I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas: they've gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.
Emily Bronte
Wuthering Heights

vrijdag 8 november 2013

Ian M. Emberson. In memoriam

Richard Wilcocks shares extremely sad news on the Brontë Parsonage Blog. Artist, composer, writer and Brontë scholar Ian M. Emberson (1936-2013) died last Monday. From his website:
Ian Emberson was born at Hove in Sussex in 1936, and is proud to have been christened by the poet Andrew Young. After moving around quite a bit, he now lives with his wife Catherine in the small town of Todmorden - just within the Yorkshire boundary, despite the postal address.
For many years he was Music Librarian at Huddersfield, but has now retired in order to concentrate on writing and art. He also enjoys walking and swimming and is a life-member of the Gaskell and Brontë Societies. His daughter Beth lives in France.Ian M. Emberson. In memoriam

donderdag 7 november 2013

Fall, Leaves, Fall by Emily Bronte

 Bronte Society e-newsletter

 
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day;

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow;

I shall sing when night’s decay

Ushers in a drearier day.

Portrait of an East Yorkshire farmer's wife called Mrs Hudson painted by Charlotte Bronte

bronteblog : Mrs Hudson calls at the Parsonage.
ITV News reports:
A rare miniature portrait by Charlotte Brontë is to go on public display for the first time at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in West Yorkshire.
The portrait of an East Yorkshire farmer's wife called Mrs Hudson was painted by Charlotte on a visit to their farm near Bridlington in 1839.
The painting was feared lost until the turn of this century when it was bought by a collector. It has now been acquired by The Brontë Society which runs the museum at Haworth.The Brontë Parsonage Facebook page shares more details:
Exciting news! We have acquired a portrait miniature painted by Charlotte Bronte!
Purchased from Christie's, this portrait depicts Mrs Hudson of Easton Farm, Bridlington, whom Charlotte and Ellen Nussey had once stayed with. The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family until it went missing in 1895. It resurfaced in 2001, when it was acquired by Mrs T. S. Elliot, and it is now returning to Charlotte's home where it will be on display to the public for the first time.
In conjunction with this happy occasion, Ann Sumner will be giving a talk about about the art of miniature painting in the wider Victorian context, and the impact of early photography on portrait painting.
Wednesday 6 November, 2pm
West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth
Tickets £5 / Contact Louisa Briggs louisa.briggs@bronte.org.uk / +44(0)1535 640188 to book.
The sitter for this portrait miniature is Mrs Hudson of Easton Farm, Bridlington, referred to by Charlotte in a letter to her friend Ellen Nussey, in 1839. The two women had recently stayed with Mrs Hudson and her husband John, and it was during this visit that the miniature was probably painted, as Charlotte Brontë's second visit to the Hudsons, in 1849, was a much more sombre event, occurring just after the funeral of Charlotte's sister Anne, at Scarborough.
The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family, being passed on first to Mrs Hudson’s niece, Fanny Whipp, who, in turn, left it to her son. In 1895 the tiny painting went missing, and nothing more was heard of it for over one hundred years. It was feared lost, until it reappeared at a sale at Neales in Nottingham in 2001 where it was acquired by the late Mrs T. S. Eliot, a major collector of miniatures. It is now returning to Charlotte’s home at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where it will be on display to the public for the first time.
Sally McDonald, Chairman of the Brontë Society Council told us, ‘The Brontë Society is delighted to be bringing this little gem back to the Parsonage for members and visitors alike to enjoy. We would like to thank all those whose generosity has made the return of the miniature possible.’
Professor Ann Sumner, Executive Director of The Brontë Society said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have acquired this significant and very fine example of Charlotte Bronte’s miniature painting. It is one of her last such portrait miniatures painted during a happy month spent with her friends the Hudsons at Easton House. In this charming work she captures her friend in profile. The provenance of the miniature is also impressive. We are enormously grateful to all those who have supported our fundraising campaign to acquire this work and to Christie’s for negotiating this acquisition. The portrait will next year be on show in a new display on The Brontës and the Railways because Charlotte Bronte travelled for the first time by train in 1839 en route to visit the Hudsons. She took the train from Leeds to Selby.”
Jo Langston, Head of Department, Portrait Miniatures, Christie’s London said, “Christie’s is delighted to have been able to facilitate the acquisition of this portrait miniature by The Brontë Society. The work will now return to the Parsonage where it will join the other rare examples of portraiture by Charlotte Brontë.”
