R.J. Blesard: Old Masters 1832–35
This picture forms part of a superb collection of works that we have for sale by R.J. Blesard. They are likely to be the work of Robert John Blesard (1809–1839) of Woodhouse, Leeds. [See also collection <a href="/collections/artist-collections/r-j-blesard-yorkshire-landscapes-1832-34">R.J. Blesard: Yorkshire Landscapes 1832–34</a>.] Described as 'Gentleman' in official records, he was the son of Robert Blesard (1773–1847), wool merchant, and his wife Susannah (1775–1855). The Blesards were a prominent Quaker family from the Guiseley area; Robert John's paternal grandmother was Phebe Arthington, the Arthingtons being another wealthy Quaker family from Leeds—the most famous of whom perhaps was Robert Arthington (1823–1900), philanthropist and recluse, known as the 'Headingley Miser'.
Robert Blesard is listed variously as resident at 18 Blenheim Terrace and 21 Blenheim Terrace in Woodhouse, Leeds—red brick villas now part of the University of Leeds. The Blesards are buried at Woodhouse Cemetery, along with many Leeds 'worthies'. In 1852, after the death of her husband and four of her five children, Susannah Blesard presented a stained glass window at St Mark's Church in Woodhouse in their memory. On Susannah's death, in 1856 a stone memorial was carved at the church by local sculptor Catherine Mawer in Susannah's honour and in recognition of her generosity: 'By her will she provided that an annual sum of money should be distributed at Christmas / to the poor of the district and of Guiseley her native Parish'.
These pictures comprise various copies after a range of Old Masters as well as original compositions by Blesard inspired by their influence. They reflect the young artist's wide-ranging interest in the arts (he was a member of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society) and his versatility as a draughtsman. The varied subjects—biblical stories, classical antiquity, mythology, phrenology, 18th-century portraiture—suggest an exploration of the themes and styles pertinent to an understanding of Western art. But they also are often reinterpreted through Blesard's personal style and taste for the darkly Romantic and Gothic; a penchant indebted it seems to the macabre of Henry Fuseli and the mysticism of William Blake.
Robert John Blesard died of consumption aged just thirty, bringing a poignancy to these watercolours, painted towards the end of his short life. His talents as a draughtsman apparently stayed undiscovered, remaining a work of private endeavour.
The collection bears the provenance of Captain Sir Charles Robert Bignold (1892–1970), who belonged to the prosperous Bignold family of Norwich; his ancestor Thomas had established the Norwich Union Insurance Company in 1797. Charles Robert Bignold was a distinguished collector of fine books—his ‘picture book’ estate sale was held at Sotheby’s in 1971—and the outstanding watercolours in this collection are a testament to Bignold’s fine connoisseurship.
