AFA 18th Anniversary

2018 Antiques & Fine Art 143 Charles was seventy-seven when his interest in longevity led him to seek out the Guinean Muslim and former slave Yarrow Mamout, who was literate in Arabic, owned his own home, and had a bank account. 2 Reputedly over 134 years old, but likely closer to eighty-three, Yarrow’s Georgetown neighbors explained to Peale that Yarrow’s calculations of age differed from western methods. Charles’ personal encounter with Yarrow confirmed his belief that advanced age was linked to “good temper,” and he noted in his diary that despite a life compromised by extraordinary hardships, Yarrow’s positive attitude, industry, self-discipline, frugality, perseverance, responsibility, resourcefulness, and temperance had sustained him. The portrait is a remarkably open and sympathetic encounter between artist and sitter and a rare image of ethnic and religious diversity in America prior to 1825. Its accomplished naturalism illustrates the development of Charles’ late style, which was indebted to lessons from his son Rembrandt. Rembrandt was Charles’ second eldest son and the child who most closely met his expectations through his career as a portraitist and history painter. He was sixty-two when he painted this self-portrait for his second wife and student, Harriet Cany (1800–1869), during the first year of their marriage. His figure emerges from the darkness as his features are illuminated by light streaming across his face. His expression seems to resolve into a gentle smile, and details, like the shadows cast by his gold spectacles, draw the viewer into this intimate image. Its carefully rendered anatomy, meticulous execution, and high finish reflect his admiration for the neoclassical aesthetic he assimilated while studying in Paris, where he painted portraits of eminent European scientists and intellectuals for Peale’s museum. Throughout his long career, Rembrandt painted numerous self-portraits, which varied in size, format, and expressive quality. Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827), Portrait of Yarrow Mamout ( Muhammad Yaro ) (ca. 1736–1823), 1819. Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches. Purchased with the gifts (by exchange) of R. Wistar Harvey; Mrs. T. Charlton Henry, Mr. and Mrs. J. Stogdell Stokes, Elise Robinson Paumgarten from the Sallie Crozer Hilprecht Collection, Lucie Washington Mitcheson in memory of Robert Stockton Johnson Mitcheson for the Robert Stockton Johnson Mitcheson Collection, R. Nelson Buckley, the estate of Rictavia Schiff, and the McNeil Acquisition Fund for American Art and Material Culture (2011-87-1). Rembrandt Peale (1778–1860), Self Portrait, 1840. Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches. Gift of the McNeil Americana Collection (2009-17-4).