The Portraits

of

John Reinhold Forster

and

George Forster

A Catalog

Tracing the Origin of Each Portrait

by

George Bertschinger

george@georgebertschinger.com

Improved website edition of the desktop publication of 1995

Los Gatos, 2004

Clicking a blue link lets you jump to the designated location.

Clicking your back button takes you back where you were before.

Table of Contents

The Men

The Portraits

The Smith Group

The Rigaud Group

The Berger Subgroup

The Graff Group of J. R. F.

The Tischbein and Graff Group of G. F.

Other Pictures

Summary

Übersicht

References Cited

Illustration Sources

Portrait Index

The Men

John Reinhold Forster (1729-1798) and his son George Forster (1754-

1794) were travelers, naturalists, writers, and philosophers.

J. R. Forster, formerly a pastor in Polish Prussia, was commissioned by

Catherine the Great to examine the German settlements on the Volga. He trav-

eled there with his barely eleven year-old son George. They later moved to

England. Six years later John Reinhold accompanied Captain Cook on his epoch-

making Second Voyage to the South Seas, again taking George along. They were

the expedition's naturalists. Afterwards they held academic posts in Germany

and Poland.

John Reinhold, a superb geographer, wrote about zoological, geological,

and oceanographic, as well as a wide array of anthropological matters of the

South Seas and other regions. But his eminence as a scholar was impaired by

conceit and high-handed conduct. We must keep in mind, to be sure, that his

character included charming and noble qualities as well.

George's temperament was of a gentler disposition. His literary output

included travel descriptions and botanical subjects. It expanded into philos-

ophy, aesthetics, and sociology. His fame overshadowed that of his father.

But his popularity in Germany collapsed when he carried Enlightenment ideas to

the extreme by taking a leading part in the Jacobin Club of Mainz, which

sought to turn this city over to revolutionary France.

Both men were eminent scholars, but for centuries neither reached the

renown that their scientific and literary achievements warranted. Only in the last

half century has their standing been rehabilitated somewhat.

The Portraits

The two men were pictured on more than fifty occasions. These pictures have never been catalogued before. They are here listed, described, and discussed. The discussions focus on the source of each portrait. They help

clarify the disarray, and produce a few unexpected results.

Over the years, the chronic disesteem of the two authors has stifled

Forster research. And, as little attention was paid to the subject of portraiture, it is understandable that confusion reigns about the source of some depictions. There is even evidence that an original painting was misascribed to another artist. These mistakes were never recognized, let alone rectified.

John Reinhold and George Forster spent much of their lives together, and several portraits depict both. All of their likenesses are combined in one

list. The persons are identified by using their initials J. R. F. and G. F.

An examination of all extant depictions reveals that only five were

drawn from nature (possibly aside from some silhouettes); the others were

obtained from the five.

Three of the original pictures are of J. R. F. alone:

1.0 Smith-Wedgwood medallion 1775

2.0 Another Smith-Wedgwood medallion 1775

5.0 Graff painting 1781

One painting shows both Forsters:

3.0 Rigaud painting 1780

One painting represents G. F. alone:

7.0 Frankfurt painting 1784

These prototypes form the basis for dividing the portraits of this catalog into groups:

The Smith Group

The Rigaud Group

The Berger Subgroup

The Graff Group of J. R. F.

The Tischbein and Graff Group of G. F.

Other Pictures

The Smith Group

The earliest portraits of J. R. F. that we have were made by

Joachim Smith, a London sculptor, wax modeler, and gem cutter.

His vital dates are unknown. Smith fashioned two different wax

models of J. R. F. for Josiah Wedgwood (1720-1795), the

celebrated pottery manufacturer.

A short digression on Wedgwood's jasper ware manufacture

explains the use of Smith's wax models:

Wedgwood invented and developed the fabrication of miniature

clay medallions. These consist of white relief figures on a dark

background and look like cameos. Some of the figures are por-

traits of illustrious persons. To procure models for the figures

Wedgwood relied on several artists, one of whom was Joachim

Smith.

Wedgwood pressed Smith's waxen relief models into wet clay,

to obtain intaglio molds. After the molds had hardened, he pres-

sed white clay into them. This gave him relief duplicates of the

wax models. Then the white figures, still wet, were affixed to a

darker background, called jasper. Now the medallions were ready

for the kiln.

