{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02586206896551724, 'fraction_numerical': 0.020114942528735632, 'mean_word_length': 5.056521739130435, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
‘A revolution in art’: Maria Callcott on Poussin, Painting, and the Primitives

In 1845 the Athenaeum bemoaned the loss to the nation of an ‘exquisite fragment’ by Filippino Lippi: the Angel Adoring once owned by the painter Augustus Wall Callcott and his wife Maria (1785–1842). This early painting, probably bought by Maria herself, epitomizes the revolutionary ideas set out in her publications on art. Initially known for her travel writing, she launched her art historical career in 1820 with a pioneering biography of Nicolas Poussin. A friend of painters such as Thomas Lawrence and J. M. W. Turner, she was especially close to Charles Eastlake and shared his desire to promote late medieval and early Renaissance art. On honeymoon in 1827 and 1828, Maria viewed such Primitive works in Germany and Italy, meeting the curators and artists who were producing a ‘revolution’ in taste. The trip resulted in Maria’s groundbreaking Essays Towards the History of Painting (1836). Prevented by ill health from making a substantial published contribution to the history of art, Maria Callcott influenced artistic debates of the day through her informal salon in Kensington. This article examines how she used her personal networks and travel experience to reassess works by the old masters, challenging conventional ideas, while also helping to combat prejudice against the female connoisseur.