Original works by renowned artist George Stubbs return to where they were painted

The engravings are faded but those with eagle-eyes will just be able to make out the name of local man Joshua Cobb and members of his family. A notable person would be the presumption, and yes Cobb was important, but he was no gentleman of means and wealth although he does represent a window into the history of the Wentworth Woodhouse estate and the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Charles Watson-Wentworth.

For although Cobb was a mere groom for the Marquess, the esteem in which he was held is no better illustrated than a painting by the acclaimed Georgian artist George Stubbs from 1762 that is once again set to take pride of place in the Wentworth Woodhouse State Rooms as part of an exhibition of Stubbs work to celebrate his 300th birthday.

Beneath the Surface: George Stubbs & Contemporary Artists Exhibition runs from Tuesday July 30 to Sunday November 3 and brings seven world-class Stubbs works to the house, four of which were created during his 1762 Wentworth Woodhouse residency.

One of the grandest country houses in England and a rival to Chatsworth House and Blenheim Palace, Wentworth Woodhouse was to be Stubbs’ place of work for almost a year.

Aged 38, Stubbs was much sought-after for his highly polished, anatomically precise and naturalistic paintings of animals, but after being summoned north by Rockingham this commission would see him produce the most famous and feted artwork of his career.

Among the seven oils on canvas Stubbs created was one he humbly described on his receipt as a ‘larger than life portrait of a horse’.

The portrait, of Watson-Wentworth’s retired racehorse Whistlejacket on an unfigured background unusual for the time, would go on to be described as ‘one of the most important British paintings of the 18th Century’ and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London and while that painting will remain in the capital others will be returning.

Mares and Foals with an Unfigured Background, Whistlejacket with the Head Groom – Joshua Cobb – and Two Other Principal Stallions, Portrait of Scrub in a Landscape with John Singleton Up and the painting Five of Lord Rockingham’s Stag Hounds in a Landscape are to be loaned from a private collection, along with Stubbs’s acclaimed book of detailed anatomical studies, Anatomy of A Horse, published in 1766.

The exhibition will take visitors back to a time almost unrecognisable to today says art historian Caroline Krzesinska, who along with colleague Richard Hill have been researching Stubbs time in Rotherham.

“You’re not looking at an industrial town – this is pre-industrial, right at the beginning – so you have got the countryside, and a lot of wealth of the family comes from country estates, but already there are the beginnings of this new thing which is iron and coal,” said Caroline.

“There are the glimmering of thoughts of what this might bring in terms of prosperity and wealth. Interestingly the same people who are working the fields are the same people who are working the quite small mines. He (Rockingham) did not get his money from coal mining, it was too early for that. It was a very rural picture but there is a lot of modernising going on.

“There was someone who toured the country and interviewed all sorts of people including Rockingham about farming practices – how to get the best out of the fields, that sort of thing. It was all about getting the best out of the land. How do you prevent famine? How do you store your crops? What is the best way of laying them out? It is very agricultural.”

Into this world came Stubbs. Born in Liverpool, the young Stubbs had decided not to follow his father into the leather dressing trade but a passion, some would say obsession, for animals and the way they moved would lead him to create his seminal work ‘The Anatomy of The Horse’.

Caroline said: “He moves aged 21 to York and he is doing portrait painting – which is a very important side of Stubbs – because that’s how you get your bread and butter. He is fascinated by anatomy and I think that must come from the family business.

“He devises this idea of doing this massive piece of work. From York he goes to Lincolnshire courtesy of a very early patron and he’s in this barn doing a very smelly job of hooking up these horses and taking layer upon layer away from them.

“He’s drawing them and later they become prints. Every muscle, sinew and bone he draws. He builds a portfolio and then he goes to London with his drawings.”

It is in London that it is thought Stubbs is put into contact with the horse loving Charles Watson-Wentworth.

Studies of letters and documents at Sheffield Archives by the Trust’s team of volunteer researchers means the exhibition will also shed light on Stubbs’ time in Wentworth, the 13-year relationship which developed between the artist and the Marquess and the lives of the servants – including Cobb – depicted in two of the paintings.

The Marquess, writing to the Duke of Portland, mentions the death of Cobb in a letter, an act which is thought unusual given the difference in status between the two men.

Jen Booth, exhibitions and interpretation manager, said: "This is the Trust’s largest exhibition ever to be produced and typically for us, we are taking a bold stance.

"Stubbs’ works will be shown with pieces from nine important contemporary artists known for exploring ideas 'beneath the surface’ of their subjects, including Tracey Emin and Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger."

Taxidermy dogs, a horse cast in glass and a cowgirl on Margate beach will be among the thought-provoking works. Other contemporary artists whose work features are Sutapa Biswas, Kathleen Herbert, Jochem Hendricks, Jo Longhurst, Melanie Manchot, Ugo Rondinone and Hugo Wilson.

The exhibition is included with a house admission ticket. To book, go to wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk/whats-on/beneath-the-surface/