“Booked for a Brace”
“Booked for a Brace”
CHARLES JOSI R.B.A.
Op.1827-1851
English School
“Booked for a Brace”
Oil on canvas
56 x 69.5 cms
22 x 26 ins
Overall framed size 71 x 81.5 cms
28 x 321/8 ins
Provenance: Appleby Bros, London
Engraved: John Scott (an example of which is held in the collection of the British Museum)
Grant describes Charles Josi as being: “A clever and popular painter of animals in landscape, the latter often prominent…” He was a successful animal artist during his life and in some examples of these depictions the subject filled almost the entire canvas. Sally Mitchell, in her Dictionary of British Equestrian Artists, writes that: “Josi’s work is very fine, his horses painted in a style far in advance of their time, being most natural and fluid.”
There is no information recorded of his date of birth, where he undertook his training as a painter, or where he finally died. Some think that there is a possibility that he had southern French or Italian origins as he painted a number of landscapes in Italy. However, that appears rather speculative and more probably, he was the son of Christian Josi (1768-1828) and brother of Henry/Henri Josi (1802-1845)
Christian had been born in Utrecht and having been awarded a scholarship from the Rhede Renwoude Institute, came to London to study engraving under the artist and mezzotinter John Raphael Smith. He was in London for five years during which time he met and married Carolina Susanna Chalon who was the daughter of Jan Chalon (1738-1795), a musician, printmaker and collector. Her brother was the renowned animal painter Henry Bernard Chalon.
Josi returned to Holland in 1796, setting up as an engraver and dealer in prints and drawings in a gallery in Amsterdam and through his new wife’s family connections to the collector Ploos van Amstel, acquired the latter’s collections in about 1800. Van Amstel had an important collection of Rembrandt etchings and these were sold by Josi to the 5th Earl of Aylesford and this sale, combined with his astuteness, made him a significant dealer in prints and drawings with a respected reputation for connoisseurship. In 1815 he was a member of the Dutch Committee working on the restitution of works of art seized during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars which was particularly important to him as his business had closed during the French occupation.
Christian returned to London in 1818, setting up premises in Gerard St, Soho – Dryden had been a previous resident - although he continued to travel between London and Holland in his dealings. In 1821 he published Collection d'imitations de dessins d'après les principaux maitres Hollandais et Flamands, which completed the series started by Ploos van Amstel, who had not proceeded beyond 46 plates, whereas Josi’s new addition contained 100 prints and he dedicated this work to the King of the Netherlands.
Henry Josi had been born in Amsterdam in 1802 and upon his arrival in London in 1818, attended Dr. Burney's school in Greenwich. He helped his father in his business before eventually establishing a print dealership of his own in Newman St. When the post of Keeper of the Prints and Drawings at the British Museum became vacant in 1833 following the death of J T Smith, Josi was proposed as a candidate to succeed but he lost out to W Y Ottley. However, when he in turn died in 1836, Josi was elected to the position. Under his supervision, a number of significant changes were made and some important additions were made to the collection, among them the Sheepshanks collection of Dutch and Flemish etchings.
Stylistically, Charles Josi’s work shows a distinctive northern European influence and it seems very plausible that with all his exhibited paintings being at the London venues and sent from addresses in Hammersmith, Kensington, Soho, Mayfair and Great Portland St, but his portrayals of landscape and animal subject displaying a European flavour, that would have been inculcated from being brought up there, that he is of the same family as Christian and Henry.
He exhibited nine works at the Royal Academy, twelve at the British Institution and fifty-three at the Royal Society of British Artists at Suffolk Street. A number of these are portraits or studies of animals including dogs, horses, cattle and goats but he also painted landscapes in and around London and the south of England as well as some scenes in Italy, mainly in the environs of Rome. The British Museum has two watercolours by him: A French Cavalryman feeding his mount and Sheep lying down. Some titles at exhibitions include: The Bay Arab presented by the Imaum of Muscat to his late Majesty William IV; Spaniels, the property of Charles Barclay Esq; The Reigate Harriers; Study of a bloodhound and beagles; A farmer’s shop; A boy and mare; View on Hampstead Heath; Near Hastings; Waiting for the hay-boat; Smugglers running their cargo; Scene in the Campagna of Rome- approach of a drove of cattle from the marshes; An Italian hay-cart; Campo Vacino, Rome, with part of the palace of the Caesars; and Roman cattle, the Campagna – Albano in the distance.
