"the Cornish boy, in tin-mines bred,Whose native genius, like his diamonds, shoneIn secret, till chance gave him to the sun."
"the Cornish boy, in tin-mines bred,Whose native genius, like his diamonds, shoneIn secret, till chance gave him to the sun."
Reynolds told Northcote that Opie was "like Caravaggio and Velasquez in one." In 1782 the painter married his first wife, from whom he was subsequently divorced owing to her misconduct. Although Opie was no longer the wonder of the hour in fickle London, he was achieving more enduring fame. His defective education, both in literature and art, left much to be learned, and he set himself to supply his defects with a laboriouszeal which finally affected his brain and prematurely ended his life. His earliest works in London were studies of heads and portraits. In 1786, he produced theAssassination of James I. of Scotland, aSleeping Nymph, andCupid stealing a Kiss. Next year saw hisMurder of David Rizzio. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1787, and a full member within a year. In the next seven years he exhibited twenty pictures, all portraits. Opie was engaged to paint for Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, and contributed five pictures, which improved as they progressed. Portrait-painting continued to be, however, the most lucrative pursuit, and having been introduced to some patrons at Norwich, Opie saw and married Amelia Alderson, who afterwards wrote Memoirs of her husband, and described the hard struggles which he had at times to encounter. His love for art and untiring industry remained to the last. Even when dying, and at times delirious, he gave advice about the finishing of pictures which he wished to send to the Academy. It was said of him, that "whilst other artists painted to live, he lived to paint." He was buried in St. Paul's. Opie wrote several works on art, and was Professor of Painting in the Royal Academy. His answer to a troublesome inquirer truly expresses the character of his work. "What do I mix my colours with? Why, with brains." Two of Opie's pictures are in the National Gallery—aPortrait of William Siddons, andTroilus, Cressida, and Pandarus. Of his art generally it may be said that he possessed considerable power and breadth of treatment. His handling was often coarse, and his colouring crude, especially in female portraits; in fact, coarseness was the leading characteristic of works which were never tame or spiritless.
SIRWILLIAMBEECHEY(1753—1839) was a portrait painter who received a considerable share of Court favour. He is variously stated to have begun life as a house-painter, or as a solicitor's clerk. He devoted himself to the study of art at the Royal Academy. He lived for a time at Norwich, producedconversation pieces in the style of Hogarth, but finally settled in London as a portrait painter, and practised with considerable success. In 1793 Beechey was elected A.R.A., and executed a portrait ofQueen Charlotte, who was so well pleased with it that she appointed him her Majesty's portrait painter. Thus introduced to Court, Beechey trod "the primrose path" of success, and in 1798 painted an equestrian portrait of George III., with likenesses of the Prince of Wales and Duke of York at a review in Hyde Park. The painter was knighted, and elected a Royal Academician. The picture ofGeorge III. Reviewing the 3rd and 10th Dragoonsis at Hampton Court. HisPortrait of Nollekens, the sculptor, is in the National Gallery. Beechey's chief merit is accuracy of likeness.
JOHNHOPPNER(1759—1810) was another portrait painter who prospered at Court. At first a chorister in the Chapel Royal, he studied art at the Academy schools, became an Associate in 1793, and was elected full member in 1795. He enjoyed vast popularity as a portrait painter, finding a rival only in Lawrence. Many of Hoppner's best works are at St. James's Palace. Three of them are in the National Gallery—William Pitt,"Gentleman" Smith, the actor, and theCountess of Oxford. Three of his works are at Hampton Court; among them isMrs. Jordan as the Comic Muse.
Examples of the work of nearly all the above-mentioned portrait painters may be consulted in the National Portrait Gallery at South Kensington.
The first animal painters in England were willing to win money, if not fame, by taking the portraits of favourite race-horses and prize oxen for the country squires, who loved to decorate their walls with pictures of their ancestors, and their studs. The first to make a name in this branch of art was JOHNWOOTTON, a pupil of John Wyck. He became famous in thesporting circles of Newmarket for his likenesses of race-horses, and received large sums for pictures of dogs and horses. Later, he attempted landscapes, chiefly hunting scenes. His works are in country mansions, especially at Blenheim, Longleat, and Dytchley. Wootton died in 1765.
JAMESSEYMOUR(1702—1752) was famous also as a painter of race-horses and hunting-pieces; he is best known by the engravings after his works.
GEORGESTUBBS(1724—1806) was the son of a Liverpool surgeon, from whom he probably inherited his love for anatomy. He worked at painting and conducted anatomic studies with equal zeal throughout his life, and is said to have carried, on one occasion, a dead horse on his back to his dissecting-room. This story is more than doubtful, though Stubbs was a man of great physical strength. He was the first to give the poetry of life and motion to pictures of animals, and to go beyond the mere portrait of a Newmarket favourite or an over-fed ox. The Royal Academy elected him an Associate in 1780, but as he declined to present one of his works, he was never made a full member. Among his works are aLion killing a Horse, aTiger lying in his Den, a noble life-size portrait of the famous racing-horseWhistle-jacket, which is at Wentworth Woodhouse, andThe Fall of Phaeton. The last picture he repeated four times. He publishedThe Anatomy of the Horse, with etchings from his own dissections.
SAWREYGILPIN(1733—1807) attained considerable success as an animal painter. He was born at Carlisle, and was sent to London as a clerk. Like many others he preferred the studio to the office, and having obtained the favour of the Duke of Cumberland at Newmarket, Gilpin was provided with a set of rooms, and soon became known as a painter of horses. In 1770 he exhibited at Spring GardensDarius obtaining the Persian Empire by the Neighing of his Horse, and next yearGulliver taking Leave of the Houyhnhnms. Gilpin was elected a R.A. in 1797.
The Watering Place. By MORLAND.The Watering Place.ByMORLAND.
GEORGEMORLAND(1763—1804), though not exclusively an animal painter, is best known in that branch of art. His life's story describes wasted opportunities, reckless extravagance, and misused talents. Brought up with unwise strictness by his father, HENRYROBERTMORLAND(died 1797), a portrait painter of note, George Morland no sooner escaped from home discipline than he began that course of riotous living which ended in a dishonoured grave, for which he prepared the epitaph:—"Here lies a drunken dog." It is a mistake to suppose that Morland was a self-taught genius, since, although his fatherobjected to his entering the Academy schools, he himself was his teacher, and so assiduously kept the boy at his studies that he learned to hate the name of work.
