Jane Austen © 2002 Tom Clifford All Rights Reserved
Jane Austen
in her cottage garden at Chawton.
I have for many years been a Jane Austen devotee. Although
I now live in Northfield, Vermont, I lived for many years in Winchester,
not far from Jane's home at Chawton, in Hampshire. I decided this
year to paint a portrait of Miss Austen. The following is an outline
of some of research that went into that painting.
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Flowers at Chawton.
Jane Austen A picture taken...
From Pride and Prejudice- Mr.Darcy contemplates
the idea of a portrait of Elizabeth Bennet.
Jane Austen writes, "As for your Elizbeth's picture,
you must not attempt to have it taken, for what painter could
do justice to those beautiful eyes? It would not be easy to catch
their expression, but their colour and shape, and the eye-lashes,
so remarkably fine, might be copied."
Indeed, what modern painter could do justice to a portrait
of Jane Austen? What did Jane Austen really look like? This we
shall never truly know, but not to attempt to" have it taken,"
not to catch the expression in her eyes, the shape of her mouth,
or the freshness of her complexion, not to... would be lamentable
indeed!
There are only two first-hand views of Jane, both done
by her sister Cassandra. One shows a view of her seated, alas,
with no view of her face. The other, a very small drawing about
the size of a playing card, can be found today in the National
Portrait Gallery, London.
The small drawing that Cassandra produced in 1810 of
her sister is the only visual information we have of Jane. It
is this drawing,manipulated in various ways, that has become the
icon accepted today by many of Miss Austen.
There are many who say that Jane's sister, Cassandra,
was not an accomplished artist, and her depiction of Jane was
not flattering or reliable. This may explain the many attempts
by publishers and others to apply cosmetic treatment to Cassendra's
innocent portrait.
I suggest that Cassandra had some considerable artistic
talent. We have only to look at examples of her other work (such
as the drawing of her niece Fanny Knight) to give credence to
this belief.
It is, therefore, this honest drawing of one sister
by another that I looked to first in my quest to develop a closer
perception of the likness of Miss Austen.
In addition to the scant visual reference we have of
Jane Austen, there are numerous written accounts of her appearance.
An early description of young Jane at Steventon by
Sir Egerton Brydges said, "Her hair was dark brown and curled
naturally, her large dark eyes were widely opened and expressive.
She had clear brown skin and blushed so brightly and so readily."
Recollections of Aunt Jane by Caroline Austen. "As
to my aunt's personal appearance, hers was the first face I can
remember thinking pretty. Her face was rather round than
long, she had a bright, but not a pink colour a clear brown
complexion, and very good hazel eyes. Her hair, a darkish
brown, curled naturally, it was in short curls around her face.
She always wore a cap."
Henry Austen said of his sister, " Her stature
rather exceeded the middle height; her carriage anad deportment
were quiet but graceful; her complexion of the finest texture,
it might with truth be said that her eloquent blood spoke through
her modest cheek." Henry applied these lines to Jane: "
Her pure and eloquent blood spake in her cheeks and so distinctly
wrought that you had almost said her body thought."
Henry Austen.
Edward Austen Leigh wrote down this description of
Jane's appearence in the years just after the family left Southampton.
"She was tall and slender; her face was rounded with
a clear brunette complexion and bright hazel eyes. Her
curly brown hair escaped all round her forehead, but from the
time of her coming to live at Chawton she always wore a cap, except
when her nieces had her in London and forbade it."
In addition to these and other written descriptions
of Miss Austen, I have looked closely at the surviving portraits
and silhouette renderings of the immediate family members.
George Austen, Jane's
father.
Mr. George Austen, on the night Jane was born, noticed
a likeness to her brother Henry. On a visit to Jane's cousin,
Phila Walter, in Kent, when Jane was only twelve "Jane,"
said Phila, "decidedly, was not pretty at all, very much
like her brother Henry." However, Henry,who was thought by
most people to be a very handsome man, would have been sixteen
at that time.
A closer look at many of the characteristics of her
brothers, Frank and Henry, and those of her father may afford
us some insight into Jane's appearance. In particular, this requires
a closer look and a comparison to the Cassandra drawing of the
nose, mouth, and chin... strong family characteristics.
Frank Austen.Cassandra's drawing of Jane.
These
two silhouettes are thought of be of Jane. The left figure is
a silhouette found pasted into a second edition copy of Mansfield
Park and inscribed "l'aimable Jane." The silhouette
on the right is thought to be a self-portrait done in 1815.
Additional factors may also have played a role in Jane's
appearance, particulary toward the end of her life. Jane had Addison's
Disease, a disorder of the adrenal gland. Addison's is known to
have as some of its signs and symptoms, increased pigmentation
charcacterized by diffuse tannng both exposed and unexposed portions
of the body.
" A clear brown complexion" and "Her
face was rounded with a clear brunette complexion"
these references may or may not be attributable to her disease,
as Jane loved to be out-of- doors and go for long walks. However,
I think we can assume that Miss Austen did not possess a pale
constitution or complexion.
I have tried to take all these factors into consideration
while working on this modern impression of what I feel Jane Austen
may have looked like. I have placed her in the west garden at
her home in Chawton, near Alton, in Hampshire. Several descriptions
of the cottage and garden survive. Edward Austen-Leigh wrote an
early description of the garden."and another (window) opened
at the side which gave to view only turf and trees, as a high
wooden fence and hornbeam hedge shut out the Winchester Road,
which skirted the whole length of the little domain. Trees were
planted each side to form a shrubbery walk, carried round the
enclosure, which gave sufficient space for the ladies' exercise."
Jane also writes to Cassandra, visiting at Godmersham, a report
of the Chawton garden "but our young peony at the foot of
the fir tree has just blown and looks very handsome, and the whole
of the shrubbery border will soon be gay with pinks and sweet-williams,
in addition to the columbine already in bloom." I rather
think that, as the years passed, the "ladies' sufficient
space for exercise" was improved upon.
Would I recognize Miss Austen if we were to meet in
a crowd today? I would like to think so. I have tried to be true
to her likeness, true to Jane...I also hope that I have been able
to add to the information that we have about Jane,that I have
been able to add sparkle and dimension to the visual images we
have of her.
Tom Clifford.