[20] It is quite possible that Francesco Mezzara was also the author of a collection of lithographs depicting ruins. [66] See Charles Edwards, Pleasantries about Courts and Lawyers of the State of New York (New York: Richardson & Co, 1867), 5254; Peter Hay, The Book of Legal Anecdotes (New York: Facts on File, 1989), 100; Barnett Hollander, The International Law of Art, for Lawyers, Collectors and Artists (London: Bowes & Bowes, 1959), 80; and Oscar Handlin, Liberty in America, 1600 to the Present, vol. Francesco's extremely prolific output seems to have been purchased mainly by middle-class Venetians and English visitors of modest means. He writes: The report of Mezzara's Case (1817), apparently the earliest American case involving symbolic libel therea painting of the plaintiff with donkey's earslikewise indicates that free speech and press principles were seen as applying to such symbolic expression.[68] He ends by noting that the person who had reported on Mezzaras trial in 1817 saw nothing odd in treating a painting as protected by free speech and press principles, just as the court saw nothing odd in treating a painting as punishable under libel law principles.[69] In Mezzaras, case symbolic expression effectively had been equated with verbal expression. Due to a lack of documentation and secure early works, his initial training and career remain the subject of intense speculation. The artist brought an action against Hope but the jury finally decided that the plaintiff only should be awarded the value of the canvas and paint. [73] Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Artists, trans. See also John D. Gordan, III, The Price of Vanity or The Lawyer with the Ears of an Ass, The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York 1, no. But he was ill-prepared for the reaction that his impulsive gesture would generate in New York. That was the end of the matter. But it seems likely that Mezzara, later in life, operated as an art dealer of antiquities and, perhaps, contemporary art as well. See also: Michael T. Gibson, The Supreme Court and Freedom of Expression From 1791 to 1917, Fordham Law Review 55, no. My thanks to Robert Alvin Adler for his meticulous editing.This article is dedicated to my (lawyer) son Govert Coppens. 5). Who was Francesco Mezzara? Gardenier confirmed that the three men had visited Mezzaras room in Reed Street, where he exhibited to them the picture for their opinion or approbation. He also attested that the language of the defendant [Mezzara] towards Mr. Palmer was intemperate. He described Mezzaras threat regarding the donkeys ears and added that the artist had evidently made this threat with a design of wounding Palmers feelings. The report continues: Palmer however kept his temper, and seemed to smile, but the witness [Gardenier] thinks it gave him pain.[42] No doubt Palmer had already decided that their dispute would not end there. . [65] The fact that Mezzara received a reduction of his punishment implies that he was not familiar with American principles.
5. Furthermore the painter drew the ears of an ass to the picture in chalk and used intemperate language to Palmer. The prosecution interpreted this as a circumstance, manifesting the mischievous intention of the defendant.[59]. Joseph Ernest Mezzara, sculpteur, g de quarante-huit ans, dem[euran]t Paris, Rue d'Alambert [dAlembert], n. Citation: Katlijne Van der Stighelen, A Self-Portrait by Francesco Mezzara (17741845), the Italian Painter Who Changed New York State Constitutional Law with a Pair of Asss Ears, Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide 13, no. [13] Salon de 1847. Homes proposed distinction between a laughable and a ridiculous object forms the central theme of the arguments that follow: And he further observes, that an object that is neither risible nor improper lies not open, in any quarter, to an attack from ridicule; that an irregular use made of a talent for wit and ridicule, cannot long impose on mankind: it cannot stand the test of correct and delicate taste; and truth will at last prevail even with the vulgar (1 El. All we know is that at some point he moved to France,[5] where he is known to have married shortly before 1813. Francesco Mezzara is remembered not primarily as an artist or as an art dealer, but for his role in a precedent-setting legal case, which led to a change in New York State constitutional law. I should also like to thank Bert Demarsin for his interest and his critical comments on the article. Den Capiteyn dit verhoorende, quam vragen wat hy voor een stuck rabbauts was, sulcx te doen. [24] Pierre, also known as Pietro, achieved international success as a sculptor, most notably in the United States.