As early as 1779 young Morland was an honorary exhibitor of sketches at the Academy. At nineteen he had thrown off home ties, and was living a reckless life of debauchery. Like most prodigals who think themselves free, Morland became a slave. His task-master was a picture dealer, who made money by the genius of the youth whose ruin he promoted. Leaving him, the artist went to Margate, and painted miniatures for a time, going thence to France. He would settle to no regular work, although his necessities compelled him at times to labour lest he should starve. The next scene in Morland's life is his sojourn with his friend William Ward, the mezzotint-engraver, where an honourable attachment to Nancy Ward for a time induced him to work. The pictures he painted at this time were suggested by Hogarth's works, and had subjects with which Morland was only too well acquainted.The Idle and Industrious Mechanic,The Idle Laundress and Industrious Cottager,Letitia, orSeduction(a series), were studied from the life. In 1786 Morland married Miss Ward, but there was no improvement in his manner of life. Sometimes he was surrounded by eager purchasers, and using his popularity as a means for greater extravagance. At one time we see him keeping ten or twelve horses, and cheated right and left by profligates who combined horse-racing, betting, and picture dealing. The luckless Morland was the ready victim of these associates. His pictures were copied as he painted them, during his temporary absence from the studio. In 1790 Morland was at his best,The Gipsiesbeing painted two years later. His last days were dark indeed. Loaded with debt, and dreading arrest, he laboured like a slave, seldom leaving his studio, where his pot-companions alternately rioted and acted as his models, and dogs, pigs, and birds shared the disorderly room. In 1799, he was arrested, andlived within the Rules of the Fleet, amid all the debaucheries of that evil place and time. Freed by the Insolvent Act in 1802, the painter, broken in health and ruined in character, was once again arrested for a tavern score, and ended his life in a sponging-house on October 29th, 1804. His wife died of grief three days later, and was interred with her husband in the burial-ground of St. James's Chapel, Hampstead Road.
Morland chiefly painted country scenes, the memories of happier days, and introduced animals, such as pigs and asses, to his works. Produced for existence, and in a fitful, uncertain manner, his pictures were hastily conceived, and painted with little thought or study. He did much to bring the simple beauty of English scenes before the eyes of the public, and to teach Englishmen that they need not go to Italy in search of subjects for their art. Morland loved low company, even in his pictures, and was at home in a ruined stable, with a ragged jackass, and "dirty Brookes," the cobbler. In the National Gallery are:The Inside of a Stable, said to be the White Lion at Paddington, andA Quarry with Peasants, by him. In the South Kensington Museum is an excellent example of his art, calledThe Reckoning; and in the National Portrait Gallery is his own portrait, painted by himself at an early age.
THE earliest book illustrations in England were illuminations and repetitions of them on wood. Frontispieces followed, in which a portrait was surrounded by an allegory. Of this branch of art WILLIAMFAITHORNE(1616—1691) and DAVIDLOGGAN(about 1630—1693) were practitioners. Topographical views, subjects from natural history, and botany followed. Hogarth's designs for "Hudibras" were among the earlier illustrations of a story. FRANCISHAYMAN(1708—1776), his friend, illustrated Congreve's plays, Milton, Hanmer's Shakespeare, and other works. He was followed by SAMUELWALE(died 1786), and JOSEPHHIGHMORE(1692—1780), who illustrated "Pamela." Towards the close of the eighteenth century, book illustrations had become a recognised class of art-works. Bell's "British Poets," commenced in 1778, the British Theatre, and Shakespeare, opened a wide field for artists of this order. Cipriani, Angelica Kauffman, William Hamilton, and Francis Wheatley, all members of the Royal Academy, were employed to illustrate Bell's publications. Famous among book illustrators was—
From Dante's Inferno. By BLAKE.From Dante's Inferno.ByBLAKE.
WILLIAMBLAKE(1757—1827).—Though born in no higher grade than that of trade, and in no more romantic spot than Broad Street, Golden Square, William Blake, a hosier's son, was a poet, a painter, an engraver, and even a printer. Hisgenius was of an original, eccentric kind, and there were many who believed him crazed. During his long life he was "a dreamer of dreams" and a poetic visionary. Now he was meeting "the grey, luminous, majestic, colossal shadows" of Moses and Dante; now believing that Lot occupied the vacant chair in his painting-room. Anon he fancied that his dead brother had revealed to him a new process of drawing on copper, which he practised with great success. Neglected and misunderstood, Blake was always busy, always poor, and always happy. He lived beyond the cares of every-day life, in a dream-world of his own, occasionally "seeing fairies' funerals, or drawing the demon of a flea." In spite of poverty and neglect, the poet-painter was contented. Rescued from the hosier's business, for which he was intended, Blake at the age of fourteen was apprenticed to the younger Basire, an engraver. Throughout his life he worked not for money but for art,declaring that his business was "not to gather gold, but to make glorious shapes, expressing godlike sentiments." Hard work with the graver gave him bread, and when the day's toil was over he could illustrate teeming fancies in pictures and in verses. He worked at first chiefly at book illustrations. Marrying in his twenty-fifth year, his wife, named Katherine Boucher, proved a faithful and useful helpmeet, one who considered her husband's excursions to be dictated by superior knowledge. Blake's courtship was brief and characteristic. As he was telling his future wife of his troubles, caused by the levity of another damsel, she said, "I pity you." "Do you pity me?" answered the painter; "then I love you for it!" And they were married. It is not wonderful that Blake's contemporaries thought him mad, as he often did strange things. In 1791 Blake designed and engraved six plates to illustrate "Tales for Children" by Mary Wollstonecraft, and later, his "Book of Job," Dante's "Inferno," Young's "Night's Thoughts," Blair's "Grave," and other series. Many of his designs show majestic and beautiful thoughts, a bizarre, but frequently soaring and stupendous invention, great beauty of colour, energy, sweetness, and even beauty of form; they were rarely otherwise than poetic. Some are natural and simple, with occasional flashes, such as belonged to all Blake's productions. The process of drawing on, or rather excavating copper, which he declared had been revealed to him by his brother's ghost, furnished a raised surface, from which Blake was able to print both the design and the verses he composed. By this process he produced his own "Songs of Innocence and of Experience," sixty-eight lyrics, of which it has been said that "they might have been written by an inspired child, and are unapproached save by Wordsworth for exquisite tenderness or for fervour." Then followed "America, a Prophecy," and "Europe, a Prophecy," irregularly versified, imaginative, and almost unintelligible productions. He was illustrating Dante when hedied, and, happy to the last, passed away singing extemporaneous songs.