The present miniature is a rare example of portraiture in Charlotte Brontë's artistic oeuvre. Although she dedicated herself to drawing, and had hopes early on of becoming a professional artist and miniature painter, Charlotte's skills lay in copying and imitating landscapes, not portraits. Charlotte, and her sisters, like most middle-class women of the early 19th century, had originally been taught to draw via the medium of copying. Engravings, and Romantic landscapes, such as those included in the works of Lord Byron, were favourites of Charlotte. She became an accomplished amateur with an excellent eye for detail, displaying two copies of engravings at an art exhibition at Leeds in 1834, but she soon came to realize that her inability to paint from her imagination and her lack of originality in her compositions would impede her as a professional artist. She focused her efforts on writing instead.
This portrait of Mrs Hudson belongs, stylistically, to a group of works already in the Brontë Society collection, which includes miniature portraits by Charlotte of her mother, youngest sister, Anne, and close friend Ellen Nussey, with whom she visited the Hudsons.The item was part of the collection
 The sitter for this portrait miniature is Mrs Hudson of Easton Farm, Bridlington, referred to by Charlotte in a letter to her friend Ellen Nussey, in 1839. The two women had recently stayed with Mrs Hudson and her husband John, and it was during this visit that the miniature was probably painted, as Charlotte Brontë's second visit to the Hudsons, in 1849, was a much more sombre event, occurring just after the funeral of Charlotte's sister Anne, at Scarborough.
The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family, being passed on first to Mrs Hudson’s niece, Fanny Whipp, who, in turn, left it to her son. In 1895 the tiny painting went missing, and nothing more was heard of it for over one hundred years. It was feared lost, until it reappeared at a sale at Neales in Nottingham in 2001 where it was acquired by the late Mrs T. S. Eliot, a major collector of miniatures. It is now returning to Charlotte’s home at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where it will be on display to the public for the first time.
Sally McDonald, Chairman of the Brontë Society Council told us, ‘The Brontë Society is delighted to be bringing this little gem back to the Parsonage for members and visitors alike to enjoy. We would like to thank all those whose generosity has made the return of the miniature possible.’
Professor Ann Sumner, Executive Director of The Brontë Society said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have acquired this significant and very fine example of Charlotte Bronte’s miniature painting. It is one of her last such portrait miniatures painted during a happy month spent with her friends the Hudsons at Easton House. In this charming work she captures her friend in profile. The provenance of the miniature is also impressive. We are enormously grateful to all those who have supported our fundraising campaign to acquire this work and to Christie’s for negotiating this acquisition. The portrait will next year be on show in a new display on The Brontës and the Railways because Charlotte Bronte travelled for the first time by train in 1839 en route to visit the Hudsons. She took the train from Leeds to Selby.”
Jo Langston, Head of Department, Portrait Miniatures, Christie’s London said, “Christie’s is delighted to have been able to facilitate the acquisition of this portrait miniature by The Brontë Society. The work will now return to the Parsonage where it will join the other rare examples of portraiture by Charlotte Brontë.”
The present miniature is a rare example of portraiture in Charlotte Brontë's artistic oeuvre. Although she dedicated herself to drawing, and had hopes early on of becoming a professional artist and miniature painter, Charlotte's skills lay in copying and imitating landscapes, not portraits. Charlotte, and her sisters, like most middle-class women of the early 19th century, had originally been taught to draw via the medium of copying. Engravings, and Romantic landscapes, such as those included in the works of Lord Byron, were favourites of Charlotte. She became an accomplished amateur with an excellent eye for detail, displaying two copies of engravings at an art exhibition at Leeds in 1834, but she soon came to realize that her inability to paint from her imagination and her lack of originality in her compositions would impede her as a professional artist. She focused her efforts on writing instead.
This portrait of Mrs Hudson belongs, stylistically, to a group of works already in the Brontë Society collection, which includes miniature portraits by Charlotte of her mother, youngest sister, Anne, and close friend Ellen Nussey, with whom she visited the Hudsons.The item was part of the collection
bronte-society-acquires-important-portrait-miniature-by-charlotte-bronte