[25]. [36] Previous to this, however, he had seen the picture, in an unfinished state, and, expressed no particular disapprobation of the performance to the defendant. NYC-HR, 115. [31] Gordan, Price of Vanity, 56. At Palmers request, Jarvis confirmed that he is a portrait painter by profession; that he had seen the picture said to be the likeness of Mr. Palmer, before it was disfigured, in Mezzaras room; that it was an imperfect likeness, and rather a botch than the performance of an accomplished artist.[43] Palmer had probably chosen this expert witness very carefully. Palmer honored his agreement with Mezzara but nevertheless profoundly insulted the painter by telling him to keep the portrait. . 2, Liberty in Expansion, 17601850 (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), 350. [8] It appears that he stayed in the city for less than a year, which was long enough, however, for him to get into legal trouble, resulting in a trial (more about which below). He is dressed in a moss-green coat over a white shirt. See Edwards, Pleasantries about Courts, 54. The verdict of the Mayors Court was that the portrait was not such a likeness as Palmer had a right to expect. See also Floyd F. Miles, Double Trouble or Never Sue a Lawyer, DICTA: Knoxville Bar Association; The Official Monthly Magazine, July 1952, 27172. In the same hand, he holds seven thin brushes, their hairs dipped in different color paints. Website Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide; All Rights Reserved. [10] Shortly before 1825, the young family returned to France, where the next two children were born. 121). Den Capiteyn heeft t'gelt gegheven, en woudet sien uytdoen. But the nobleman was stung by self-importance, and maintained that the portrait was not a good likeness, that it was too brown. He threatened to withhold payment unless Mostaert improved it. The painter had received his payment and the captain decided to keep the portrait after all.[74]. [35] NYC-HR, 11415. In 1823, a certain M. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, We are closed on December 25 and January 1. Franois Mezzara (he used the French spelling of his first name, here) wished to draw the Academy members attention to a marble relief originating from Rome, which had been made some thirty years earlier by the British neoclassical sculptor John Deare (1759 1798) (fig. When Francesco Mezzara took up a piece of chalk and added donkeys ears to the painted portrait of Aaron H. Palmer, he was acting in a way that was not unprecedented. The defense added that even if Mezzara had harbored malicious intentions, it was important to recall that he was a foreigner, unacquainted with the severity of our laws on the subject of libel.[61], In his jury instructions, the mayor offered the following conclusion: although the libel, charged in the indictment, was in nature private, and, therefore, not important in a public point of view, yet the case, by reason of its peculiar nature, required their serious attention. After Antonio's death in 1761, Francesco continued to work occasionally as a figure painter, but was active mainly as a painter of views and capricci. [62] Ibid., 118. He offered and tendered him the full charge for the painting, which was $65.[37]. Living in Evreux in 1825, for example, she produced two portrait drawings of prominent local residents,[15] and she regularly exhibited her portraits at the Salon. In all prosecutions or indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence, to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was published with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. Volokh, Symbolic Expression, 1071n84. 33 (1986): 280; and Philip A. When he saw the portrait in an unfinished state, Palmer did not express any dissatisfaction. [50] Mr. . The Parisian register of births, marriages, and deaths indicates that Thomas- Franois-Gaspard Mezzara, peintre d'histoire married Marie-Anglique Foulon (Paris, 1793Paris, 1868). Explication des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, architecture, gravure et lithographie des artistes vivants exposs au Grand Palais des Champs-Elyses (Paris, 1847), nos. [43] The report continues: The next time the witness saw the picture, it was in the possession of the defendant [Mezzara], who was exposing it, seemingly in a triumphant manner, in Pine-street, with the appendage of Ass's ears. Mezzara, unwilling to accept this outcome, brought a legal action against his sitter. His eyes meet the viewers gaze, and with the index finger of his right hand he points to a lengthy inscription on his lapel. It is noteworthy that, even so, the first page of the report includes a footnote explaining who King Midas was and what role the donkeys ears play in his story, with a reference to Ovids Metamorphoses. A discussion ensued about