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{{short description|British painter}}
{{short description|British painter (1813–1842)}}


{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
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| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Emma Jones Soyer
| name = Emma Jones Soyer
| image = Elizabeth Emma Soyer.jpg
| image = Emma-Soyer-self-portrait.png
| image_size =
| image_size =
| alt =
| alt =
| caption = Elizabeth Emma Soyer in 1830. Portrayed by [[Henry Bryan Hall]]
| caption = Self portrait, engraved by [[Henry Bryan Hall|H.{{space}}B.{{space}}Hall]]
| birth_name = Elizabeth Emma Jones
| birth_name = Elizabeth Emma Jones
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1813|09|05|df=y}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Ruth Cowen|publisher=Orion Publishing|year=2010|title=Relish: The Extraordinary Life of Alexis Soyer, Victorian Celebrity Chef}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1813|09|05|df=y}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Ruth Cowen|publisher=Orion Publishing|year=2010|title=Relish: The Extraordinary Life of Alexis Soyer, Victorian Celebrity Chef}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[London]], [[England]]
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1842|08|30|1813|09|05|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1842|08|30|1813|09|05|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]], [[England]]
| death_place = London, England
| resting_place = [[Kensal Green Cemetery]]
| resting_place = [[Kensal Green Cemetery]], London
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| nationality = English
| nationality = British
| known_for = [[Portraiture]]
| known_for = [[Portraiture]]
| notable_works = {{plainlist|
| notable_works = {{plainlist|
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*''Portrait of Alexis Soyer''
*''Portrait of Alexis Soyer''
*''The Grandmother at Her Spinning Wheel''
*''The Grandmother at Her Spinning Wheel''
*''Watercress Woman''
}}
}}
| spouse = [[Alexis Soyer]]
| spouse = [[Alexis Soyer]] (m. 1837)
| relatives = [[François Simonau]], teacher and stepfather
}}
}}


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==Biography==
==Biography==
[[File:Emma Soyer (Emma Jones) Two Black Children.jpg|thumb|left|Painting signed "E. Jones {{lang|la|fecit}} 1831", painted for the slavery [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolitionist]] cause]]
[[File:Alexis Soyer.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Emma Soyer, ''Portrait of Alexis Soyer'', 1841 (private collection, on loan to the [[Reform Club]])]]


Elizabeth Emma Jones was born in London in 1813, and was instructed in French, Italian, and music. At a very early age she became a pupil of the Belgian painter [[François Simonau]] (1783–1859), who in 1820 married her mother, Mrs. Jones. Finding that Emma had talents for drawing, Simoneau devoted the whole of his time to her instruction, and before the age of twelve she "had drawn more than a hundred portraits from life with gret fidelity".<ref name="BritPort"/> She also became a talented pianist under the tutelage of [[Jean Ancot Jnr|Jean Ancot]].<ref name=gentlemansobit>{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCZIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA667 |title=Obituary &ndash; Madame Soyer|work=[[The Gentleman's Magazine]] |date=July 1842 |pages=666–8 |volume=53 |accessdate=3 September 2018 }}</ref>
Elizabeth Emma Jones was born in London in 1813, and was instructed in French, Italian, and music. At a very early age she became a pupil of the Belgian painter [[François Simonau]] (1783–1859), who in 1820 married her mother, Mrs. Jones. Finding that Emma had talents for drawing, Simoneau devoted the whole of his time to her instruction, and before the age of twelve she "had drawn more than a hundred portraits from life with gret fidelity".<ref name="BritPort"/> She also became a talented pianist under the tutelage of [[Jean Ancot Jnr|Jean Ancot]].<ref name=gentlemansobit>{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCZIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA667 |title=Obituary &ndash; Madame Soyer|work=[[The Gentleman's Magazine]] |date=July 1842 |pages=666–8 |volume=53 |accessdate=3 September 2018 }}</ref>
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Between 1823 and 1843 fourteen of her pictures were exhibited at the [[Royal Academy]], thirty-eight at the [[British Institution]], and fourteen at the [[Suffolk Street Gallery]] (Graves, Dictionary of Artists, pp.&nbsp;130, 221).
Between 1823 and 1843 fourteen of her pictures were exhibited at the [[Royal Academy]], thirty-eight at the [[British Institution]], and fourteen at the [[Suffolk Street Gallery]] (Graves, Dictionary of Artists, pp.&nbsp;130, 221).


