ALW1 - The National Gallery.

I went to the The National Gallery this Saturday. I saw and took pictures of a lot of legendary artworks there.

Out of these fascinating artworks, My favorite one is Charles William Lambton By

Sir Thomas Lawrence. I would like to talk a bit more about it.

Image 1. Portrait of Charles William Lambton (‘The Red Boy’) by Sir Thomas Lawrence. 1825. Oil on canvas, 140.5 × 110.6 cm.

The portrait of Charles William Lambton was commissioned by the boy's father, John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, a Whig politician and County Durham MP. In 2021, the Lambton family donated it to the National Gallery, which became known as The Red Boy. Thomas Lawrence's masterpiece was the first image to appear on a British postage stamp in 1967, a testament to the image's enduring popularity. [2]

The denotation for this painting is a boy dressing red loose-fitting clothes and sitting on a stone in a rural area.

My connotation for this painting is things related to luxury. we can see that the boy is dressed so decent with red loose-fitting clothes and white shirt, this always remind me of the way noble people dressed. He is sitting on a stone with flowers besides him in a rural area and posing with a posture related to thinking and wondering, that gives me a feeling that he is really into the nature and gaining his idea of the world. also, the boy was painted so well with his face and skin, such good condition of skin gives me a feeling of heathy and everything is about to start.

The main subject for this painting is a boy dressing red loose-fitting clothes and sitting on a stone in a rural area.

The color of this painting is earth tone for the background and red for the main object. I believe the purpose of using red color is to grab audience's attention to the main object, and also show that this boy comes from a noble family.

The location for this painting is a rural area, this boy is sitting on a stone with flowers besides him. also, he is in a thinking or wondering posture. that gives me feeling that he is exploring and gaining his idea of the nature.

The composition for this painting is this boy/, as the main object, painted in the center of this painting. the purpose for that might be the same with the chose of colors to grab audience's attention.

The angle for this painting is eye-level, just to show the whole body of this boy and indicate that this boy is quite young and might be confusing with the world.

I took this picture in the gallery. To be honest, this might be the most beautiful face I have seen in recent years. I was so shocked when I first saw it.

I brought the story of art by E.H. GOMBRICH in the national gallery shop. I read the Chinese version before and I want to try the English version this time.

Image Reference List

Image 1. Sir Thomas Lawrence. (1825). Portrait of Charles William Lambton (‘The Red Boy’). Oil on canvas, 140.5 × 110.6 cm. Available from 托马斯·劳伦斯爵士 |查尔斯·威廉·兰姆顿 |NG6692 |伦敦国家美术馆 (nationalgallery.org.uk) [Accessed 30 October 2022].

Reference List

The National Gallery. Description for Portrait of Charles William Lambton (‘The Red Boy’). (No Date). Available from 托马斯·劳伦斯爵士 |查尔斯·威廉·兰姆顿 |NG6692 |伦敦国家美术馆 (nationalgallery.org.uk) [Accessed 30 October 2022].

Thank you!