the resemblance (or lack thereof) between the model and his portrait, wherein he [Mezzara] was very abusive, (finding that those gentlemen did not concur with him in opinion respecting the likeness). As the men were about to leave the room, Mezzara picked up a piece of chalk and drew Asss ears on the head in the picture, threatening to add them in oil paint and then exhibit the painting on Broadway. The letters are undated, but it can be inferred from the context that they were written in 1828. The New-York City-Hall Recorder for August 1817 published a record of the entire proceedings, down to the smallest detail. The writer Thomas Hope (17691831) had married a very beautiful woman. [66] In his quest for the historical roots of the view, which is still not always accepted to this day, that symbolic expression . 104 (1992): 78. We believe it to be true, indeed, that they have never been published in such detail as they are now given in the work of Mezzara, which, if accurate, must be highly interesting. It unfortunately proved impossible to find any of the prints from this ensemble. That meant that from 1821 onward, according to the state constitution, every inhabitant of New York State would be responsible for the abuse of the right of free speech. [38] And, at the request of the defendant [Mezzara], gave him a certificate authorizing him to keep the picture. NYC-HR, 115. His first capricci, however, cannot be dated before the early 1760s on stylistic grounds. This suit was unsuccessful and Mezzara was ordered to pay $24 in court fees.
Like other view painters, Francesco also painted depictions of Venetian festivities and the architectural and landscape capricci so popular in the eighteenth century. His defense was based on four contentions: 1. Aaron H. Palmer met Francesco Mezzara at a dinner party thrown by Baron Quenette or Nicolas-Marie Quinette, baron de Rochemont (Paris, 1762-Brussels, 1821), a French politician and aristocrat, at his home in New York. Gordan used this as a rationale for providing more information about the secondary charactersin particular, the mayor, the painter J. W. Jarvis who was called as a witness, and Edmond Charles Gent (Versailles, 1763New York, 1834) who acted as an interpreter. [23] Between 1852 and 1875 he submitted works of artmainly marble portrait busts of prominent contemporary figuresto the Paris salon. (Dordrecht: Dordrechts Museum, 1934), 88. And history here tracks logic: several sources from the 1790s to the 1830s, and from several states, suggest that judges and lawyers of that era indeed understood constitutional free speech and free press principles as applying to symbolic expression as well as to verbal expression. Ibid., 1068. Dan den Edelman door hooverdy ontsteken sijnde, was de kunst verachtende en seyde dat hy in 't pourtret niet en gheleeck, dat het te bruyn was, en soo Mostaert 'tselve niet en wilde verbeteren, dreyghde hem 'tselve aende handt te laten. He was unconvinced by the claim that the painter had wanted to transform the portrait into a scene of the mythical King Midas. 4 (2009): 1057; and Marianne Constable, The Law of the Other: The Mixed Jury and Changing Conceptions of Citizenship, Law and Knowledge (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994), 183n10. who is an eminent artist from Rome [and] has decorated it with a pair of long ears, such as usually worn by a certain stupid animal. [9] But some time in 1819, they seem to have once again traveled to New York, where the couples first son, Joseph-Ernest-Amde Mezzara was born on March 2, 1820 (d. Paris, 1901). Daniel Rogers, The New York-City-Hall Recorder for the Year 1817 Containing Reports of the Most Interesting Trials and Decisions Which Have Arisen in The Various Courts of Judicature, for the Trial of Jury Causes, in the Hall, During That Year, Particularly in the Court of Sessions, with Notes and Remarks, Critical and Explanatory 2, no. [39] But their conflict did not end there. 2). The Academys records refer to him as an archologue,[20] which suggests that he may have excavated or bought antiquities in Italy and sold them in the international market. He signally failed and her husband refused to receive and pay for the picture. Hy heeft veel goede conterfeytselen gedaen; is gereyst in Oostlant oft Denemarck, en daer gestorven A. It was not until I checkedby a lucky coincidencea database on the history of law that I came across his name. [22] Both their sons became artists. Francesco Guardi was born in Venice in 1712. When Palmer relinquished his rights to the portrait to Mezzara, this did not imply that the painter was permitted to perform unlawful acts with it. In comparison to the earlier views, this work shows a darkening and softening of Canaletto's cool hardness with atmospheric effects, reminiscent of Luca Carlevarijs (1663-1730), and looks forward to Francesco's style of the 1760s. In his self-portrait (oil on canvas, 47.1 x 38.7 cm; fig. [16] Between 1827 and 1849 her drawings, pastels and paintings were exhibited in Paris. [13] The prestigious address suggests that by then the family was prosperous, though the source of their prosperity is not exactly known.