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Maria Gunning, Countess of Coventry (1733 – 30 September 1760) was a famous London beauty and society hostess during the reign of King George II. Born Maria Gunning in Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire, Maria's beginnings were humble. She would go on to become one of the most celebrated beauties of her day.
Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702–1789)
Portrait of Maria Gunning, Countess of Coventry (1733-1760), Date 1749
(also titled Portrait of a pensive woman on a sofa and Portrait of a young woman in Turkish costume sitting on a couch)
Pastel on parchment
23.5 × 19 cm (9.3 × 7.5 in)
Museum of Art and History, Geneva
Jean-Étienne Liotard (22 December 1702 – 12 June 1789) was a Swiss painter, art connoisseur and dealer. He is best known for his portraits in pastel, and for the works from his stay in Turkey. A Huguenot of French origin and citizen of the Republic of Geneva, he was born and died in Geneva, but spent most of his career in stays in the capitals of Europe, where his portraits were much in demand. He worked in Rome, Istanbul, Paris, Vienna, London and other cities.
Liotard began his studies under Professors Daniel Gardelle and Petitot, whose enamels and miniatures he copied with considerable skill.
He went to Paris in 1725, studying under Jean-Baptiste Massé [fr] and François Lemoyne, on whose recommendation he was taken to Naples. In 1735 he was in Rome, painting the portraits of Pope Clement XII and several cardinals. In 1738 he accompanied Lord Duncannon to Constantinople, where he worked for the next four years.
He went to Vienna in 1742 to paint the portraits of the Imperial family.
In 1762 he painted portraits in Vienna. Another visit to England followed in 1772, and in the next two years his name figures among the Royal Academy exhibitors. He returned to his native town in 1776. He died at Geneva in 1789. More on Jean-Étienne Liotard
In late 1740 or early 1741, the Gunning family returned to their ancestral home in Ireland, where they divided their time between their home in Roscommon, and a rented house in Dublin. When Maria and her sister Elizabeth came of age, their mother urged them to take up acting in order to earn a living, owing to the family's relative poverty. The Gunning sisters worked for some time in the Dublin theatres, even though acting was not considered a respectable profession as many actresses of that time doubled as courtesans to wealthy benefactors.
When Liotard returned after several years in Istanbul where he painted the Frankish community in both portrait and genre scene, he presented himself with full beard and in Levantine clothing as ‘le peintre turc’. The original for this work formed the basis for his larger series, ‘turqueries’, which were executed in both pastel and oil, and The Comtesse of Coventry in Ottoman-style Dress was a particularly popular subject, originally painted in 1748, and copied on several occasions. Other examples of high-quality copies now hang in major galleries and collections around the world. More on this painting
The Comtesse de Coventry in Turkish dress
signed by Fleming after Liotard, London
pastel on paper laid down on canvas
74.5 by 62cm.
Private collection
When Liotard returned after several years in Istanbul where he painted the Frankish community in both portrait and genre scene, he presented himself with full beard and in Levantine clothing as ‘le peintre turc’. The original for this work formed the basis for his larger series, ‘turqueries’, which were executed in both pastel and oil, and The Comtesse of Coventry in Ottoman-style Dress was a particularly popular subject, originally painted in 1748, and copied on several occasions. Other examples of high-quality copies now hang in major galleries and collections around the world. More on this painting
In October 1748, a ball was held at Dublin Castle by the Viscountess Petersham. The two sisters did not have any dresses for the gathering until the manager of one of the local theatres supplied them with two costumes, those of Lady Macbeth and Juliet. Wearing the costumes, they were presented to the Earl of Harrington, the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Harrington must have been pleased by the meeting as, by 1750, their mother had persuaded him to grant her a pension, which she then used to transport herself, Maria, and Elizabeth, back to their original home in Huntingdon, England.
With their attendance at local balls and parties, the beauty of the two girls was much remarked upon. They became well-known celebrities, their fame reaching all the way to London. On 2 December 1750, they were presented at the court of St James. By this time, they were sufficiently famous that the presentation was noted in the London newspapers.
Sir Joshua Reynolds
The Comtesse de Coventry
Oil on Canvas
I have no further description, at this time
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an influential eighteenth-century English painter, specialising in portraits. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769. More on Sir Joshua Reynolds
Hugh Douglas Hamilton
The Comtesse de Coventry
Oil on Canvas
Courtauld Institute of Art, London UK
Hugh Douglas Hamilton (c. 1740 – 10 February 1808) was an Irish portrait-painter. He spent considerable periods in London and Rome before returning to Dublin in the early 1790s. Until the mid-1770s he worked mostly in pastel.
Hamilton was born in Crow Street, in Dublin, Ireland, in 1740, the son of a peruke maker. Unfortunately there is very little concrete evidence for his earlylife, apart from his own drawings. He studied art under Robert West at the Dublin Society House - and won some early success with crayon and pastel portraits there.
Very little is known of Hamilton's career between 1756 and 1764, when he moved to London. Hamilton found great success in London through his pastel oval portraits, portraying royalty, politicians and celebrities of the day through this medium. Hamilton was often overwhelmed with orders, including commissions from the British royal family. He showed with the Society of Artists and the Free Society of Artists from the mid-1760s to the mid-1770s.