The Dream. By STOTHARD.The Dream.BySTOTHARD.
THOMASSTOTHARD(1755—1834) began life as a designer for brocaded silks, but, on finding the true bent of his genius, he made designs for the "Town and Country Magazine," and the "Novelist's Magazine," "Ossian," and Bell's "Poets." His works deal with the gentler and sweeter side of human nature, and we can trace the quiet, simple character of the man in them. His eleven illustrations of "Peregrine Pickle" appeared in 1781, and are excellent examples of his truthfulness and grace. He was essentially a quietist, and scenes of passion and tumultwere foreign to his genius. Trunnion and Pipes became living men under his pencil, and "Clarissa" and others of Richardson's romances gained from him an immortality which they would never have acquired by their own merits. In 1788 Stothard produced illustrations of the "Pilgrim's Progress," which, though possessing sweetness and beauty, deal with subjects beyond his grasp. His designs for "Robinson Crusoe" are among his best works. Stothard was made an A.R.A. in 1791, and a full member of the Royal Academy in 1794. His best known painting isIntemperance, on the staircase of Burghley House, in Northamptonshire. There are eight works by him in the National Gallery, including the original sketch ofIntemperance. One of his most popular, though not the best of his pictures, is theProcession of the Canterbury Pilgrims. A collection of Stothard's designs is in the British Museum.
JOHNHAMILTONMORTIMER(1741—1779), a native of Eastbourne, came to London, and made a promising beginning in the world of art. He gained the Society of Arts's premium of a hundred guineas withSt. Paul converting the Britons, and painted other large historic pictures. Mortimer, however, fell into extravagant habits, and neglected art. His oil paintings are "heavy and disagreeable in colour;" his drawings are better. He drew designs for Bell's "Poets," "Shakespeare," and other works, choosing scenes in which bandits and monsters play conspicuous parts.
THOMASKIRK(died 1797), a pupil of Cosway, was an artist of much promise. His best works were designs for Cooke's "Poets."
RICHARDWESTALL(1765—1836) was a designer for books as well as a water-colour painter. He made designs for Bibles and Prayer-books, which were very popular. His best-known works are illustrations of the "Arabian Nights." His brother WILLIAMWESTALL(1781—1850), was a designer of considerable note, especially of landscapes.
The Portrait. By SMIRKE.The Portrait.BySMIRKE.
ROBERTSMIRKE(1752—1845), a native of Wigton, in Cumberland, is chiefly known by his illustrations of Shakespeare and Cervantes. He came early to London, and, as an apprentice to an heraldic painter, decorated coach panels. He studied at the Academy, and in 1786 exhibitedSabrina, from "Comus," andNarcissus. When chosen a full member of the Academy Smirke's diploma picture wasDon Quixote and Sancho. In the National Gallery are twelve illustrations of "DonQuixote," three representing scenes of the same story, and a scene from the "Hypocrite," in whichMawworm, Dr. Cantwell, and Lady Lambertappear.
THOMASUWINS(1782—1857) began life as an apprentice to an engraver, entered the Royal Academy schools, and became known as a designer for books, as well as a portrait painter. His book designs were chiefly frontispieces, vignettes, and title-page adornments. Uwins for a time belonged to the Society of Water-colour Painters—from 1809 to 1818. In 1824 he visited Italy, and, after seven years' sojourn, returned to win fame and honour by oil paintings. He was elected an A.R.A. in 1833; a Royal Academician in 1839, and subsequently held the offices of Librarian to the Academy, Surveyor of her Majesty's Pictures, and Keeper of the National Gallery. Among his best pictures areLe Chapeau de Brigand, and theVintage in the Claret Vineyards(National Gallery);The Italian Mother teaching her Child the Tarantella, and aNeapolitan Boy decorating the Head of his Innamorata(South Kensington Museum).
Before quitting this branch of art mention must be made of one who, though an engraver and not a painter, occupies an important place among book illustrators:—
THOMASBEWICK(1753—1828), born at Cherryburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, adopted a fine mode of wood-engraving. Hitherto many illustrations of books had been engraved on copper, and were necessarily separate from the letterpress. Bewick's process allowed the cut and the words it illustrated to be printed at the same time. In this way he adorned "Gay's Fables," a "General History of Quadrupeds," and his most famous work, "The History of British Birds" (1797), in which he showed the knowledge of a naturalist combined with the skill of an artist. His last work was the illustrations of Æsop's Fables, upon which he was engaged six years. Hewas assisted by his brother John Bewick, who founded a school of wood-engravers, and by some of John's pupils, among whom were Robert Johnson and Luke Clennell.
We have already seen that modern English art began with portraiture, which always has been, and always will be, popular. We have noticed some miniature painters, or "limners in little," who flourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when miniature painting had among its greatest masters Samuel Cooper, who has never been surpassed.
The Woodcock. From "History of British Birds," by THOMAS BEWICK.The Woodcock. From "History of British Birds," by THOMAS BEWICK.
THOMASFLATMAN(1633—1688), an Oxford man and a barrister, who deserted the Bar and became a painter, obtained great success in miniature.
ALEXANDERBROWNE, his contemporary, painted portraits of Charles II. and other members of the Court. He was also an engraver and published, in 1699, a work entitled "Ars Pictoria," with thirty-one etchings.
LEWISCROSSE(died 1724) was the chief miniature painter of Queen Anne's reign.
Tailpiece by BEWICK.Tailpieceby BEWICK.
CHARLESBOIT, a Swede by birth, practised at this period as a miniature painter. Failing in his business as a jeweller, he left London in order to teach drawing in the country. Here he is said to have induced a pupil, daughter of an officer, to promise him marriage, and the intrigue having been discovered, the expectant bridegroom was thrown into prison for two years, where he employed himself in acquiring the art of enamel-painting. Miniature painting is of two kinds—portraits in water colour on ivory and in enamel on copper, the latter being the more complicated mode. Boit on his release practised miniature-painting in London, and gained high prices for his works, although his colouring is by no means pleasant. He was in favour at Court, but, while attempting to prepare a plate larger than ordinary to contain portraits of the Royal family and chief courtiers, Queen Anne died, and Boit, having borrowed money for the plate, was left without hope of being able to pay his creditors. Escaping to France, he again succeeded in his art, and died at Paris in 1726.
