John Callcott Horsley was an English painter of the 19th century, who distinguished himself mainly by his historical scenes and his depiction of the local environment and the way of life of the people. Although he made a career in the Royal Academie, he caused two very different scandals.
On the one hand, in 1843, at the suggestion of the civil servant Sir Henry Cole, who distinguished himself in many ways as an innovator, he created the first Christmas greeting card known to us. In the centre of the card is a cheerfully celebrating dinner party, probably a family: an older couple, two younger couples and several children. Almost all of them are holding a glass in their hands, and in the foreground, just behind the garland-like ornamental cloth with the inscription "A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO
YOU" a little girl takes a strong sip from a glass of red wine. The side scenes from the lives of poorer sections of the population fade away. But the abstinent "Teetotalers" of the puritanical Temperence Society sparked a huge protest against what they saw as the animation for drinking at Christmas of all times.
On the other hand, John Callcott Horsley was by no means a revolutionary, but was himself a stern gentleman. Influenced by the Parisian salon of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, nudes became fashionable again in the United Kingdom in the last decades of the 19th century. With all his authority as rector and treasurer of the Royal Academie, Horsley tried to stop painting after nude models. He protested sharply against this innovation. The female nude of his painter colleague Albert Joseph Moore, which, as is his custom, is titled after the floral decoration of a white hydrangea, was damaged by a scratch during an exhibition. Horsley was suspected to have done this. He was also accused of being responsible for the disappearance of nude studies by academy students. It is probably certain that he published a letter to the editor in the Times under the pseudonym "British Matron", which he entitled "A Women's Plea". It was again an indictment of the decline of morals through nude painting. All this prompted the satirical magazine "Punch" to give the painter of decent subjects the nickname "Mr. J.C(lothes) Horsley", which is a pun and means "horse of clothes".
But John Callcott Horsley, who had family connections to many British celebrities of the time, was a recognized artist whose paintings are often of old-masterly quality and are reminiscent of the marriage of Dutch painting. By winning a competition, he took part in the decorative decoration of the Palace of Westminster along with five other painters. There, in the Lords Chamber, he painted six allegorical frescoes symbolising religion, chivalry and law. Horsley took over the representation of religion. The twice married artist died in 1903 at the age of 86 years in London. Several of his many children became important in their respective professions.
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.jpg "The Interior of the Great Hall, Haddon: Rent Day by John Callcott Horsley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1011839).jpg "Il Penseroso, from the picture in the Royal Collection by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "A Model for Alfred")
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.jpg "Hospitality, the Mote, Ightham, Kent by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Soldier")
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.jpg "Roger Ascham, Tutor to Queen Elizabeth I by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Pay for Peeping by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Beauty discovering the beast in the garden by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "St. Valentine")
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.jpg "Checkmate, Next Move, from the Exhibition of the Royal Academy by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Contrast: Youth and Age by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Critics on Costume, Fashions Change by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Prince Looking at the Portraits by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Banker")
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.jpg "Showing a Preference, 1860 by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Lady Jane Grey and Roger Ascham by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Malvolio in the Sun, Twelfth Night by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Merchant Plucking the Rose for Beauty by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Reading Lesson by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Marie Antoinette Singing to the Dauphin, Son of King Louis XVI by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Waiting for an answer by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Morning of St Valentine by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Duenna")
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.jpg "The First Christmas Card, 1843 by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The First Christmas Card, by J.C. Horsley, 1843 by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "His Father")
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.jpg "Youth and Age by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Cartoon, Religion by John Callcott Horsley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1122764).jpg "Last Move Checkmate (2 details) by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Flirtation Outside the Master")
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.jpg "The Crossing Sweeper by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "A Madrigal by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Coming Down to Dinner by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Boyhood of Arthur, 1851 by John Callcott Horsley")
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_(oil_on_canvas)_-_(MeisterDrucke-908267).jpg "Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59) by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Beast Changed into a Prince by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene V by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Frederick the Great and His Nephew by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Father")
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.jpg "The World Forgetting - Sunday Afternoon in Kensington Gardens by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Margaret of Anjou and Her Son by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Isambard Kingdom Brunel by John Callcott Horsley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-995541).jpg "The May Queen by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The New Dress, 1865 by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Attack and Defence by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Decorating with Holly, 1881 by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Westminster Hall Exhibition by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Il Penseroso by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Facsimile reproduction of the first Christmas card by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Christmas Card, Example of the First Known Christmas Card Being Used, 1843 by John Callcott Horsley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-64746).jpg "Youth and Age (detail) by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Sunny Moments by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Rent Day at Haddon Hall by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Queen Victoria and her children by John Callcott Horsley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1033481).jpg "Il Penseroso (engraving) by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "Youth and Age by John Callcott Horsley")
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.jpg "The Pet of the Common by John Callcott Horsley")
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