Our Philharmonic Society at its First Rehearsal [A Philharmonic Rehearsal in a Farmhouse], by John Evan Hodgson (1831-1895). 1860. Oil on canvas. 34 x 44 inches (86.5 x 112 cm). © Wolverhampton Arts and Heritage. Collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery, accession no. OP91. Image reproduced via Art UK for the purpose of non-commercial research. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1860, no. 596. It was one of Hodgson's earliest submissions to the Royal Academy, at a time when he was still searching for his own unique style. He was then painting traditional genre scenes like this, or works dealing with social realism like his The Arrest of 1857. Regardless of the subject, Tom Taylor noted about Hodgson's early work that: "Mr. Hodgson's leading characteristic is a conscientious earnestness, and a resolute abstinence from clap-trap in sentiment or execution" (17). Our Philharmonic Society at its First Rehearsal shows a group of people of seemingly different social classes gathered at a simple farmhouse united in a similar interest to form their own orchestra.
When it was exhibited at the Royal Academy it was not extensively reviewed. The Art Journal, for instance, merely described it as one of "the noticeable works" (172). The most extensive and complimentary review was by a critic for The Illustrated London News:
J. E. Hodgson exhibits a very clever interior – Our Philharmonic Society at its First Rehearsal (596), which we engrave. The village amateur orchestra, which is destined to make the air musical on various festive occasions of solemnity or hilarity, is now hard at work practicing; and very earnest they all are about it. The pedantic old gentleman with the violoncello seems to be so intent upon his own performance that he goes on and on without waiting for the others to come in, unmindful of the imploring appeals of the prime violin. We can imagine the quality of his scraping when the little household cur, with tail between his legs, looks on and listens to it perplexed and amazed. The remaining figures serve capitally to complete the idea of the domestic establishment temporarily diverted from its ordinary even tenor for some great and interesting occasion. The old grandfather sits uncomfortable with pained ears in his chair, wondering how much longer it is to last. The thrifty mother improves the harmony by administering a scolding to the young girl who in the confusion of the moment has inked her apron; and the good, honest husband, with the baby in his arms, has opened the cottage door to admonish the mob of village urchins who have assembled to listen to the performance. We have not often met with a picture of its class which tells so much, and with as little pretension, as this Philharmonic Rehearsal. [563]
A wood engraving of the work was published on p. 522 of this periodical.
Bibliography
A Philharmonic Rehearsal in a Farmhouse. Art UK. Web. 16 January 2024.
"The Royal Academy Exhibition." The Art Journal New Series VI (June 1, 1860): 161-72.
"Royal Academy Exhibition." The Illustrated London News XXXVI (June 9, 1860): 552 & 563.
Taylor, Tom. "English Painters of the Present Day. XIX - J. E. Hodgson." The Portfolio II (1871): 17-19.
Created 16 January 2024