[14]. Date du dessin: 1825.. [46] in the month of July last. NYC-HR, 114. It is asserted there that Scheffer and Joseph Mezzara first met in or around 1840. He called on the services of a well-known painter of the day, the aforementioned John Wesley Jarvis. . (New York, Hardcastle & Van Pelt, 1813), no. [21] After his death, his wife remained active as a painter, exhibiting at the Salon until 1849. [23] Leo Ewals, Ary Scheffer, 17951858: Gevierd Romanticus, exh. We have found 1 Answer (s) for the Clue Francesco ., Italian Baroque painter. See Caterina Caneva, Il Corridoio Vasariano agli Uffizi (Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2002), no. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005), 29091. 133 Water-street, a PICTURE intended for the likeness of a gentleman in this city, who ordered it painted. Furthermore, the obvious differences in the brothers' styles go beyond a difference in temperament and indicate that Francesco was probably trained by another master. The artist depicted his castigator in hell as King Midas and gave him a pair of gigantic donkeys ears (fig. His actions produced rapid results: the captain came and questioned De Poindres gesture. [4] There is no reliable evidence of the date of his birth. Palmer was with two friends at the time, Barent Gardenier (17761822), a lawyer and US Congressman of Dutch origin, and Isaac M. Ely, Esq. Here you can add your solution.. Sea cradles, coat-of-mail shells, formally loricate, In India, widow once burnt at husband's pyre, Sassy elderly "girls" sitcom starring Betty White, Gloria ., sang about surviving before Beyonce, Outdoor meal often eaten on the grass, at a park, Rule of ., design strategy based on a 3x3 grid, Large heavy artillery that fires stone balls, . of the Sexes, Riggs vs King grudge tennis match, A particular status or phase; angle, side, Stitch used to hold tissue together in the body, Young man who died when flying towards the Sun, Phoebe's maiden name in Friends, TV series. Later that day, after the first heat of rage had cooled, Mezzara changed his mind and sent a young man named Thomas Blanchet to collect the money from Palmer. He seems to be about forty years old in the self-portrait, which would indicate a year of birth ca. [44] His authority as a portrait painter was incontestable. After his compromising pro-French activities, violating Americas neutrality in the European conflict (the so called Citizen Gent affair of 1793), Gent moved to New York, where he married Cornelia Clinton, the daughter of New York Governor George Clinton, in 1794. The article is translated from the Dutch by Beverley Jackson. We do not know whether Mezzara received the approval or if he sold the relief, which today is at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. At the sale, he had the painting placed where it would be the center of attention, and the advertisement drew even more people than would otherwise have attended. is basically functionally identical to expression through words and should thus be treated the same,[67] Eugene Volokh cites the report in the 1817 New-York City-Hall Recorder. 3. [21] Dcs, February 3, 1845, V3E/D 1056, Archives dpartementales, Archives de Paris. Mezzara, Pierre.. ; Catalogue Publi sous les Auspices de lAdministration Municipale (Louviers: n.p., 1888), 20: Mezzara (Mme Anglique), no. Portrait de Louis-Jacques-Amde-Hector Ancel. . [74] Iaques de Poindre, Discipel van*desen Marcus, welcken laques Suster had ghetrout, was oock een goet Meester, besonder in conterfeyten: van hem was een Altaer-tafel, Crucifix, daer veel conterfeytselen in quamen. P. 306).[53] Although the court acknowledged that there are some laughable incidents peculiar to this case, it denied that ridicule is attributable to the conduct of Mr. Palmer. Mezzara was charged not only with having added the donkeys ears to Palmers portrait and then offering the painting for sale, but also with asking the auctioneer to exhibit it in a more conspicuous place, that it might be inspected by the people. Moreover, he had placed an advertisement in a New York newspaper, the Republican Chronicle, to announce the sale: Curious Sheriff's Sale. 4. Their recorded statements show an appreciation for Francesco's painterly brio and poetic vision, while others criticized these same qualities as poor technique and carelessness in the depiction of specific sites. In the 1770s, Francesco's brushwork became increasingly loose and fractured, and was combined with a softer, increasingly cool palette and subtle effects of changeant color that create a shimmering atmospheric veil across the surface of now smaller canvases. After about 1770 Francesco's chronology becomes slightly more secure, and in the 1780's can be established around several documented commissions. Ibid., 117. 