In June 1848 one hundred and forty of her works were exhibited at the Prince of Wales's bazaar, under the name of Soyer's Philanthropic Gallery, on behalf of the Spitalfields soup kitchen, and a catalogue was printed. Among these pictures was "The Young Savoyards Resting", a work which obtained for Madame Soyer the name of the "English Murillo". Two of her pieces, "The Jew Lemon Boys" and "The English Ceres", were engraved by Gérard. In Paris, where many of her pictures were exhibited, her reputation stood higher than in her native country.<ref name=DNB00>{{cite DNB
In June 1848 one hundred and forty of her works were exhibited at the Prince of Wales's bazaar, under the name of Soyer's Philanthropic Gallery, on behalf of the Spitalfields soup kitchen, and a catalogue was printed. Among these pictures was "The Young Savoyards Resting", a work which obtained for Madame Soyer the name of the "English Murillo". Two of her pieces, "The Jew Lemon Boys" and "The English Ceres", were engraved by Gérard. In Paris, where many of her pictures were exhibited, her reputation stood higher than in her native country.<ref name=DNB00>{{cite DNB|wstitle = Soyer, Elizabeth Emma|last= Boase|first=George Clement|authorlink=George Clement Boase|volume = 53|quote=[Redgrave's ''Dictionary of Artists'', 1878, p. 241; ''Volant and Warren's Memoirs'' of A. Soyer, 1858, pp. 10, 27, 36, 81, 128, 136, 166, 276; Grinsted's ''Last Homes of Departed Genius'', 1867, p. 291; Dodd's ''Annual Biography'', 1843, p. 447; ''Gent. Mag.'' 1842, ii. 441; ''Morning Post'', 2 September 1842, p. 4.]
|wstitle = Soyer, Elizabeth Emma
|last= Boase
|first=George Clement
|authorlink=George Clement Boase
|volume = 53
|quote=[Redgrave's ''Dictionary of Artists'', 1878, p. 241; ''Volant and Warren's Memoirs'' of A. Soyer, 1858, pp. 10, 27, 36, 81, 128, 136, 166, 276; Grinsted's ''Last Homes of Departed Genius'', 1867, p. 291; Dodd's ''Annual Biography'', 1843, p. 447; ''Gent. Mag.'' 1842, ii. 441; ''Morning Post'', 2 September 1842, p. 4.]
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
[[File:Emma Soyer (nee Jones) - Two Children with a Book, 1831.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Emma Jones (later Soyer), ''Two Children with a Book'', 1831, (private collection, on loan to the [[Tate Britain]] since 2022)]]
⚫
In September 2018 Soyer's painting of two black girls, in a tropical landscape, painted for the slavery [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolitionist]] cause in Britain, was featured on the [[BBC One]] television programme ''[[Fake or Fortune?]]''.<ref name="BBC-b0bj6gm7">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bj6gm7|title=BBC One - Fake or Fortune?, Series 7, A Double Whodunnit|website=BBC}}</ref>


⚫
In September 2018 Soyer's painting of two black girls, in a tropical landscape, possibly painted for the slavery [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolitionist]] cause in Britain, was featured on the [[BBC One]] television programme ''[[Fake or Fortune?]]''.<ref name="BBC-b0bj6gm7">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bj6gm7|title=BBC One – Fake or Fortune?, Series 7, A Double Whodunnit|website=BBC}}</ref> The picture is on long term loan to the [[Tate Britain]] since 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=‘Two Children with a Book‘, Emma Soyer (née Jones), 1831 |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/soyer-two-children-with-a-book-l04612 |website=Tate |access-date=4 March 2024}}.</ref>
⚫
Her portrait of Alexis Soyer is still in the collection of the Reform club.<ref name="BBC-b0bj6gm7" />

The artwork and Soyer herself are mentioned in [[Zadie Smith]]'s 2023 novel ''[[The Fraud]]''.

