Paintings Inside Blades

edited March 2014 in Literary 007 Posts: 19
I've been trying to research the paintings mentioned by Fleming inside of Blades in Moonraker. He notes:

A "Lawrence of Beau Brummel,"

"Romney's unfinished full-length portrait of Mrs. Fitzherbert" and

"Fragonard's Jeu de cartes"

The artists (Thomas Lawrence, George Romney and Jean-Honoré Fragonard) were all real. The paintings, as far as I can tell, do not appear to be. I've found no Beau Brummel paintings by Lawrence and no "Jeu de cartes" (game of cards) from Fragonard. Romney was thought to have painted Mrs Fitzherbert, but it is not full-length and there is also considerable doubt that it is his work.

So it's interesting (to perhaps only me) that Fleming referenced real artists but fictitious works by those artists.

(If I'm mistaken, and there really are paintings by those artists of those subjects, I'd be really glad to know about it.)

FlemingsBond.com

Comments

  • 007InVT007InVT Classified
    Posts: 893
    Very interesting - Will have a look around.

    Keep up the good work!
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    So it's interesting (to perhaps only me) that Fleming referenced real artists but fictitious works by those artists.

    Haven't looked in to this before, but it's not surprising. A lot if his descriptions of food are done to whet the appetite rather than being real recipes/dishes. Fleming was a master of description.

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited March 2014 Posts: 13,350
    You have a really fantastic website @JamesBondBlog. One of the best I have seen. Keep up the great work.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Samuel001 wrote:
    You have a really fantastic website @JamesBondBlog. One of the best I have seen. Keep up the great work.

    Ditto to that.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    Hopefully some can appear on MI6, given time. It's top quality.
  • ggl007ggl007 www.archivo007.com Spain, España
    Posts: 2,535
    Great topic this one, @JamesBondBlog

    Congratulations for putting our attention on it.
  • edited March 2014 Posts: 19
    Thanks all.

    I wonder if Fleming was just having some fun here - Blades is fictitious, but based on reality, perhaps the paintings inside this imaginary-but-real club were fictitious but based on reality as well.

    I'd like to think he was messing with Ann's snobbish friends a little bit.

    FlemingsBond.com
  • XXXXXX Banned
    edited March 2014 Posts: 132
    I would hazard that Ian was trolling Ann a biton this, professional bullsh*ter is what made his books so fun, journalist but in a fake big fantasyland, etc. Blades in a Bond film make it happen. I can handle the gamble.
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