In 1779 he travelled to Italy, where he remained for the next twelve years, occasionally visiting Florence but mainly based in Rome, where he knew Antonio Canova. On the advice of artist John Flaxman Hamilton turned to oil painting, and achieved great success with small oval portraits of Irish and British visitors. More on Hugh Douglas Hamilton
Maria, who was notoriously tactless, was reported to have made a notable gaffe by telling the elderly George II that the spectacle she would most like to see was a royal funeral. Fortunately the King was highly amused.
In March 1752, Maria married the 6th Earl of Coventry and became the Countess of Coventry. For their honeymoon, the Earl and Countess traveled around Europe. Maria particularly disliked Paris. The Countess's ignorance of the French language and her husband's decision not to allow her to wear red powder as make-up (which was fashionable in Paris at the time) intensified her dislike of the city and the trip.
Maria's popularity and beauty was such, that on her return to London, she was mobbed when she appeared in Hyde Park and was eventually given a guard by the King, led by the Earl of Pembroke. Her husband became involved with then famous courtesan Kitty Fisher, which caused Maria much distress. Maria, also, became involved in at least one affair.
In March 1752, Maria married the 6th Earl of Coventry and became the Countess of Coventry. For their honeymoon, the Earl and Countess traveled around Europe. Maria particularly disliked Paris. The Countess's ignorance of the French language and her husband's decision not to allow her to wear red powder as make-up (which was fashionable in Paris at the time) intensified her dislike of the city and the trip.
Loftus Howe, Irish School
Mary Gunning, Lady Coventry, c. 1760
Oil on canvas
41 x 34 cm
Private collection
Maria's popularity and beauty was such, that on her return to London, she was mobbed when she appeared in Hyde Park and was eventually given a guard by the King, led by the Earl of Pembroke. Her husband became involved with then famous courtesan Kitty Fisher, which caused Maria much distress. Maria, also, became involved in at least one affair.
Nathaniel Hone (24 April 1718 – 14 August 1784)
Kitty Fisher, c. 1765
Oil on canvas,
29 1/2 in. x 24 1/2 in. (749 mm x 622 mm)
National Portrait Gallery, London
Nathaniel Hone RA (24 April 1718 – 14 August 1784) was an Irish-born portrait and miniature painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768.
The son of a Dublin-based Dutch merchant, Hone moved to England as a young man and, after marrying Molly Earle - daughter of the Duke of Argyll - in 1742, eventually settled in London, by which time he had acquired a reputation as a portrait-painter. While his paintings were popular, his reputation was particularly enhanced by his skill at producing miniatures and enamels. He interrupted his time in London by spending two years (1750–1752) studying in Italy. More on Nathaniel Hone
"London" claimed that Kitty Fisher's origins were ''low and mean'' and that by trade she was a milliner. Her origins were, at any rate, obscure -she most probably came from Germany- and she was introduced to Society by an army officer, Ensign (later Lieutenant-General) Anthony George Martin. She swiftly acquired a reputation as a beauty, a wit and a daring horsewoman.
Her impact on London was plainly considerable, as in the years 1759-1760 a number of satirical broadsheets took her as their theme. The effect of this was such that in March 1759 there appeared in the Public Advertiser an appeal signed C. Fisher against ''the baseness of little scribblers and scurvy malevolence,'' which complains that she has been ''abused in public papers, exposed in print shops.''
Nathaniel Hone (24 April 1718 – 14 August 1784)
Portrait of Catherine Maria ''Kitty'' Fisher, c. 1750–1784
Oil on canvas
75.8 x 62.4 cm
Canterbury City Council Museums and Galleries
Some years later she took to a less controversial existence, marrying John Norris, MP for Rye, and devoting herself to rebuilding her husband's fortunes. She died in Bath in 1767 -reputedly from the effects of white lead face-paints- and gave a celebrated instruction to be placed in the coffin wearing her best dress. More
Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA FRSA (16. Juli 1723 - 23. February 1792)
Kitty Fisher, About 1763-64
Oil on canvas
99.1 × 77.5 cm
Bowood House, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an influential eighteenth-century English painter, specialising in portraits. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769. More on Sir Joshua Reynolds
She continued to utilize heavy make-up, simply because it was stylish. Had she paid heed to her husband's actions against her wearing lead-based make-up in Paris for the rest of her days, her death eight years later (at the age of 27) might not have been so early. However, throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, it was fashionable for ladies to have pale white skin and red rouged cheeks and use lead as a basis for their make-up. It was the noxious effects of the lead which caused skin eruptions (which also encouraged ladies to powder their skins more vigorously to mask their blemishes) and eventually blood-poisoning which killed Maria on 30 September 1760. Originally known simply as a beautiful but vain woman, she eventually became known in society circles as a "victim of cosmetics". More on Kitty Fisher,
Four years later, her husband remarried to another London beauty, Lady Barbara St John. Ironically, in 1768, Kitty Fisher (the rival of Maria Gunning) also died of poisoning due to cosmetics.
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Barbara (née St John), Countess of Coventry
Oil on Canvas
Faringdon Collection, Buscot Park
Four years later, her husband remarried to another London beauty, Lady Barbara St John. Ironically, in 1768, Kitty Fisher (the rival of Maria Gunning) also died of poisoning due to cosmetics.
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