28418. In the 1820s, he evidently taught Italian in New York,[17] while trying at the same time to exhibit his works of art. This fascinating and highly significant case involved arguments explicating the difference between the laughable and the ridiculous. [10] E. W. C. Six, Museum Ary Scheffer. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, Sculpture Garden Mezzara exhibited a portrait at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. At the same time he took a piece of chalk, and sketched a pair of Asss ears on the head of the picture. Ibid., 116. The report further states that this document was signed on May 20, 1817. His hairline is receding and his temples and sideburns are graying. [50] But Palmer had miscalculated. [38] The artist, considering his professional skill decried, accused Palmer of wounding his feelings and self-love and refused to accept the money offered. In note 15, Hamburger states: Incidentally, there is relatively little scholarship on the idea of freedom of speech and press in the nineteenth century., [70] Volokh, Symbolic Expression, 1071. 189091. [15] See Ville de Louviers, Muse: Peinture, sculpture, dessin, gravure, architecture, etc. For the complete text of The Second Constitution of New York of 1821, see Historical Society of the New York Courts, last accessed August 24, 2014, http://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/history-new-york-courts-constitutions.html. 4. Further research revealed not only that his self-portrait is the only known painting by the artist to have been preserved, but that Mezzara was instrumental in changing New York state constitutional law. Irate, he set off to the painters house, where he saw his own likeness in the character of a fool. He flew into such a rage that he would have murdered the painter on the spot, had he been at home. The well-documented story of the portrait painter Francesco Mezzara is interesting not only from a legal but also from a cultural-historical vantage point. John Wesley Jarvis painted this governors portrait in 1816/1817 (Washington, National Portrait Gallery). We have no biographical information about her, but in 1847, one Clmentine Mezzara was living at 11 Quai Napolon, the same address where Francesco Mezzara and his wife are known to have lived between 1837 and 1848. Charles Rennie Mackintoshs Work
16, fils de la dfunte.. Dcs, 9e arr., September 1, 1868, VE4 1051, Archives Dpartementales, Archives de Paris. Peter Hastings Falk (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1955), 141. The painting was not worth the visit, but my curiosity was piqued by another piece in the collection, a self-portrait by the looks of it, painted by an unidentified artist (fig. 3. [69] Ibid. Palmer had claimed that the portrait was not his likeness and had given the painter the right to do whatever he pleased with it. Katlijne Van der Stighelen
What is to deter the defendant [Mezzara] from exhibiting this picture in our streets, again and again, but the wholesome restraint of a verdict? Wilkins went on to warn the jury that if they found Mezzara guilty, the same fate might await them: He will draw your pictures with his Ass's ears.[58]
He did not speak English, and during the trial there was no reference to earlier stays. [14] In 1847, shortly after the death of F. Mezzara, his widow moved to Rue Blanche, Cit Gaillard, no. Introduction
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise noted. On August 4, 1817, in New York City Hall, Mezzara was convicted of criminal libel.[26] Mayor Jacob Radcliff (17641842) presided over the trial, which issued from a conflict between a prominent lawyer and the artist, who had arrived in New York six months earlier. . De Bie tells about a curious trick Mostaert played on a nobleman whom he had depicted so skillfully and convincingly that the only thing lacking in the portrait was life and speech. [64] In consideration that he was not a man of property, and was a stranger in our country, (which were mentioned as reasons for not inflicting a more rigorous punishment) [the mayor] proceeded to sentence him to pay a fine of $100. Ibid. 1), Mezzara presents himself to the viewer with a self-assured demeanor. The reviewer noted that Mr. It is curious that, with the exception of the self-portrait, we cannot attribute a single work of art to him.