Joachim Smith made his miniature wax reliefs from paintings

and engravings of prominent persons. Only on rare exceptions did

he produce the wax portraits from nature. Since no sources are

known that might have served as prototypes for his two Forster

portraits, it is possible that they constitute such an exception.

The size of the jasper medals of J. R. F. varies somewhat. It

averages 4 by 3 inches.

Of the two portrait medallions, the one with the Forstera

sedifolia sprig (a plant which Linnaeus named after J. R. F ) is

undoubtedly the better. It is no wonder that it was used exten-

sively in later representations. Here we see J. R. F. at the

height of his career: Just having returned from the celebrated

South Seas voyage, he appears exuberant. People acquainted with

Forster s personality will in the physiognomy easily recognize

his characteristic traits: intellectual, forceful, and self-

assured. They can even perceive his notorious shortcoming: an

overbearing attitude.

The portrait of the second medallion (2.0) reflects a simi-

lar mood, and is hardly less lifelike than the first. But it is

less attractive as an artistic subject. For this reason it has

remained virtually unknown.

1.0 Portrait Medallion by Joachim Smith (1775 or 1776)

Designed by Joachim Smith (fl. 1756 – 1803), manufactured

by Josiah Wedgwood in 1776.

Head and shoulders in profile to right; Forstera sedifolia in coat pocket.

Smith 1.0 Smith 2.0

The following institutions have medallions:

Mitchell Library, Sydney, Australia

1. White on blue jasper ware, signature "IS" on base of arm. Beddie 4429.

Reprod. Iredale, G. F. Paintings, 1925: 53.

Hoare, Tactl. Philo.: 103

Hoare, Res. Journ.: 1

2. White on blue jasper ware. Beddie 4433.

Dixson Library, Sydney, Australia

White on green jasper ware. Unsigned; lacking sprig of Forstera sedifolia. Beddie 4432.

Nottingham Castle Museum, Nottingham, England

Unsigned; "FORSTER" stenciled below portrait.

Reprod. Reilly, Robin, and Savage: Wedgwood: The Portrait Medallions,

London 1973.

1.1 Whates caricature (1780)

Vital dates of caricaturist unknown.

Copper engraving showing J. R. F. riding backwards on a donkey,

followed by son George, wife Justine, and five more children. A balloon

emerging from J. R. F.'s mouth has him utter "I vil tel de Kinck of

you." This refers to his threats on the voyage to complain directly to

the king. Bottom inscription: "Whates del^t - Doctor Faustus exeudit -

Robinson [engraver]".

J. R. F.'s head and shoulders are clearly derived from the Smith-

Wedgwood medallion (1.0), complete with Forstera sedifolia. G. F.

appears in an oblique front view.

Repr. G. F. Werke: 13:128

Hoare, Tact. Philo.: 176

1.2 Medal of J. R. F. by Abraham Abramson (1777)

Abramson (1754-1811) was the Royal Prussian Medalist at Berlin.

The former existence of this medal, if indeed it existed, rests

solely on a note in Meusel, Museum 9(1789):473 (repeated in Goedeke

7:239): "Abramson in Berlin struck a medal after his head in 1777." In

1777 only the Smith-Wedgwood medallion could have served Abramson as a

model .

The standard work on Abramson (Hoffmann, Tassilo: Jacob Abraham

und Abraham Abramson - 55 Jahre Berliner Medaillenkunst, Frankfurt 1927)

does not mention J. R. F. This leaves room for serious doubt whether

Abramson ever made such a medal.

1.3 Akademisches Taschenbuch silhouette of J. R. F. (1791)

Artist unknown.

Head and shoulders facing left, in oval ornamented with ribbon and

name plate "I. R. FORSTER". 3210. Is this Diepenbroick 8204?

The silhouette stems from the Smith - Wedgwood medallion (1.0),

perhaps indirectly.

Pub 1.in Akademisches Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1791.

1.4 Engraving of J. R. F. by Halle (1795)

Halle of Berlin, vital dates unknown, called himself "Halle

Berlin".

Profile facing right, after Berger (4.1), with Forstera sedifolia

in coat pocket. Similar surround as Berger etching. Name plate: "D.

IOH. REINHOLD FORSTER". Signed: "Gestochen von Halle Berlin 1795".

Diepenbroick 8200, 8201.