CHRISTIANFREDERICKZINCKE(1684—1767), though a native of Dresden, identified himself with art in England. He was a pupil of Boit, but soon outshone his master. His enamel painting was simple yet refined, his drawing graceful, his colour pleasing. George II. was among his numerous patrons. Several of Zincke's enamels are in the Royal Collection.
JAMESDEACONsucceeded Zincke as a tenant of his house in Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, and bid fair to succeed to his place as a miniature painter, when he caught gaol fever at a trial at the Old Bailey, and died in 1750.
JARVISSPENCER, who had been a domestic servant, gained by his talent and perseverance a high place among miniature painters of this period. Indeed, after the death of Deacon, he was the fashionable painter of his class. He died in 1763.
Other artists combined the skill of a jeweller and goldsmith with that of an enameller. It was the fashion to decorate watches, brooches, snuff-boxes, and other trinkets with portraits of friends and lovers of the owner, and thus the work of the goldsmith and the miniature painter were allied.
GEORGEMICHAELMOSER, R.A. (1704—1783), the son of a sculptor at St. Gall, in Switzerland, came to England in his early days, and first gained notice as a chaser of brass-work, the favourite decoration of the furniture of that period. As an enamel painter he was justly celebrated, and employed to decorate the watch of George III. with portraits of the two elder Princes. He designed the Great Seal. Moser was a member of the St. Martin's Lane Academy, and in 1766 joined the Incorporated Society of Artists. He was a founder of the Royal Academy, and its first Keeper.
NATHANIELHONE(1718—1784) stands next to Zincke as a miniature painter, although there is a wide gulf between them. He was self-taught, and on quitting his native Dublin, spent some time in the provinces practising as a portraitpainter, and afterwards achieved great success in London. He was one of the foundation members of the Royal Academy, but brought himself into disgrace with that body by lampooning the President in a picture which he sent for exhibition.
JEREMIAHMEYER(1735—1789) is said to have been a pupil of Zincke, but this is probably an error. Passing from the St. Martin's Lane Academy, Meyer, a native of Würtemberg, became Enamel Painter to George III., and Miniature Painter to the Queen. Careful study of Reynolds is apparent in his works. He was one of the original members of the Royal Academy.
RICHARDCOLLINS(1755—1831), a pupil of Meyer, held the post of Miniature Painter to George III., and his works formed important elements in the Academy exhibitions.
SAMUELSHELLEY, though born in Whitechapel, surely an inartistic locality, and having little art education, became a fashionable miniature painter. He studied Reynolds with advantage, and treated historic incidents in miniature. He was one of the founders of the Water-Colour Society, and died in 1808.
JAMESNIXON, A.R.A. (about 1741—1812), was Limner to the Prince Regent, and a clever designer of book illustrations.
OZIASHUMPHREY(1742—1810) commenced miniature-painting at Bath, after being a pupil in the Academy in St. Martin's Lane. He returned to London at the invitation of Reynolds. A miniature exhibited by him in 1766 attracted universal notice, and gained for him patronage from the King. Compelled by ill health to go abroad in 1772, Humphrey studied Italian art, and came back in five years fired with a desire to attempt historical painting. Here he failed, and neither by historic subjects nor portraits in oil could he gain the success attending his miniatures. Disappointed, he went to India in 1785, and painted illustrious natives of that country. Three years later Humphrey was re-established as a miniature painter inLondon, where he was elected a Royal Academician in 1791. Six years later his eyesight entirely failed. It is said of his miniatures that they are the nearest to the pictures of Reynolds. Humphrey was also successful in crayons.
GEORGEENGLEHEART, who exhibited miniature portraits at the Royal Academy as early as 1773, was, in 1790, appointed Miniature Painter to the King. He painted on both enamel and ivory. He exhibited until 1812.
RICHARDCOSWAY(1740—1821) was famous for skill in miniature-painting, in which no one of his day could approach him, and for vanity, extravagance, and eccentricity. Aspecialitéof his was the composition of small whole-lengths, the bodies of which were executed in pencil, the faces in colour. No beauty of the day was happy unless her charms had been delineated by Cosway; the fair companions of the Prince Regent were among his warmest patrons, and the Prince was a frequent visitor to the artist. Cosway's wife, Maria, was a clever miniature painter, and worked for Boydell's Shakespeare and Macklin's "Poets." Of the scandals concerning her and her husband we need not speak. In his latter years Cosway professed to believe in Swedenborg, and in animal magnetism, pretended to be conversing with people abroad, claimed to have the power of raising the dead, and declared that the Virgin Mary frequently sat to him for her portrait. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1770, and full member in 1771.
HENRYBONE(1755—1834) commenced life as an apprentice to a porcelain manufacturer at Plymouth, where he painted flowers and landscapes on china, and secured success as an enameller. Passing from the manufactory, Bone began work in London by enamelling small trinkets. He first came into general notice in 1781, by means of a portrait of his own wife. Bone's success was rapid. He was made an Academician in 1811, and was Enamel Painter to George III., George IV., andWilliam IV. His most famous works were miniatures after Reynolds, Titian, Murillo and Raphael. Remarkable also are his portraits of the Russell family from Henry VII.'s reign, the famous royalists of the civil war, and eighty-five likenesses of Elizabethan worthies.
HENRYEDRIDGE(1769—1821) was another miniature painter, who owed some of his success to careful following of Reynolds. He painted miniatures on ivory, and for a time on paper, using the lead pencil over Indian ink washes. He was also highly successful as a landscape painter in water colours.
ANDREWROBERTSON(1777—1845), the son of a cabinet-maker at Aberdeen, came to London on foot in 1801, and gained the patronage of Benjamin West, the President, whose portrait he painted. Robertson became, in due course, a very successful miniature painter, and practised his art for more than thirty years. His likenesses are truthful, but do not stand in the first rank of miniature-painting.
