Witchcraft: The 3 Witches from Macbeth

Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne (1751-1818), Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806) and Anne Seymour Damer (1748-1828) were painted as the three witches of #Macbeth by Daniel Gardner in 1775. Gardner typically painted portraits in the #Regency / #Georgian . But his "The Three Witches from #Macbeth " is different. Rumored to be painted with dyes from herbs and fungi, the three society women are pictured around a cauldron. #ElizabethLamb , #ViscountessMelbourne is actually floating. Was this painting inspired by #TheDuchess ' gambling habit ? Or the financial pressures on #Damer 's husband, whereby he would take his life in 1776? Or perhaps the meaning behind the painting, now in the #NationalPortraitGallery , reveals the intrigue and behind-the-scenes workings of #Whig politics.

Sources:

National Portrait Gallery, #thethreewitchesfrommacbeth , https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/2011/the-three-witches-from-macbeth

Nicholas Smith, "Mouthing for #snuffboxes " , #V&A , https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/caring-for-our-collections/mouthing-for-snuff-boxes-david-garrick-macbeth-and-a-gold-snuffbox?doing_wp_cron=1725293802.0405020713806152343750

#WilliamShakespeare , Poetry Foundation, " #songofthewitches ", https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43189/song-of-the-witches-double-double-toil-and-trouble

#OrsonWelles , "Macbeth" (1948)

#witchcraft #historyofwitchcraft #lordm #primeministermelbourne #ladycarolinelamb #caro #gothic #gothichistory #arthistory #regencyeraart #regencyerascandal #regencyera #macbeth #macbethwitch #macbethhistory #danielgardner #gardnerportrait #npg #theduchessfullmovie #duchessspencer #duchessgeorgiana #georgianacavendish #georgianacavendishdocumentary #devonshire #anneseymourdamer #damersculpt