The discipline of material culture study has long been estranged from mainstream academic discourse and has been viewed commonly as the study of pots and pans. Historians are beginning to realize that material culture and cultural reconstruction offer vital insights into the past. Building upon new developments, my thesis sought to reconstruct the items painted by Joshua Reynolds in his famous painting of Lord Dunmore. Such an analysis allowed for the steps of unnamed tradesmen to be retraced, making a few people who were lost to history known once again. This was achieved by recreating every object in the portrait as it would have been done in context, through primary written documentation in tandem with extant artifacts. This study put to the test the benefit of material culture study and its place amongst academic history. the utilization of interdisciplinary means brought to light new insights into the past through combining experimental archeology, material culture studies, and academic history. The findings of this research provide insight into the effectiveness of the experiential analysis technique for the purpose of historical study and how it benefits, not only current understanding of artifacts themselves, but also fills gaps in the lives of those who created an used these items.

This thesis addresses the growing impulse towards establishing a public, national collection of Old Master pictures for Britain, located in London, in the last quarter of the eighteenth-century. It does so by identifying the importance of individual conceptualizations of what such a collection might mean for a nation, and how it might come to be realized for an imprecisely defined public. My thesis examines the shifting dynamics between private and public collections during the period of 1775 to 1800, repositioning notions of what constituted space for viewing and accessing art in a national context, and investigates just who participated in the ensuing dialogues about various uses of art for the nation. To this end, three case studies have been employed. The first examines the collection of pictures assembled by Sir Robert Walpole and their public legacy. The second explores the proposal for a national collection of art put forth by art dealer Noel Desenfans. The third examines the frustrated plans of Sir Joshua Reynolds for his collection of Old Master pictures. Through the respective lenses provided by the case studies, it is demonstrated that the envisioning of a national gallery for Britain pitched competing perspectives against each other, as different kinds of people jockeyed for cultural authority. The process of articulating and shaping these ambitions with an eye towards national benefit was only beginning to be explored, and negotiations of private ambitions and interests surrounding picture collections for the public was further complicated by factors of social class and profession. This thesis demonstrate that the boundaries of participation in matters concerning art for the nation were not fixed regarding Old Master pictures and the value placed on them in late eighteenth-century London. / Thesis (Ph.D, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2009-01-26 09:01:22.591

Denna uppsats behandlar två barnporträtt utförda av Alexander Roslin utifrån ett performativt perspektiv. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka en relativt outforskad aspekt av dennes konstnärskap samt hur detta relaterar till det samhälle konstnären verkade i. Hur upplysningens syn på barnet tar sitt uttryck i Alexander Roslins två barnporträtt samt hur detta kan analyseras utifrån ett performativt perspektiv är två centrala frågeställningar för uppsatsen. Frågeställningarna kommer att besvaras genom ett antal teoretiska utgångspunkter, där Jean-Jacques Rousseaus Émile, eller Om uppfostran är mest central. Metoden som uppsatsen kommer tillämpa är baserad på en komparativ analys av de två barnporträtten utifrån ett performativt perspektiv. Uppsatsens disposition är uppdelad i två kapitel, där det initiala beskriver och jämför de två porträtten, och det andra analyserar porträtten utifrån begreppet performativitet.  Uppsatsens generella resultat visar på en korrelation mellan det allmänna samhällets syn på barnet under 1700-talet och Alexander Roslins porträtteringar av barn. Detta understryks av uppsatsens performativa analys, som vidare bidrar till en djupare förståelse för hur samhället under 1700-talet och dess ideal tar sitt uttryck i en konstnärs skildringar.

The study of material culture study has long been estranged from mainstream academic discourse often dismissed as the examination of pots and pans. Historians are beginning to realize that material culture and cultural reconstruction offer vital insights into the past. Building upon new developments, my project reconstructs the items painted by Joshua Reynolds in his famous painting of Lord Dunmore. This reconstruction allows for the efforts of unnamed tradesmen to be retraced, making a few people and their efforts which were lost to history known once again. By employing written documentation in tandem with extant artifacts, the project recreates every object in the portrait as it would have been done in the past. This study put to the test the benefit of material culture as an academic discipline. By employing an interdisciplinary approach, it allowed for new insights into the past by combining most notably experimental archeology, material culture studies, and academic history. The findings of this research provide insight into the effectiveness of the experiential analysis technique for the purpose of historical study and how it benefits not only current understanding of artifacts themselves but also fills gaps in the lives of those who created and used these items.