ALFREDEDWARDCHALON(1781—1860), born in Geneva, and of French extraction, holds a high place in the history of English art as a portrait painter in water colours; his miniatures on ivory are full of life, vigour, and originality. He was elected R.A. in 1816. As a painter in oils, Alfred Chalon achieved a high degree of success.Hunt the Slipper,Samson and Delilah(exhibited for the second time at the International Exhibition in 1862), andSophia Westerndeserve notice among his oil paintings. Chalon could not only paint with originality, but could catch the manner of the old masters with such accuracy, that some of his works were attributed even by the skilful to Rubens, Watteau, and others. His elder brother, JOHNJAMESCHALON(1778—1854), obtained celebrity as a landscape painter.
WILLIAMESSEX(1784—1869) painted in enamel, and exhibited a portrait of theEmpress Josephine, after Isabey, at the Royal Academy in 1824. In 1839 he was appointedpainter in enamels to the Queen, and in 1841 to the Prince Consort. He was one of the last of the painters in enamel.
Morning Walk. By Alfred E. Chalon.Morning Walk.ByAlfred E. Chalon.
WILLIAMDERBY(1786—1847) was celebrated for his careful copies in miniature of celebrated portraits. He was largely employed on Lodge's "Portraits of Illustrious Persons."
With SIRWILLIAMCHARLESROSS(1794—1860) ends the school of deceased miniature painters. Ross was an artist even in the nursery. He became an assistant to Andrew Robertson, and although his forte was miniature-painting, he longed for the higher flight of historic art. HisJudgment of Brutus,Christ casting out Devils(exhibited in 1825), andThe Angel Raphael discoursing with Adam and Eve(to which an additional premium of £100 was awarded at the Cartoon Exhibition in 1843), are specimens of his power in this branch of art, at different periods. It is as a miniature painter that he will live in the history of art. He was elected to the full rank of R.A. in 1839, and was knighted in the same year. The Court smiled upon him. He painted miniatures of the Queen and Royal Family, the Saxe-Gotha Family, and the King and Queen of Portugal. The late Emperor of the French, when Prince Louis Napoleon, was among his numerous sitters.
WATER-COLOUR painting is in one sense the most ancient mode of pictorial art. We find examples of it in the tombs of the Egyptians, in the Roman catacombs, and in the houses of Pompeii. Oil painting is, in comparison, a modern process, though the statement that it was only discovered by the Van Eycks in the beginning of the fifteenth century, is now known to be a mistake. The earliest pictures were produced with colours soluble in water and mixed with certain ingredients necessary to fix them. In this way wall paintings were executed in tempera, a process familiar to us aspainting in distemper. Raphael's cartoons are specimens of tempera-painting on paper, and Mantegna'sTriumph of Cæsar(Hampton Court) furnish examples of the like process on canvas. The art of water-colour painting was practised by the early Italian and German artists, and by those of the Flemish and Dutch schools. In most of the illuminations of missals, in this and other countries, water colours were used, mixed extensively with body white. Such was the case with the early miniature painters of England, who began by using opaque colours, and gradually advanced to transparent pigments. Notwithstanding the antiquity of painting in water colours, the creation of a School of Water-Colour Art, in the sense in which that term is now understood, belongs to thiscountry. It was not to the tempera painter, nor to the illuminator of missals, nor to the early miniaturist that we owe this modern school. We must look for its germ in the practice of the topographer, who drew ruins, buildings, and landscapes for the antiquary. The earliest of such works were executed in outline with a reed pen. Examples are to be seen in some small pictures by Albrecht Dürer, in the British Museum. The pigments used were transparent, and applied on paper. The earliest of these pictures are in monochrome, black or grey; next, colour was added here and there, and the whole effect was something like that of a coloured print. Such were "the tinted," or "steyned" drawings in which our modern water-colour paintings originated. The early method prevailed for a long time, as may be seen in the historic collection of water-colour paintings at South Kensington, but gradually the art developed, better pigments were used, and, as early as 1790, a marked improvement accrued, which led to the triumphs of Girtin and Turner, and the more brilliant examples of later days. One great advantage belongs to the modern school of water colours—it started from nature, untrammelled by conventional rules or traditions. The early topographers were brought face to face with nature; some of them, like Webber and Alexander, extended their observations to foreign lands; others, finding out the beauties of their own country, were content to copy nature. It remained to our artists towards the end of the last, and early in the present century, to give a new and higher character to water-colour art, which from obscure beginnings has risen to be a purely national and original school. Practised by a succession cf men of great genius, a distinct branch of art has been created, taking rank with works in oil. More luminous, and hardly less powerful than pictures in that medium, it has lent itself, in skilled hands, to the fullest expression of nature, and perfect rendering of the ideal.
PAULSANDBY(1725—1809) has been called "the father of water-colour art;" but as he never advanced beyond the tinted mode, and to the last used Indian ink for shadows, and the pen for outlines, the title is unmerited. Sandby was a native of Nottingham, and having served in the Drawing Office in the Tower, he settled at Windsor in 1752, and became instructor in drawing to the children of George III. He was one of the original members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and at the same time was made drawing master in the Military School at Woolwich. He painted many scenes in the neighbourhood of Windsor, and for Sir Watkin W. Wynn and Sir Joseph Banks landscapes in Wales. Specimens of his art in body-colour and tinting are in the South Kensington collection, includingAn Ancient Beech Tree, which is painted in body-colour;The Round Templeis in Indian ink, slightly tinted;Landscape with Dog and figures, is in the fully tinted manner.
THOMASHEARNE(1744—1817) came early from Wiltshire to London, and was intended for trade. He was, however, apprenticed to Woollett, the engraver. In 1771, he went to the Leeward Isles as draughtsman to the Governor, and this new occupation induced him to abandon engraving for topography. He tinted landscapes, with local colour largely used. HisVillage Alehouse,View of Richmond, two shipping scenes after Van de Velde, andCaistor Castleare at South Kensington.
WILLIAMPAYNE, who at one time held a civil appointment in Plymouth dockyard, came to London in 1790. He had previously exhibited tinted pictures of Devonshire scenery, which attracted the notice of Reynolds. He is best known as the introducer of a neutral colour, styledPayne's Grey.
ALEXANDERCOZENS(died 1786), a natural son of Peter the Great, was born in Russia. After studying art in Italy he came to England in 1746, and practised as a teacher of drawing. Gifted with a fine poetic feeling, and having a noble sense ofbreadth, this artist made a deep impression on those who followed him.
