A Peripatetic Painter in York: Maurice Quadal
- yorkgeorgians
- Oct 4, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 2
by Allison Sharpe
Charles Hoyland (1726-1789), 1777-1779
by Martin Ferdinand Quadal (1736-1808)
Oil on canvas; YORAG : 1178, purchased 1969
Image courtesy of York Museums Trust
Martin Ferdinand Chvatal, aka Quadal (1736-1808, or 1811) is known to have been a prolific, successful and widely-travelled artist. Yet his name has slipped from view, with relatively few works being recorded in museums today. There is a mystery here, as it is believed that many pictures by the artist do survive, mis-attributed in public collections, or still in private hands. Born in Moravia – then part of the Hapsburg Empire, now Czechoslovakia – by the time the 41-year-old Quadal reached York in 1777, he had studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna and in Paris (1767). He visited London in the early 1770s, first exhibiting at The Royal Academy in 1772.
The above painting of Charles Hoyland – who hailed from Halifax – is York Art Gallery’s only Quadal. It is an accomplished work, showing skill in the sitter’s characterful features and gentle smile. Quadal handles paint confidently, blending colours wet-into-wet on the canvas. However the sleeve drapery is a little summary, as is the hand. Intriguing details include the long, slanted buttonholes, big square buttons and ‘The York Courant’ front page, on which Hoyland rests his arm. The text is only suggested, so yields no further clues. Plausibly, in a 1971 article, Ingamells notes a facial similarity to Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1715-1783), but the proposal has been discounted (Łanuszka). However this painting is known to be an autograph replica of an original identified as depicting Charles Hoyland, which was paired with another of his wife, Mary. The prime version, dated 1777, was presumably made in York, but we do not know how sitter and artist came to coincide there. A portrait of York’s Thomas Beckwith (c. 1731-1786) by Quadal is now lost, but was reproduced in printed form.
Rabbits, 1779/1791
by Martin Ferdinand Quadal (1736-1808)
Graphite on paper; NGI.6012
Image courtesy of The National Gallery of Ireland © CC BY 4.0
During the 1770s Quadal was working in England, and Ireland, where he was an Instructor at the Arts Society of Dublin. He is represented in The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, and the above drawing could be one of several used by his students. In fact the ‘Rabbits’ drawing tells of an important strand in Quadal’s output, and for which he had a marked flair: animal pictures. His approach was versatile, too, embracing compositions of animals alone, with people and within hunting scenes. In a 1956 article Neville Penry Thomas notes that Quadal ‘can justly be regarded as one of the finest animal painters of the 18th century’, rendering his subjects ‘in a vivid, sympathetic way’.
The Life Class of the Vienna Academy, 1790
by Johann Jacobe (1733-1797) after Martin Ferdinand Quadal (1736-1811)
Mezzotint, proof; 2003.477
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelse Fund, 2003
Image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
In 1784 Quadal was in Italy, notably Rome and Naples. 1787 saw him return to Vienna
where he painted ‘The Nude Room at the Vienna Academy with Academy Members’,
from which the above mezzotint print was made. It depicts artists practising drawing, painting and sculpture by candle and lamp light. Embedded here we have Quadal’s self-portrait aged 51 years – he sits centrally just below the model, turning to look at the viewer – and in the act of starting to paint on paper. Between 1789 and 1793 Quadal was back in England, exhibiting at The Society of Artists and The Royal Academy, where he was elected as an Academician on the strength of his animal pictures. Some of this period (1791-1793) was spent at Bath, probably because many fashionable visitors-cum-clients were to be
found there.
Mindel Ruben, née Zacharias (d. 1808), 1796 Lehman Ruben (d. 1803), 1796
by Martin Ferdinand Quadal (1736-1808) by Martin Ferdinand Quadal (1736-1808)
Oil on canvas; Inv. No. HK-423 Oil on canvas; Inv. No. HK-422
Image courtesy of Archiv Hamburger Kunsthalle © Image courtesy of Archiv Hamburger Kunsthalle ©
Next stop on Quadal’s itinerary was Holland in 1794, followed by Hamburg in 1796-1797. Among the paintings of the wealthy elite he made there, three are today in The Hamburger Kunsthalle. Mindel and Lehman Rubens’ portrait pair might have been commissioned to celebrate their 25 years of marriage. They are united here by their complementary poses, bodies turning towards each other and gazes directed towards the viewer – Mindel pensively so, and Lehman more openly – also the related backgrounds and surrounding ovals. While the figures are depicted on the same scale, Quadal has accommodated the height of Mindel’s headdress by placing her lower in the composition than her husband. She wears fine pearls, a luxurious taffeta dress and much lace, including what appears to be a beribboned pouch-bag. Meanwhile Mindel’s white, trimmed shawl is drawn tightly under her arms and possibly crossed at the back, appearing as a waistband in front: perhaps a deportment aid. Lehman – an exchange broker – wears a fashionable waistcoat and is shown with some attributes of business, as he sits at a folded-top table, holding a letter.
The Hamburger Kunsthalle’s catalogue points out that, being Jewish Hamburgers, the Ruben couple were discriminated against and excluded from the city’s social life. These paintings must have been intended as a step towards the improving the sitters’ freedom and assimilation.