Publ. in Krünitz, Joh. Georg: Oekonomisch-technologische

Encyklopädie, 2^nd ed., 1804): frontisp.

1.5 Warrington Worthies silhouette of J. R. F. (1853)

The unknown person who drew the silhouette probably worked from

the Wedgwood medallion.

Head and shoulders.

Appeared in Warrington Worthies, collected and arranged by James

Kendrick, M.D., Warrington, 1853. Pl. 3.

1.6 Wissenschaftliche Beiträge silhouette of J. R. F. (1981)

Head and shoulders, looking left. Derived from one of the Smith-

Wedgwood group.

Appeared in Georg Forster, Wissenschaftliche Beiträge der Martin-

Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg 42(1981): 21. Captioned "Georg [!]

Forster" (label confounded with that of next illustration).

2.0 Another portrait medallion by Joachim Smith (1775 or 1776)

Designed by J. Smith, manufactured by J. Wedgwood.

Head and shoulders in profile facing left. Forster, slightly

smiling, wears only a silk shirt.

The Nottingham Castle Museum has a specimen.

Reprod. Reilly, Robin, and Savage: Wedgwood: The Portrait

Medallions, London 1973.

********************

For further developments of the Smith – Wedgwood portrait of J. R. F. see the following double portraits:

4.1 Etching by Berger

4.2 Ephemeriden Engraving

4.4 Wood Engraving by G. H. & K.

The Rigaud Group

John Francis Rigaud (1742-1810) composed a magnificent painting, the only one that shows both Forsters together. They are at work: drawing birds in a resplendent scene in what was thought to be Tahiti, but is actually New Zealand.

"Rigaud, a member of the academy, was born in the French

part of Switzerland. He has worked in London for a long time. He

is praised as a diligent portraitist ... This unpretentious artist

paints with a forceful, true stroke which disdains the artifices

of his academic colleagues. Perhaps this is why he fails to at-

tract the attention of those who can only be impressed with heavy

highlights and glaring contrasts."

Thus wrote G. F. about the painter who painted him a decade earlier.

(Geschichte der Kunst in England vom Jahre 1789, G. F. Werke 7, 138f.)

The scene of the painting (3.0), when mentioned at all, was always given

as Tahitian; but plants, birds, and the sailing boat pictured on it belong to

New Zealand. (Forstera sedifolia on hat, Anthornis melanura in hand, Callaeas

cinera, Philesturnus carunculatus, and Prosthemadera novaseelandiae on rock.)

There is no doubt that the setting is intended to be in New Zealand.

The two Forsters sat for the artist in London. J. R. F. wears the same

clothes as on the Smith-Wedgwood medallion (1.0), with the addition of a smart

hat. The Forstera sedifolia sprig which Smith had placed in his coat pocket

is now stuck under the hatband. G. F. is elegantly dressed in a shirt with

ruffled trim. We shall pursue this detail in later renderings.

No copy has ever been made of J. R. F. alone from the Rigaud painting,

aside from the two drawings mentioned below (3.4 and 3.5). But for G. F. see

the Berger subgroup (next section).

3.0 Oil painting on canvas by J. F. Rigaud (1780)

John Francis Rigaud (1742-1810), born in Italy of French descent, was a historical and portrait painter in London.

The picture shows a front view of J. R. F. standing, a dead bird

in hand; and G. F. sitting, in profile to left, drawing the bird. The

painting measures 126 by 101 cm, and is signed in the left bottom corner

"painted by I. F. Rigaud London 1780". Fiedler 1199.

Owner: Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Berlin. The canvas passed

from J. R. F. through his daughter Iphigenie Sprengel and her daughter

Iphigenie von Hoffnass to the Rheinberger family. Unfortunately, the

painting had been inaccessible to reproducing artists for a very long

time.

3.0 Rigaud

Color reproductions:

Fiedler, Horst et al.: G. F., Wörlitz, 1975.

(Front cover). Measures 13 by 10.5 cm.

Hoare, Res. Journ. (1, frontisp.). 13 by 10.5 cm.

Gray, William R.: "Voyages to Paradise", Nat. Geo-

graphic Society, Spec. Issue, Washington, 1981: 106.

18 by 23 cm.

3.1 Oil painting on wood (before 1799)

Smaller copy of proceeding item (3.0). It measures about 22 by

16 cm. Fiedler 1200.