This volume, whose pages 11318 are the principal source for the trial, will hereafter be referred to as NYC-HR. Any publication, picture, or sign, made with a mischievous or malicious design, which holds up any person to public contempt or ridicule, is denominated a libel [authors italics]. If he wanted to transform the painting in question into a picture of King Midashe actually intended to metamorphose the picture into a representation of Midas; and was not actuated by any malicious or mischievous intention towards Mr. Palmer[60]then he had every right to do so. Acknowledgments: I am grateful to Jan de Meere for numerous inspiring discussions.
Quinette was described in the proceedings as Baron Quenette, a French gentleman residing in this city. On the republican Quinette, who only resided for two years in New York (181618), see Julien Sapori, Nicolas-Marie Quinette: Biographie dun rvolutionnaire soissonnais devenue assez clbre en des heures peu glorieuses, Socit archologique et scientifique de Soissons, 47 (2002): 75119. That this was either a likeness of Mr. Palmer, or it was not a likeness. History teaches us that situations of this kind were not uncommon, although few reached the courts. He promised to improve the portrait, and then, without touching the face, gave him a jolly fools cap using watercolors. Having done so, he deliberately publicized the portrait, standing it outside his door every day. And since the nobleman was well known in the city, all passers-by were astonished to see such a respectable man wearing a fools cap. Tongues started wagging, and the nobleman soon heard of the matter. [6] According to her death certificate, she was, like her husband, an artiste peintre. Hy antwoorde, dat hy dus most ghevangen sitten, tot dat hy betalen soude. Try to find some letters, so you can find your solution more easily. The testimony by Gardenier, corroborated by Ely, showed that the painter intended to take revenge on Mr. Palmer by adding donkeys ears to the picture, initially in chalk and later in oil paint. But now the attorney refused to pay for the portrait, because he had offered to do so earlier and the painter had declined. But the style of the self-portrait suggests that Mezzara was familiar with late eighteenth-century neo-classical portraits, notably by Pompei Batoni (170887) and followers such as Gaspare Landi (17561830). 1765. Mezzaras Gesture in Historical Perspective
See also NYC-HR, 118: This appendage . 8 (New York, 1817), 115. [71] NYC-HR, 118. . This source refers only to the existence of the letters, without saying anything about their content. . Because it was covered with layers of dark varnish, I suggested to the owner that he have it cleaned.
[3] The inscription informs us that Francesco Mezzara came from Rome and that his parents were Gioseppe and Angiola Mezzara. In his last years (c. 1780-1793) these developments continued, with still looser brushwork, more expressive manipulation of perspective, and renewed interest in chiaroscuro effects. 2022 National Gallery of Art Notices Terms of Use Privacy Policy. [2] This suggests that he may have studied in Rome with an unidentified artist. The shirts wide raised collar and open cuffs reflect the fashions of the early nineteenth century. [41] Barent Gardeniers later testimony corroborated Palmers account of the incident. It began deliberating at 11 p.m. and returned a verdict against the defendant the next day at 9 a.m.: To see a pair of Ass's ears attached to the picture of any individual, however respectable, however worthy and venerable, he may be for learning or piety, it must be confessed, is a laughable object. We have been requested to mention, that there will be sold, this forenoon, at public vendue, at No.