JOHNWEBBER(1752—1793) travelled in Italy, France, and Switzerland, and made numerous drawings. He was draughtsman to Captain Cook in his last voyage, and a witness of his death.
JOHNROBERTCOZENS(1752—1799), son of Alexander Cozens, was one of the earliest who practised water-colour painting in the modern sense of the term. His works in the tinted manner are full of poetic beauty, and exhibit a marked improvement on those of his predecessors. At South Kensington may be seen hisChigi Palace near Albano. Constable, who was much impressed by Cozen's art, said that he was "the greatest genius who ever touched landscape." He was the first to go beyond topography, and to impart pathos to his pictures. Although he worked mainly in the received method of tinting, there are signs in his pictures of a noble progress, which was soon to become more marked.
JOHNSMITH(1749—1831), called "Warwick Smith," probably because he travelled in Italy with the Earl of Warwick, or on his behalf. Six of his Italian sketches are at South Kensington. Gainsborough said "he was the first water-colour painter who carried his intention through." In 1816 he was President of the Society of Painters in Water Colours. We must here briefly mention THOMASROWLANDSON(1756—1827), who is best known by caricatures, including illustrations to "Doctor Syntax," "The Dance of Death," and "Dance of Life."
WILLIAMALEXANDER(1767—1816) accompanied Lord Macartney to China, in 1792, as draughtsman to the Mission. He was afterwards made Keeper of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. He illustrated many books of travel.
JOSHUACRISTALL(1767—1847), one of the foundation members of the Water-Colour Society, of which he was more than once President. He usually painted classic figures with landscapebackgrounds, and genre subjects. HisYoung Fisher BoyandFish Market on Hastings Beachare at South Kensington.
HENRYEDRIDGE, who made excellent drawings in Paris and in Normandy, we have already mentioned among the miniature painters.
ROBERTHILLS(1769—1844) represented animal painting in water colours, and may be styled the father of this branch of art. He frequently worked in conjunction with other artists; as inDeer in a Landscape(South Kensington), where the deer are painted by Hills, and the landscape is by Barret.
MICHAELANGELOROOKER(1748—1801) originally practised as an engraver, but, having been instructed in painting by Paul Sandby, forsook the graver, and worked as a student at the Royal Academy. Subsequently, he became principal scene-painter at the Haymarket Theatre. He used much local colour in tinted drawings, as may be seen inSt. Botolph's Priory, andBoxgrove Priory Church(South Kensington Collection).
Conspicuous among those artists who showed that the power and richness which were supposed to belong to oil painting only, could be produced in water colours, was—
THOMASGIRTIN(1773—1802), who entirely revolutionised the technical practice of his forerunners, by laying in a whole picture with the local colours of its parts. Girtin found a friend and helper in Dr. Monro, who possessed many fine drawings, and allowed the young painters of the day free access to them. In the riverside scenery visible from the Doctor's house at the Adelphi, Girtin found congenial subjects for his art, as well as amid the old-world spots about Chelsea and Wandsworth. Later, he extended his travels, choosing cathedral cities in England, and visiting the Lake district, Scotland, and Wales. Girtin loved to depict scenes of gloom and grandeur, such as the melancholy Cumberland hills, and the sterner scenery of Scotland, whilst Turner, his friend and fellow-worker at Dr. Monro's house, depicted light, even when treating similarsubjects to those which his friend affected. Girtin spent a great deal of valuable time in painting a panorama of London, which was much admired. He died at the age of twenty-nine, but he had lived long enough to make a great advance in water-colour painting, and to add power of effect, of colour, and of execution to the poetry with which Cozens had invested it. Favourable specimens of Girtin's art may be seen in aView on the WharfeandRievaulx Abbey(South Kensington).
GEORGEBARRETthe younger (1774—1842) was one of the foundation members of the Water-Colour Society. He especially delighted in sunset effects.
William De la Motte(1780—1863) was originally a pupil of President West, but abandoned oil for water colours. He painted landscapes in the style of Girtin, but more chiefly architecture and marine pieces.
Of JOSEPHMALLORDWILLIAMTURNER(1775—1851), we shall speak hereafter as a painter in oils; here we must describe his influence in water-colour art, which was greater even than that of Girtin. "Many date the perfect development of water-colour painting from Girtin, but it is far more due to Turner, who, while he could paint in that medium with the power and strength of Girtin, added to that strength, delicacy andquality" (Redgrave). Turner is famous as a painter both in water colour and in oil, and as the artist of "Southern Coast Scenery," "England and Wales," "Rivers of France," Roger's "Italy" and "Poems." HisLiber Studiorumis a collection of valuable studies in monochrome, now in the National Gallery. His etchings from them are very celebrated. Mr. Redgrave says of him, "If ever writer dipt his pen in poetry, surely Turner did his facile pencil, and was indeed one of nature's truest poets." His water-colour drawings are well represented in the National Gallery.
Evening.—"Datur hora quieti." From a Drawing by TURNER.Evening.—"Datur hora quieti."From a Drawing byTURNER.
In spite of the marked progress of water-colour painting, there was as yet no adequate accommodation for the exhibition ofdrawings produced in that mode. The room assigned to works in water colour at the Royal Academy exhibitions was described as "a condemned cell." The general public still believed in the superiority of oil painting, and worshipped a big, indifferent picture in that mode, whilst they allowed gems of art to hang unnoticed in the water-colour room. To remedy this the Water-Colour Society was founded on November 30th, 1804, the originators being Hills, Pyne, Shelley, Wills, Glover andVarley. William Sawrey Gilpin was the first President. This society gave new and increased vigour to water-colour art, and a second body, the Associated Artists in Water Colours, was formed in 1808. The older society exhibited the works of members only, the new association was less exclusive: the career of the latter was brief. The Water-Colour Society also lost popularity after a while, and in 1813 the members determined to dissolve it. Twelve of their number, however, were averse to this course, and maintained the annual exhibition during a few years, with small success. Meanwhile, the other members, in 1814, opened an exhibition in New Bond Street, and invited contributions from British water-colour artists who belonged to no other society. This effort failed. The original body styled itself "The Society of Painters in Oil and Water Colours," for a time admitted oil paintings, and made other alterations in its rules, but in 1821 returned to its original constitution. In 1823 it was established in its present premises in Pall Mall East, since which date it has flourished. In 1881 it became The Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours.
