Art Crush: William Dobson

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, dissertation lock down has only come to be replaced with finals lock down! Only two weeks to go and then frequent posting shall resume.

Meanwhile, in the course of my revision I have discovered by latest artist obsession in the work of one William Dobson. Dobson was Charles I's principle portraitist who painted the monarch and his followers during the Civil War. For me, his works have a bold brilliancy that is utterly captivating. Dobson used simple compositions, quite different from the often outrageously ostentatious ensembles that were favoured by Van Dyck; who he was greatly inspired by. You can see his self portrait here:

 Dobson was clearly inspired by Van Dyck's self portrait, which belongs to the Philip Mould Gallery. Nice frame huh?!

Below is one of Dobson's portrait of Charles I's most loyal cavaliers, Colonel Richard Neville, painted c.1643. Dobson often adopted simple yet effective symbolism to show the beliefs of the sitter. Here Neville is seen swathed in the bright red cloth that showed him as an out-and-proud Royalist. His helmet and gun are ready to be picked up and taken out to the battle field which is depicted behind him. The dog represents loyalty to the crown.

Finally, this is my favourite. Check out Lord Byron's ancestor! Another clear reference to Van Dyck in the column and the horse. Here Byron is showing off the war scar on his face, and pointing down to the battle scene with his baton of office. Instead of actually joining in the battle of course.