. Düring's BERG VERNON IN VIRGINIEN, completed in 1827, which appears to have inspired the painting in hand, as well as its title: VERNON IN VIRGINIEN.... Like Jukes/Robertson, Düring and our artist place the house at the center of the image viewed from the northeast, framed by trees and rolling hills, with the Potomac River stretching to the south. The choice of view and framing highlights Mount Vernon's distinct architectural features, such as its long piazza, cupola, Palladian windows, and the connection to the buildings leading off the rear of the house. Lydia Mattice Brandt notes that "the river view is an essential component of the composition, offering a visual connection between the rural plantation and the nation beyond....Waterways were essential components in American views, providing the artist with an easy way to create spatial depth in a picture while also hinting at America's rich natural infrastructure." Accordingly, Düring and our artist follow Jukes/Robertson in exaggerating the height of the hill, the breadth of the river, and the size of the ships, to emphasize the vast resources coming from Mount Vernon (though they change the location of the ships).
From here, Düring and our artist diverge significantly. In the Jukes/Robertson engraving, a lone female figure walks the grounds, perhaps referencing Washington's recent death. Düring and our artist portray two couples, one in the foreground and another closer to the house. Of the two figures in the foreground of Düring's painting, one is clearly African American and may be one of the first portrayals of an enslaved person at Mount Vernon. Our artist seems to have reversed the couples; those in the foreground are clearly not enslaved, while the couple closer to the house are too vague to discern, although one person is carrying a tool or farm implement of some sort. Further, our artist, while certainly competent, forgoes some of the detail found in Jukes/Robertson; they also follow Düring in misrepresenting the size of the cupola in relation to the chimneys. Otherwise, our artist sets forth a handsome homage to both Düring and Jukes/Robertson.
George Washington was certainly the most famous figure in early America, and his private home was no less captivating to the American public. Images of Mount Vernon were quite common in the late 18th century, usually incorporated into larger depictions of Washington himself. However, by the late 1700s, depictions of historic buildings, battlefields, and other significant locales became increasingly popular, and Mount Vernon was one of few private homes to receive such attention. Depictions of Mount Vernon not only idealized the house itself, but also captured the mystique of Washington as the embodiment of the ideal classical statesman who, like Cincinnatus, voluntarily relinquished his sword and national command to return to his farm and a noble life of agriculture.
We could find no record of this painting and no other examples of images under this title. The Düring painting has appeared at auction twice. Lydia Mattice Brandt, "Picturing Mount Vernon" in IMPRINT: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL PRINT COLLECTORS SOCIETY 38:1 (Spring 2013). (Inventory #: WRCAM57604)