"A Revolution of Culture in Whitehaven"
Editor's note: On Friday the 1st of October, our very own Content Creator, Ellie Edwards-Simpson attended a publicity night in celebration of the Beacon Museum in Whitehaven's newest masterpiece exhibit. Read on to hear more about her experience.
This Friday, I had the privilege of being invited to a wonderful publicity night at the Beacon Museum in Whitehaven to unveil a brand new portrait on display: The House of Cards by Jean Simeon Chardin.
This beautiful piece is being lent to the Beacon Museum by the National Gallery as a part of their Masterpiece Tour, which runs from 2021 to 2023.
Within his time, two more pieces will be provided to the Beacon Museum.
The masterpiece will only be on display from 1 October 2021 to 23 January 2022, before being replaced by the next painting provided by the National History Museum.
The next painting will be chosen jointly by the partners of the Beacon Museum and the National Gallery.
The portrait is accompanied by a fascinating exhibit. Complete with information about the portrait and Chardin himself, alongside exciting activities that will thrill all the family.
The publicity night was thoroughly enjoyable, made optimal by complimentary drinks, snacks, and even Georgian characters courtesy of Whitehaven and District Amateur Operatic Society!
The Masterpiece Tour aims to: “promote the understanding, knowledge, and appreciation of Old Master paintings to as wide an audience as possible”, and we are honoured to encourage said goals in Whitehaven.
Jane Knowles, Head of Exhibitions at the National Gallery, gave a fantastic speech where she expressed her excitement to be partnering with the Beacon and thanked Public Engagement Manager Alan Gillon, who later went on to aptly describe Whitehaven as a “Georgian Gem!"
Georgian artist Jean Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) resided in Paris and engaged in genre painting- scenes of ordinary people engaged in everyday activities.
However simple the concept sounds, these paintings are a beautiful display of realism, still rightfully admired in the modern day.
The House of Cards painting itself represents leisure, play, work, childhood, and of
course, anticipation, and was originally engraved with a moralising verse.
You can visit The Beacon Museum's website here for more information on the exhibit.
We are thrilled to see Whitehaven’s history being embraced and encouraged and we hope that this will start the journey to encourage artistic participation and careers within our local community.