Peter Angellis, Conversation Piece c.1715-20
Display caption
Though the title has, for modern audiences, polite implications, this scene in rich surroundings is one of unrestrained revelry, including drunkenness and sexual encounters with prostitutes. It belongs to a Netherlandish tradition of slightly disreputable ‘merry company’ subjects, which emphasise lax morality and the squandering of wealth.
Angellis was born in Dunkirk and came to England in about 1716. He settled in Covent Garden, a newly developed area of London which became the heart of the artistic community.
February 2004
Other works of art you may be interested in
Find similar artworks
Artist
Peter Angellis
(1)
Category
Painting
(5,294)
Decade
1710-9
(14)
Style or ‘-ism’
18th century
(462)
Conversation Piece
(29)
Subject
architecture
(30,433)
periods and styles
(3,305)
classical
(994)
townscapes, man-made features
(18,965)
building - non-specific
(2,707)
leisure and pastimes
(3,120)
eating and drinking
(348)
recreational activities
(1,042)
party
(24)
nature
(37,446)
animals: mammals
(4,211)
cat
(126)
objects
(12,242)
clothing and personal effects
(3,859)
fan
(54)
furnishings
(1,928)
curtain
(201)
people
(21,185)
society
(14,244)
sex and relationships
(742)
flirtation
(41)
social comment
(1,563)
morality
(50)
work and occupations
(5,206)