⚫
Her portrait of Alexis Soyer is in the collection of the Reform club (on loan from a private collection).<ref name="BBC-b0bj6gm7" />
{{clear}}

== Gallery ==

<gallery caption="Works by Emma Soyer" mode="packed" widths="180px" heights=180px>
File:The grandmother at her spinning wheel.jpg|''The Grandmother at her Spinning Wheel'', 1835 (private collection)
File:Elizabeth Emma Soyer Two children with a basket of flowers 1836.jpg|''Two Children with Flowers'', 1836 (private collection)
File:EMMA SOYER The escape - a young girl with a bird cage, 1836.jpg|''The Escape'', 1836 (private collection)
File:Emma Soyer - Portrait of William Timms the Waterman aged 95.jpg|''Portrait of William Timms, the Waterman, aged 95'', 1838 (collection of the Duke of Northumberland, [[Syon House]])
File:Emma Soyer - Portrait of a woman, 1839.jpg|''Portrait of a woman'', 1839 (private collection)
File:The Young Israelites (print by Alexis François Girard after Emma Soyer) 2.jpg|The Young Israelites, engraving after Soyer's painting
File:The English Ceres (print by Samuel Bellin after Emma Soyer) 01.jpg|''The English Ceres'', engraving after Soyer's painting
</gallery>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:1813 births]]
[[Category:1813 births]]
[[Category:1842 deaths]]
[[Category:1842 deaths]]
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[[Category:English women painters]]
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[[Category:Deaths in childbirth]]
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[[Category:19th-century British women artists]]
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[[Category:Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery]]
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[[Category:Artists from London]]
[[Category:19th-century British painters]]
[[Category:19th-century British painters]]
[[Category:19th-century English women]]
[[Category:19th-century English women]]
[[Category:19th-century English people]]
[[Category:19th-century English artists]]
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[[Category:Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery]]
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[[Category:Deaths in childbirth]]
⚫
[[Category:English portrait painters]]
⚫
[[Category:Painters from London]]
⚫
[[Category:19th-century English women painters]]
[[Category:19th-century English painters]]

Latest revision as of 20:29, 10 November 2024

Emma Jones Soyer
Self portrait, engraved by H. B. Hall
Born
Elizabeth Emma Jones

(1813-09-05)5 September 1813[1]
London, England
Died30 August 1842(1842-08-30) (aged 28)
London, England
Resting placeKensal Green Cemetery, London
NationalityBritish
Known forPortraiture
Notable work
  • Two Black Children with a Book
  • Watercress Woman
  • Portrait of Alexis Soyer
  • The Grandmother at Her Spinning Wheel
SpouseAlexis Soyer (m. 1837)
RelativesFrançois Simonau, teacher and stepfather

Elizabeth Emma Soyer, née Jones (5 September 1813 – 30 August 1842) was an English oil painter,[2] known as Emma Jones or Emma Soyer.

Biography

[edit]
Emma Soyer, Portrait of Alexis Soyer, 1841 (private collection, on loan to the Reform Club)

Elizabeth Emma Jones was born in London in 1813, and was instructed in French, Italian, and music. At a very early age she became a pupil of the Belgian painter François Simonau (1783–1859), who in 1820 married her mother, Mrs. Jones. Finding that Emma had talents for drawing, Simoneau devoted the whole of his time to her instruction, and before the age of twelve she "had drawn more than a hundred portraits from life with gret fidelity".[2] She also became a talented pianist under the tutelage of Jean Ancot.[3]

On 12 April 1837 she married Alexis Soyer, the first senior chef at the Reform Club. She then turned her attention to portraits in oil, and, with Simoneau, travelled in the provinces, working in Canterbury, Ramsgate and Shrewsbury and gained great popularity. Upon her return to London she produced "The Blind Boy", "The Crossing Sweeper", "The Bavarians", "Taglioni" and the "Kentish Ceres". In 1842 she completed her last work, "The Two Organ Boys". She also showed two paintings at the 1842 Paris Salon ("L'aveugle de la tour de Londres" and "Portrait de M. Soyer" - Nos. 1729–30). Her portrait of Soyer was engraved by Henry Bryan Hall.[4]

