I noticed at The Star this morning that there was an art theft thisweekend in Toronto – a heist. Is there any other crime which so warms the heart what with unending bad 70’s police TV episodes guest starring the likes of George Peppard centering on the thievery of art.
But why these things? Likely because they are literally pocketable and worth millions. Like Stalin’s retention of the great czarist buildings, our relationship to the image is not so simple. This is the face of another polticial era, that of the tyrant. This man never lifted a shovel or pen, a product of solely the power of inheritance. Google the name. The figure, Charles Mordant, left the world nothing of note other than this nasty, purse lipped, bloated face under a ridiculous wig, a symbol of virility affordable and wearable only by the wealthy and unvirile.
Later: Recalling that Google sucks, I did some more digging on the lost art and found this at the AGO’s web site:
Portrait of Charles Mordant, 3rd Earl of Peterborough and 1st Early Monmouth of the second creation (1658-1735)
Made by David Le Marchand (1674-1726) between 1704 and 1713
French, active in England
Ivory
Inscribed with artist’s monogram on front center of panel beneath truncation: ‘D.L.M.’
21.6 cm ht.; 17.8 cm w.; 5.1 cm d. ( 8 ½ x 6 ½”)
Hmm, doesn’t help that the AGO spells his name differently from other records which refer to Charles “Mordaunt” as the 3rd Earl of Peterborough. Here are records for five portraits of him at the National Portrait Gallery in London. He was an ambassador with an unhappy diverse career and private life as pointed out by notes to these portraits:
Admiral, general and diplomatist. A vehement whig and a supporter of William III until his ejection from political office in 1697 and imprisonment in the Tower. As General of the expeditionary force to Spain in 1705, he fought a controversial but largely successful campaign…
Here seen shortly after his return from serving as British ambassador to the Duke of Savoy, and his final fall from royal favour. The last of Kneller’s four portraits of the sitter….
Title: ‘Hon Mrs F- and Incautious Lothario’ (Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough; Mrs Edward Foley)…
I am now starting to warm to the jerk. Voltaire was his guest for 3 weeks in 1727. He was perhaps the first to cultivate fennel in England. A Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards in 1712 He has a slim but curious relationship to Nova Scotia’s Oak Island gold. He died on board his yacht off Lisbon 25 Oct 1735, is buried Turvey, Beds, 21 Nov 1735 and is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather of Camilla Parker-Bowles, Prince Chuck’s fancy lady. Cooling off again…