In 1831 The New Water-Colour Society was formed, a body which two years later changed its title to that of The New Society of Painters in Water Colours. In 1863 it became the Institute of Painters in Water Colours, a title it still retains. The great increase in the numbers of artists of this class rendered the formation of the second society necessary. A third exhibition of water colours was formed in the Dudley Gallery, which has recently undergone a reorganization in its Committee of Management.
JOHNVARLEY(1778—1842) was at first the assistant of a silversmith, then of a portrait painter, and subsequently of an architectural draughtsman. After a time he found his true vocation in landscape-painting with water colours. He was as we have seen, one of the founders of the Water-ColourSociety. His works are noteworthy for simplicity and pathos, but his later productions, owing to the necessity of working against time, are very slight. Varley chiefly painted Welsh scenes, many of which are at South Kensington,e.g.Beddgellert BridgeandHarlech Castle.
WILLIAMHAVELL(1782—1857), another of the foundation members of the Water-Colour Society, was a constant exhibitor till 1817, when he visited India. On his return he chiefly contributed oil paintings to the Royal Academy. Havell was one of those who aided to carry water-colour painting beyond mere topography, and in later works he adopted the "sunny method" of Turner.
SAMUELPROUT(1783—1852) is best known by his sketches of continental scenery,e.g.Würzburg, theArch of Constantine at Rome, and thePorch of Ratisbon Cathedral(South Kensington). He excelled as a painter of cottages and ancient ruins, but rarely succeeded with foliage. He published drawing-books, containing studies from nature.
DAVIDCOX(1783—1859), the son of a blacksmith, was born at Birmingham. He was a weakly child, and amused himself with drawing instead of the rougher sports of his companions. Instructed by a local artist, he found employment in painting lockets, and as a scene-painter at the theatre at Birmingham and at Astley's Amphitheatre in Lambeth. Devoting himself to landscape, and assisted by John Varley, Cox soon became one of the most eminent artists of his school, remarkable for the truthfulness of his colouring, the purity and brilliancy of the light in his pictures. He was elected a member of the Water-Colour Society in 1813. His style may be studied at South Kensington. His works are now highly prized.
THOMASMILESRICHARDSON(1784—1848), a native of Newcastle-on-Tyne, is said to have been seized with a desire to become a painter on seeing a landscape by Cox. He began as apprentice to a cabinet-maker. Exchanging this vocation forthat of a schoolmaster, he finally accepted art as his calling, and became a distinguished landscape painter.
The Tomb of the Scaligers at Verona. By PROUT.The Tomb of the Scaligers at Verona.ByPROUT.
ANTHONYVANDYKECOPLEYFIELDING(1787—1855) proved worthy of the names he bore. He was a pupil of Varley, and contributed his first picture to the Water-Colour exhibition of 1810. From that time his success was assured. During his life his works commanded very high prices. He was elected President of the Water-Colour Society in 1831, and held that office till his death. Fielding executed some excellent oil paintings. "He delights in distances, extensive flats, and rolling downs. It is true that while space is often obtained, the result is emptiness." An example of this isThe South Downs, Devon, at South Kensington. Marine pieces are among Fielding's best works, but even these are mannered.
Peter de Wint(1784—1849) was born in Staffordshire, and of Dutch origin. A constant contributor to the Water-Colour Society, painting scenes direct from nature, he chose the northern and eastern counties of England. Corn-fields and hay-harvests are among his favourite subjects. He is very largely represented in the South Kensington collection.
GEORGEFENNELROBSON(1790—1833), after leaving his native Durham, exhibited many pictures at the Royal Academy, but his best works appeared at the exhibitions of the Water-Colour Society. He illustrated many books, and painted in conjunction with Hills, who contributed animals. Three of his works are at South Kensington.
THOMASHEAPHY(1775—1835) was born in London, and having been, like many other artists, apprenticed to an uncongenial craft, left it to pursue the art of an engraver. This, however, gave place to painting, and he commenced with portraiture. He exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time in 1800, and was admitted an Associate Exhibitor of the Water-Colour Society in 1807, and a member in 1808. For a time he accompanied the English army in the Peninsula, andfound patrons among the officers. At South Kensington are two of his figure subjects,Coast Scene, with figures, andThe wounded Leg.
Berncastle, on the Moselle. By HARDING.Berncastle, on the Moselle.ByHARDING.
WILLIAMHENRYHUNT(1790—1864) was one of the most original as well as the most versatile of the water-colour school. Starting as a landscape painter, he, in later years, excelled in rustic figure subjects, whilst as a painter of fruits and flowers he was without a rival. Hunt was a pupil of Varley, and had the advantage of Dr. Monro's friendship. The varied character of his art may be seen at South Kensington, inBoy and Goats, and aBrown Study(a negro boy puzzling over an addition sum), which illustrate his figure subjects, whilstHawthorn Blossoms and Bird's Nest,Primroses and Birds' Nests, andPlums, are examples of another side of Hunt's genius. His humorous picturesThe Attack,The Defeat,The Puzzled Politician, andThe Barber's Shopare well known.
JAMESDUFFIELDHARDING(1798—1863), the son of an artist, was intended for a lawyer, but chose to become a painter. At the age of fifteen he was a pupil of Samuel Prout, and at first his works owed much to that artist. Like his master he did not succeed in foliage. Harding gained the silver medal of the Society of Arts for a water-colour drawing, and became very popular as a drawing-master. He published many lesson books, in which he called in lithography to his aid. His visit to France and Italy resulted in numerous studies, which are embodied inThe Landscape Annual. He is represented at South Kensington byA Landscape with Hovels. Harding is described as the first water-colour artist who used, to any extent, body-colour mixed with transparent tints. His example was almost always injurious.
The View From Richmond Hill. By DE WINT.The View From Richmond Hill.ByDE WINT.
GEORGECATTERMOLE(1800—1868) was a native of Dickleburgh, Norfolk. He started in life as a topographical draughtsman, and studied architectural antiquities. This fitted him for the mediæval and romantic subjects in which he delightedBrigands, robbers, and knights figure largely in his works. His travels in Scotland bore fruit in illustrations to the Waverley novels. His pictures were due to his memory, rather than to new inspirations, and as he advanced in years they became tame. Among Cattermole's principal works areSir Walter Raleigh witnessing the execution of Essex in the Tower,Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh preparing to shoot the Regent Murray,The Armourer's Tale,Cellini and the Robbers,Pirates at Cards, which are all at South Kensington.