dinsdag 5 november 2013

A portrait miniature painted by Charlotte Bronte.

 
Exciting news! Bronte Parsonage Museum has acquired a portrait miniature painted by Charlotte Bronte!

Purchased from Christie's, this portrait depicts Mrs Hudson of Easton Farm, Bridlington, whom Charlotte and Ellen Nussey had once stayed with. The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family until it went missing in 1895. It resurfaced in 2001, when it was acquired by Mrs T. S. Elliot, and it is now returning to Charlotte's home where it will be on display to the public for the first time.

In conjunction with this happy occasion, Ann Sumner will be giving a talk about about the art of miniature painting in the wider Victorian context, and the impact of early photography on portrait painting. ...

Wednesday 6 November, 2pm
West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth

Tickets £5 / Contact Louisa Briggs louisa.briggs@bronte.org.uk / +44(0)1535 640188 to book.

http://www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on/88/victorian-miniatures/90

The Parlour

The Parlour

Parsonage

Parsonage

Charlotte Bronte

Presently the door opened, and in came a superannuated mastiff, followed by an old gentleman very like Miss Bronte, who shook hands with us, and then went to call his daughter. A long interval, during which we coaxed the old dog, and looked at a picture of Miss Bronte, by Richmond, the solitary ornament of the room, looking strangely out of place on the bare walls, and at the books on the little shelves, most of them evidently the gift of the authors since Miss Bronte's celebrity. Presently she came in, and welcomed us very kindly, and took me upstairs to take off my bonnet, and herself brought me water and towels. The uncarpeted stone stairs and floors, the old drawers propped on wood, were all scrupulously clean and neat. When we went into the parlour again, we began talking very comfortably, when the door opened and Mr. Bronte looked in; seeing his daughter there, I suppose he thought it was all right, and he retreated to his study on the opposite side of the passage; presently emerging again to bring W---- a country newspaper. This was his last appearance till we went. Miss Bronte spoke with the greatest warmth of Miss Martineau, and of the good she had gained from her. Well! we talked about various things; the character of the people, - about her solitude, etc., till she left the room to help about dinner, I suppose, for she did not return for an age. The old dog had vanished; a fat curly-haired dog honoured us with his company for some time, but finally manifested a wish to get out, so we were left alone. At last she returned, followed by the maid and dinner, which made us all more comfortable; and we had some very pleasant conversation, in the midst of which time passed quicker than we supposed, for at last W---- found that it was half-past three, and we had fourteen or fifteen miles before us. So we hurried off, having obtained from her a promise to pay us a visit in the spring... ------------------- "She cannot see well, and does little beside knitting. The way she weakened her eyesight was this: When she was sixteen or seventeen, she wanted much to draw; and she copied nimini-pimini copper-plate engravings out of annuals, ('stippling,' don't the artists call it?) every little point put in, till at the end of six months she had produced an exquisitely faithful copy of the engraving. She wanted to learn to express her ideas by drawing. After she had tried to draw stories, and not succeeded, she took the better mode of writing; but in so small a hand, that it is almost impossible to decipher what she wrote at this time.

I asked her whether she had ever taken opium, as the description given of its effects in Villette was so exactly like what I had experienced, - vivid and exaggerated presence of objects, of which the outlines were indistinct, or lost in golden mist, etc. She replied, that she had never, to her knowledge, taken a grain of it in any shape, but that she had followed the process she always adopted when she had to describe anything which had not fallen within her own experience; she had thought intently on it for many and many a night before falling to sleep, - wondering what it was like, or how it would be, - till at length, sometimes after the progress of her story had been arrested at this one point for weeks, she wakened up in the morning with all clear before her, as if she had in reality gone through the experience, and then could describe it, word for word, as it had happened. I cannot account for this psychologically; I only am sure that it was so, because she said it. ----------------------She thought much of her duty, and had loftier and clearer notions of it than most people, and held fast to them with more success. It was done, it seems to me, with much more difficulty than people have of stronger nerves, and better fortunes. All her life was but labour and pain; and she never threw down the burden for the sake of present pleasure. I don't know what use you can make of all I have said. I have written it with the strong desire to obtain appreciation for her. Yet, what does it matter? She herself appealed to the world's judgement for her use of some of the faculties she had, - not the best, - but still the only ones she could turn to strangers' benefit. They heartily, greedily enjoyed the fruits of her labours, and then found out she was much to be blamed for possessing such faculties. Why ask for a judgement on her from such a world?" elizabeth gaskell/charlotte bronte



Poem: No coward soul is mine

No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the worlds storm-troubled sphere:
I see Heavens glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.


O God within my breast.
Almighty, ever-present Deity!
Life -- that in me has rest,
As I -- Undying Life -- have power in Thee!


Vain are the thousand creeds
That move mens hearts: unutterably vain;
Worthless as withered weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,


To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by Thine infinity;
So surely anchored on
The steadfast Rock of immortality.


With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.


Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.


There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou -- Thou art Being and Breath,
And what Thou art may never be destroyed.


--
Emily Bronte

Family tree

The Bronte Family

Grandparents - paternal
Hugh Brunty was born 1755 and died circa 1808. He married Eleanor McClory, known as Alice in 1776.

Grandparents - maternal
Thomas Branwell (born 1746 died 5th April 1808) was married in 1768 to Anne Carne (baptised 27th April 1744 and died 19th December 1809).

Parents
Father was Patrick Bronte, the eldest of 10 children born to Hugh Brunty and Eleanor (Alice) McClory. He was born 17th March 1777 and died on 7th June 1861. Mother was Maria Branwell, who was born on 15th April 1783 and died on 15th September 1821.

Maria had a sister, Elizabeth who was known as Aunt Branwell. She was born in 1776 and died on 29th October 1842.

Patrick Bronte married Maria Branwell on 29th December 1812.

The Bronte Children
Patrick and Maria Bronte had six children.
The first child was Maria, who was born in 1814 and died on 6th June 1825.
The second daughter, Elizabeth was born on 8th February 1815 and died shortly after Maria on 15th June 1825. Charlotte was the third daughter, born on 21st April 1816.

Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls (born 1818) on 29th June 1854. Charlotte died on 31st March 1855. Arthur lived until 2nd December 1906.

The first and only son born to Patrick and Maria was Patrick Branwell, who was born on 26th June 1817 and died on 24th September 1848.

Emily Jane, the fourth daughter was born on 30th July 1818 and died on 19th December 1848.

The sixth and last child was Anne, born on 17th January 1820 who died on 28th May 1849.

Top Withens in the snow.

Top Withens in the snow.

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