On 29–30 August 1842 she had complications with her pregnancy, owing to fright produced by a thunderstorm, and she died the same night at her residence near Charing Cross, London. She was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London on 8 September, where her husband erected a large monument to her memory.[5] In her obituary, The Gentleman's Magazine described her as "Cut off when her reputation was about to make her fortune, and when, in spite of all obstacles, her merits were become known to her countrymen".[3]

Between 1823 and 1843 fourteen of her pictures were exhibited at the Royal Academy, thirty-eight at the British Institution, and fourteen at the Suffolk Street Gallery (Graves, Dictionary of Artists, pp. 130, 221).

In June 1848 one hundred and forty of her works were exhibited at the Prince of Wales's bazaar, under the name of Soyer's Philanthropic Gallery, on behalf of the Spitalfields soup kitchen, and a catalogue was printed. Among these pictures was "The Young Savoyards Resting", a work which obtained for Madame Soyer the name of the "English Murillo". Two of her pieces, "The Jew Lemon Boys" and "The English Ceres", were engraved by Gérard. In Paris, where many of her pictures were exhibited, her reputation stood higher than in her native country.[6]

Legacy

[edit]
Emma Jones (later Soyer), Two Children with a Book, 1831, (private collection, on loan to the Tate Britain since 2022)

In September 2018 Soyer's painting of two black girls, in a tropical landscape, possibly painted for the slavery abolitionist cause in Britain, was featured on the BBC One television programme Fake or Fortune?.[7] The picture is on long term loan to the Tate Britain since 2022.[8]

The artwork and Soyer herself are mentioned in Zadie Smith's 2023 novel The Fraud.

Her portrait of Alexis Soyer is in the collection of the Reform club (on loan from a private collection).[7]

[edit]
  • Works by Emma Soyer
  • The Grandmother at her Spinning Wheel, 1835 (private collection)
    The Grandmother at her Spinning Wheel, 1835 (private collection)
  • Two Children with Flowers, 1836 (private collection)
    Two Children with Flowers, 1836 (private collection)
  • The Escape, 1836 (private collection)
    The Escape, 1836 (private collection)
  • Portrait of William Timms, the Waterman, aged 95, 1838 (collection of the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House)
    Portrait of William Timms, the Waterman, aged 95, 1838 (collection of the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House)
  • Portrait of a woman, 1839 (private collection)
    Portrait of a woman, 1839 (private collection)
  • The Young Israelites, engraving after Soyer's painting
    The Young Israelites, engraving after Soyer's painting
  • The English Ceres, engraving after Soyer's painting
    The English Ceres, engraving after Soyer's painting

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ruth Cowen (2010). Relish: The Extraordinary Life of Alexis Soyer, Victorian Celebrity Chef. Orion Publishing.
  2. ^ a b Brian Stewart & Mervyn Cutten (1997). The Dictionary of Portrait Painters in Britain up to 1920. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1-85149-173-2.
  3. ^ a b "Obituary – Madame Soyer". The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 53. July 1842. pp. 666–8. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  4. ^ "NPG D6822; Alexis Benoît Soyer". Portrait. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  5. ^ Paths of Glory. Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery. 1997. p. 94.
  6. ^ Boase, George Clement (1898). "Soyer, Elizabeth Emma" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 53. London: Smith, Elder & Co. [Redgrave's Dictionary of Artists, 1878, p. 241; Volant and Warren's Memoirs of A. Soyer, 1858, pp. 10, 27, 36, 81, 128, 136, 166, 276; Grinsted's Last Homes of Departed Genius, 1867, p. 291; Dodd's Annual Biography, 1843, p. 447; Gent. Mag. 1842, ii. 441; Morning Post, 2 September 1842, p. 4.]
  7. ^ a b "BBC One – Fake or Fortune?, Series 7, A Double Whodunnit". BBC.
  8. ^ "'Two Children with a Book', Emma Soyer (née Jones), 1831". Tate. Retrieved 4 March 2024..

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]

Media related to Emma Soyer at Wikimedia Commons

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