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A conversation piece refers to a group portrait in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other.[1] The persons depicted may be members of a family as well as friends, members of a society or hunt, or some other grouping who are shown sharing common activities such as hunts, meals, or musical parties.[2][3] It was an especially popular genre in 18th-century England, beginning from the 1720s, largely due to the influence of William Hogarth. Similar paintings can also be found in other periods and outside of England.[4] The setting of various figures "conversing" in an intimate setting appears to call for small-scale paintings, but some artists treated this subject manner in the Grand Manner, with almost life-size figures.[3]
- ^ Conversatiestuk at the Netherlands Institute for Art History
- ^ Glossary: Conversation Piece. The National Gallery. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ a b British Conversation Pieces and Portraits of the 1700s at The National Gallery. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ D'Oench, Ellen G. "Conversation piece". Grove Art Online. Retrieved 20 March 2022.