Dimensions: support: 1207 x 1746 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Arthur Devis painted "Breaking-Up Day at Dr Clayton’s School at Salford," a rather large canvas, measuring over a meter tall and nearly two meters wide. Editor: There's an interesting tension here. It feels staged, almost theatrical, and yet I also sense a real anticipation, like the calm before some kind of youthful storm. Curator: Definitely staged. Look at the division of space, the way pupils are arranged inside and outside the building; it speaks volumes about class, education, and the social order being manufactured. Editor: That lone tree in the background – it looks like they are being released into a world of endless possibilities. Curator: Or perhaps, it’s a reminder that even in liberation, the landscape is already owned, cultivated. A park, a domain. Editor: It's a beautiful reminder that art is inherently open to diverse interpretation and context. Curator: Indeed. Devis' painting offers a fascinating glimpse into the making of the British elite.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/devis-breaking-up-day-at-dr-claytons-school-at-salford-t03103
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This informal group portrait, or ‘conversation piece’, shows Dr John Clayton, founder of Salford Grammar School, with a fellow teacher and ten of their pupils at the end of their school term. Dr Clayton stands, as if on a stage set, at the entrance to his school. In his hand he holds a scroll, containing a Latin quotation from the classical poet Horace, which can be translated as ‘Now drink in these Words with a pure heart, boy’. While some of the boys recite verses especially written for the end of term, others are already engaged in sports and various high jinks. Gallery label, August 2004