Left: Whole painting. Right: Closer view of the two children. [Click on all the images to enlarge them.]
Dr. Harvey and the Children of Charles I. 1871. Oil on canvas. 65 1⁄4 by 45 1⁄4 inches (166 x 115 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy of Tennants Auctioneers.
When this painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1871, no. 81, the following explanation of the scene was given in the Royal Academy catalogue: "The young princes accompanied their father the King, whilst he waged war with the Parliament. At the outset of the battle of Edgehill, their tutor Harvey, the famous discoverer of the circulation of blood, took them to a place of safety, as he thought, and all absorbed in his meditations, sat down, pulled out his books, and plunged into his studies. It was only when the bullets whistled about their heads that he became aware of the danger to which his young charges were exposed."
The Battle of Edgehill was fought a few miles from Banbury on 23 October 1642. It was the first major battle of the English Civil War. The Earl of Essex had been given instructions by the Parliamentarians to stop King Charles' forces from advancing on London. Although neither side could claim a decisive victory at Edgehill, the road to London was now open for the king's troops to advance. "Charles did not take advantage of his opportunity ... and by the time his troops reached Reading, Essex had regained London and a fresh force of men prevented any further royalist advance" (Ross). Charles made his headquarters at Oxford and the war dragged on for several more years until the Parliamentarians under Cromwell were eventually victorious.
When the painting was shown in 1871 a critic for The Art Journal felt it failed to reach Yeames's usual standards:
Mr. Yeames, who loves to tread in the by-paths of history, has this year fallen upon Dr. Harvey and the Children of Charles I (81). The incident is pretty, and yet the picture is comparatively poor. The subject on examination proves to be an episode in the battle of Edgehill; indeed the fight is seen in the distance. The young princes, under the care of their tutor Dr. Harvey, accompanied the king in his wars with the Parliament, and it would seem that regardless of danger they got within gunshot. Curious as to what is going on, they clamber up a bank, and with the glee of childhood see the battle before them. The artist, who in a quiet way is fond of pictorial contrasts, seats Dr. Harvey in the midst of his books. The figures seem awkwardly large for the trees and fields, and the landscape by necessity is dwarfed by the figures: in other words, the picture does not compose, the colour too is far from delicious in harmony. Mr. Yeames will live to paint many better pictures. [152]
Three years later in 1874 the painting was again discussed in The Art Journal by James Dafforne: "A large canvas, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1871, bore the title of Dr. Harvey and the Children of Charles I." However, Dafforne only explained the historical background of the painting, and how it was reflected in it: "Harvey, the famous discoverer of the circulation of the blood, was tutor to the young princes, who accompanied their father in his war with the forces of Parliament. Harvey took the children to witness the battle of Edgehill, and placing them, as he thought, out of danger, quietly sat down and began to read. The princes have climbed a high bank, and are watching the battle with the curiosity of young children, while the learned doctor, absorbed in his studies, seems perfectly unconscious of anything that is passing around him" (100).
F. G. Stephens, in The Athenaeum, was more critical: "Mr. Yeames will not add to his reputation by the picture of Dr. Harvey and the Children of Charles the First," he said, again explaining the background, but adding: "Though not without certain technical merits, some of them having considerable value, - as in the colour of the children's figures, which is expressive enough to tell the story well, - this work is badly composed, and, practically speaking, consists of two pictures – that containing Harvey and that of the boys; between these is a space, as artists say, 'to let.' The colour, in general, is rather heavy, if not crude and opaque. Harvey is commonplace. Mr. Yeames promised, whatever he might become, never to be commonplace" (596).
A reviewer for The Illustrated London News discussed this work amongst the pictures for the upcoming Royal Academy exhibition, and subsequently, after the picture was exhibited, reported: "Mr. Yeames has avoided the somewhat monotonous texture and tone of recent works in the anecdotic picture (81) of Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood abstractedly pouring over a book, unconscious of the danger to the children of Charles I in his charge from the bullets flying about their heads from the battle of Edgehill, close by. The figures engaged in the battle are not brought sufficiently under the influence of aerial perspective" (471).
Left: Closer view of Dr Harvey. Right: Study for the painting: Study for Dr. Harvey and the Children of Charles I, c. 1871. Black and grey wash on pale green paper; 11 13/16 x 7 1/2 in. (30.0 X 19.0 cm). Private collection.
When one compares an early sketch to the final picture it is obvious that Yeames has significantly modified his composition. Dr. Harvey's costume is entirely different, as is the way he holds and contemplates the book he is studying. In the sketch three boys are seen observing the battle while only the future Charles II and James II are included in the final picture. The boys' poses are significantly changed. In the sketch Dr. Harvey sits on the ground and not on a tree trunk and the trees in the midground and background have been considerably altered. The horizon is higher in the finished picture. Clearly, much thought had gone into the final, more focussed painting.
Links to Related Material
- The Children of Charles I, by Margaret Isabel Dicksee
- [Charles I taking leave of his children], by Marcus Stone
- [Charles I taking leave of his children], by John McLaren Ralston
- Joseph Durham's seated statue of Dr Harvey
- Albert Bruce-Joy's monument to William Harvey in Folkestone
Bibliography
"British, European and Sporting Pictures." Lot 1090. Tennants Auctioneers. Web. 1 September 2023.
Dafforne, James: "The Works of William Frederick Yeames, A.R.A.," The Art Journal New Series XIII (1874): 97-100.
"Exhibition of the Royal Academy." The Illustrated London News LVIII (13 May 1871): 471.
"Pictures for the Forthcoming Academy Exhibition." The Illustrated London News LVIII (8 April 1871): 346.
Ross, David. "The Battle of Edgehill." Britin Express. Web. 1 September 2023.
"The Royal Academy." The Art Journal New Series X (1 June 1871): 149-54.
Stephen Smith, Mary Helen. Art and Anecdote. Recollections of William Frederick Yeames, R.A. His Life and his Friends. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1927. 165.
Stephens, Frederic George. "The Royal Academy." The Athenaeum No. 2272 (13 May 1871): 596-97.
Victorian and Edwardian Art. London: Sotheby's. (13 July 2010): lot 97.
Created 1 September 2023