Bibliography:
British Landscape Painters – M H Grant
Dictionary of British Animal Painters – J C Wood
Dictionary of British Sporting Painters – Sydney H Paviere
Dictionary of British Equestrian Artists - Sally Mitchell
Dictionary of Victorian Painters - Christopher Wood
Dictionary of National Biography
British Museum online biographies
RELATED ITEMS
 Grant describes Charles Josi as being: “A clever and popular painter of animals in landscape, the latter often prominent…” He was a successful animal artist during his life and in some examples of these depictions the subject filled almost the entire canvas. Sally Mitchell, in her Dictionary of British Equestrian Artists, writes that: “Josi’s work is very fine, his horses painted in a style far in advance of their time, being most natural and fluid.”There is no information recorded of his date of birth, where he undertook his training as a painter, or where he finally died. Some think that there is a possibility that he had southern French or Italian origins as he painted a number of landscapes in Italy. However, that appears rather speculative and more probably, he was the son of Christian Josi (1768-1828) and brother of Henry/Henri Josi (1802-1845)Christian had been born in Utrecht and having been awarded a scholarship from the Rhede Renwoude Institute, came to London to study engraving under the artist and mezzotinter John Raphael Smith. He was in London for five years during which time he met and married Carolina Susanna Chalon who was the daughter of Jan Chalon (1738-1795), a musician, printmaker and collector. Her brother was the renowned animal painter Henry Bernard Chalon.Josi returned to Holland in 1796, setting up as an engraver and dealer in prints and drawings in a gallery in Amsterdam and through his new wife’s family connections to the collector Ploos van Amstel, acquired the latter’s collections in about 1800. Van Amstel had an important collection of Rembrandt etchings and these were sold by Josi to the 5th Earl of Aylesford and this sale, combined with his astuteness, made him a significant dealer in prints and drawings with a respected reputation for connoisseurship. In 1815 he was a member of the Dutch Committee working on the restitution of works of art seized during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars which was particularly important to him as his business had closed during the French occupation.Christian returned to London in 1818, setting up premises in Gerard St, Soho – Dryden had been a previous resident - although he continued to travel between London and Holland in his dealings. In 1821 he published Collection d'imitations de dessins d'après les principaux maitres Hollandais et Flamands, which completed the series started by Ploos van Amstel, who had not proceeded beyond 46 plates, whereas Josi’s new addition contained 100 prints and he dedicated this work to the King of the Netherlands.Henry Josi had been born in Amsterdam in 1802 and upon his arrival in London in 1818, attended Dr. Burney's school in Greenwich. He helped his father in his business before eventually establishing a print dealership of his own in Newman St. When the post of Keeper of the Prints and Drawings at the British Museum became vacant in 1833 following the death of J T Smith, Josi was proposed as a candidate to succeed but he lost out to W Y Ottley. However, when he in turn died in 1836, Josi was elected to the position. Under his supervision, a number of significant changes were made and some important additions were made to the collection, among them the Sheepshanks collection of Dutch and Flemish etchings. Stylistically, Charles Josi’s work shows a distinctive northern European influence and it seems very plausible that with all his exhibited paintings being at the London venues and sent from addresses in Hammersmith, Kensington, Soho, Mayfair and Great Portland St, but his portrayals of landscape and animal subject displaying a European flavour, that would have been inculcated from being brought up there, that he is of the same family as Christian and Henry.He exhibited nine works at the Royal Academy, twelve at the British Institution and fifty-three at the Royal Society of British Artists at Suffolk Street. A number of these are portraits or studies of animals including dogs, horses, cattle and goats but he also painted landscapes in and around London and the south of England as well as some scenes in Italy, mainly in the environs of Rome. The British Museum has two watercolours by him: A French Cavalryman feeding his mount and Sheep lying down. Some titles at exhibitions include: The Bay Arab presented by the Imaum of Muscat to his late Majesty William IV; Spaniels, the property of Charles Barclay Esq; The Reigate Harriers; Study of a bloodhound and beagles; A farmer’s shop; A boy and mare; View on Hampstead Heath; Near Hastings; Waiting for the hay-boat; Smugglers running their cargo; Scene in the Campagna of Rome- approach of a drove of cattle from the marshes; An Italian hay-cart; Campo Vacino, Rome, with part of the palace of the Caesars; and Roman cattle, the Campagna – Albano in the distance. Bibliography:British Landscape Painters – M H GrantDictionary of British Animal Painters – J C WoodDictionary of British Sporting Painters – Sydney H PaviereDictionary of British Equestrian Artists - Sally MitchellDictionary of Victorian Painters - Christopher WoodDictionary of National BiographyBritish Museum online biographies){kind=link}