Mrs. Wolters, 1797
by Martin Ferdinand Quadal (1736-1808)
Oil on canvas; Inv. No. HK-421
Image courtesy of Archiv Hamburger Kunsthalle ©
A contemporary complained about Quadal’s technique, writing that most areas of his portraits appeared, ‘as if the artist had deliberately left them unfinished’ (Meyer). However, The Hamburger Kunsthalle corrects this assertion by noting that Quadal’s apparent spontaneous painterly approach was actually the fruit of ‘oppressively long sittings’ (Kluxen). Indeed, the ability to put in a lot of effort but to achieve fresh, vivid, results is the hallmark of a highly talented painter. In the two decades since producing the York portrait of Hoyland, Quadal had augmented his skills to realise even more life-like results. Interestingly he continued to depict just one hand, though, possibly to economise on effort. The above portrait of Mrs. Wolters, a widow, is naturally sober, given her black and white attire and the dark red background drape. In this case the sitter’s right arm is hidden by heavy black loosely folded cloth with a band of decoration, perhaps embroidery, or a chain. This
could be a garment that belonged to the late Mr. Wolters, a touching token of the
couple’s relationship.
In 1797 Quadal moved on again, this time to Russia, where he painted Czar Alexander I (1777-1825, reigned from 1801) and eventually became Master of the St Petersburg Academy. Visiting London for a final time in 1804, Quadal also had an exhibition that year in St Petersburg. Several pictures from his stays in England featured, such as a scene of London street life; King George III on horseback reviewing the Artillery and lastly, manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain.
Quadal died in St Petersburg, but reliable sources vary on exactly when – 1808, or 1811 (and an outlying 1819) – in any event at the end of a full and productive life, crowned with artistic achievement.
The author thanks Richard Green (YGS Vice-President) for points of information and insight.
References:
John Ingamells, ‘Art in 18th-Century York’, Country Life, 1971, Part I, p. 1414
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online
A.M. Kluxen, The end of the status portrait, Phil. Diss. Erlangen-Nuremberg, 1988, Munich 1989, p. 132
Dr Magdalena Łanuszka, National Inventory of Continental European Paintings – VADS online
J.F.L. Mayer, Sketches for a painting of Hamburg, 2 vols., Hamburg 1800-1804, Vol. 2, no. 3, p.274
Neville Penry Thomas, ‘A Forgotten Animal Painter, Country Life, 1956, pp. 1180-1181
YGS Events for Your Diary
YGS Lecture & Book Group: A double bill
Saturday 25 October
At York Medical Rooms, 23 Stonegate
Lecture: 2.30pm Free to Students & YGS Members; £8.00 to Non-Members
After the lecture tea and coffee will be served
Book Group: 4.15pm Free to All
YGS Lectures this year will be followed by meetings of our new Book Group. We hope that you will join us for a Saturday afternoon of Georgian erudition and enjoyment!
Jane Austen
Unknown engraver after Cassandra Austen (about 1810), published by Richard Bentley, 1870
Stipple engraving on paper
Bequeathed by (Frederick) Leverton Harris, 1927; NPG D13873
© The National Portrait Gallery
Jane Austen and “a most beloved sister”
Dr Lizzie Rogers
Abstract:
Every full novel of Austen’ – and much of her other writing, features sisterhood and female friendship – whether to good or bad effect. It is hard not to see this separately from her relationship with her own sister Cassandra. This bond has received more attention than
ever in Austen’s 250th birthday year, with the adaptation of Gill Hornby’s novel Miss Austen. Using Austen’s fictional writings, letters and period drama adaptation, this talk will explore the sisters’ relationship, how the support between Jane and Cassandra can be seen on the page, as much in history, and the way the two siblings have been portrayed since
their deaths.
Biography:
Dr Lizzie Rogers is an historian, curator and writer who specialises in women, collecting and historic houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and their depiction in popular culture. Her work has appeared in academic and popular presses; she is a regular contributor to BBC HistoryExtra on the subjects of Jane Austen and Regency England.
Pamela, being now in the custody of Mrs. Jenkes, seizes an occasion (as they are walking in the garden) to propose a Correspondence with Mr. Williams in order to contrive an Escape, who agree to hide their letters between two tiles near the Sunflower, 1745
by Guillaume Philippe Benoist (1725 – about 1770), after Joseph Highmore (1692-1780)
Etching with stipple engraving on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper; B1994.4.32
Yale Center for British Art, Yale Art Gallery Collection, Gift of the Library Association
October book: Helena Kelly, Jane Austen: Secret Radical
We would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance by emailing the organiser
Dr Jemima Hubberstey who can also add you to the mailing list for details of future meetings: jemimahubberstey@hotmail.co.uk
Catch up Online Anytime
Gresham College Lectures – YouTube Channel
A View of the Royal Hospital at Greenwich, undated
by an unknown artist
Hand coloured engraving on paper; B1977.14.16748
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Image courtesy of the Yale Center for British Art
Crown, Country and the Struggle for Cultural Supremacy
Professor Simon Thurley
The fourth in Professor Simon Thurley’s lecture series on how Britain’s unique cultural development and the changing balance of power and wealth between the aristocracy and the monarchy (C16th-C19th) has influenced today’s art and architectural national cultural landscape. This lecture dwells on the C18th.
Comments