JAMESHOLLAND(1800—1870) began as a flower painter and teacher of that branch of art. He found a wider sphere, and is known as a painter of landscapes and sea subjects. In his works high colouring is remarkable. HisNymwegen, in Holland, is at South Kensington, where there is also a series of sixteen of his drawings made in Portugal.
SAMUELPALMER(1805—1881) first exhibited, at the British Institution, in 1819. In 1843 he was elected an Associate of the Water-Colour Society, and became a full member in 1855; and it was at the exhibitions of that society that his works were most often seen.
His paintings are chiefly pastoral scenes, treated in an ideal manner, and display imaginative and poetic genius of a high order. He drew inspirations for his paintings from the writings of Milton and Virgil, with which he was very familiar. He was influenced in his art by the work of William Blake, and to some extent by that of his father-in-law, John Linnell. Samuel Palmer executed a few highly-prized etchings.
EDWARDHENRYWEHNERT(1813—1868), FRANCISWILLIAMTOPHAM(1808—1877), AARONEDWINPENLEY(1806—1870), EDWARDDUNCAN(1803—1882),George Shalders(1826—1873), GEORGEHAYDOCKDODGSON(1811—1880), were all members of one or other of the Water-Colour Societies, and attained fame in their various walks of art.
Old English Hospitality. By GEORGE CATTERMOLE. A.D. 1839.Old English Hospitality.ByGEORGE CATTERMOLE. A.D. 1839.
IN tracing the progress of British painting, we have seen that early in the eighteenth century the English public thought most of foreign artists. There was no belief in the power of Englishmen to create original works, and therefore no encouragement was given against the "slavery of the black masters." No one dared to hang a modern English painting which aimed at being original. If a portrait was desired the artist considered it necessary to imitate Kneller. If a landscape were needed, it was thought right to seek it in Italy. If a painter desired to prosper, he was forced to be more of a house-decorator than an artist. We have seen also how this spell was broken, first by Hogarth, who had the courage to abide by his originality, although but one purchaser appeared at a sale of his pictures; next by Reynolds, who painted portraits like living persons, and not mere dolls. We have seen Wilson and Gainsborough create a school of English landscape-painting, and show the hitherto neglected beauties of our own land. We have marked historic painters bravely struggling against neglect, like Barry uncared for, believing in his art; and like Copley, who treated history with freshness andtruth. To West we owe an attempt to depict scenes from Scripture, and a bold stand against the ridiculous fashion which represented any warrior, even a Red Indian, attired as a soldier of ancient Rome. And we must not forget the poetic fancies of Romney, the dramatic force of Opie, the grace of Stothard, the great inspiration of Blake, and the wild nightmare illustrations of Fuseli. We have seen art too long wedded to literature, and yet making great advances under the treatment of those who turned their attention to book illustration and miniature-painting, rising to a high pitch of popularity. We have observed how the Royal Academy improved the social position of English painters, who had previously been regarded as representing a better kind of house-decorators, and how the establishment of the Water-Colour Societies promoted a branch of art which, starting from the topographer's sketch, has attained high excellence and beauty.
Among the foremost men of the beginning of the nineteenth century was—
Master Lambton. By LAWRENCE. A.D. 1825. In the possession of the Earl of Durham.Master Lambton.ByLAWRENCE.A.D1825.In the possession of the Earl of Durham.
THOMASLAWRENCE, who was born, in 1769, at Bristol; his father, trained as a lawyer, being at that time landlord of an inn. At an early age the future painter was removed with the rest of the family to the "Black Bear" at Devizes, whither the fortunes of the elder Lawrence led him. The inn was a well-known posting-house on the way to Bath, and young Thomas had abundant opportunities for displaying his precocious talents to the guests who stopped there. His father had given him desultory lessons in reading and recitation. Nature furnished him with a wonderful gift of art; and when only five years old the beautiful child, with long flowing hair, was introduced to all customers, and would recite Milton and Collins, or take their portraits, according to their several tastes. We are told of his drawing a remarkably truthful likeness of Lady Kenyon at this early age. Of regulareducation Lawrence had little or none beyond two years' schooling at Bristol, but he learnt much from the conversation of distinguished patrons and friends in early life. In 1779 the Lawrence family moved from Devizes to Oxford, where the boy drew many portraits. Leaving Oxford and settling at Bath, Lawrence contributed to the wants of the family by drawing portraits in crayons for a guinea and a guinea and a half each. His fame rapidly spread. Mrs. Siddons sat to him, so did the Duchess of Devonshire, and, in 1785, the Society of Arts awarded him their silver pallet, "gilded all over," for a crayon copy of theTransfigurationby Raphael, executed when Lawrence was only thirteen. London was the fittest place for the development of such talents as his, and accordingly the elder Lawrence went thither with his son in 1787, and the latter was entered as a student in the Royal Academy. He contributed seven works to the exhibition of the same year, was introduced to Sir Joshua Reynolds and kindly treated; the great painter encouraged the youthful genius, and advised him to study nature instead of the old masters. Lawrence took this advice, and avoided the temptation to try processes of colouring, which proved fatal to many of Sir Joshua's works. The course of the youth was one of unvarying success. The King and Queen were interested in him. In 1791, he was elected an Associate of the Academy, and a year after was appointed Principal Painter-in-Ordinary to the King, a post rendered vacant by the death of Reynolds. The Dilettanti Society broke its rules to make Lawrence a member, and painter to the society; in 1794, when nearly twenty-five years old, the artist was elected a Royal Academician. Never, perhaps, did painter rise so rapidly and from such slight foundations, and never was studio more crowded by sitters than that of Lawrence. Messrs. Redgrave, in criticising his portraits, say, "After Reynolds and Gainsborough, Lawrence looks pretty and painty; there is none of that power of unitingthe figure with the ground—that melting of the flesh into the surrounding light which is seen in the pictures of the first President. Lawrence's work seems more on the surface—indeed, only surface—while his flesh tints have none of the natural purity of those by his two predecessors; we think them pretty in Lawrence, but we forget paint and painting in looking at a face by Reynolds or Gainsborough." The same critics remark of Lawrence's portraits of children that Sir Joshua was greatly his superior in this branch of art, and that the former "had no apparent admission into the inner heart of childhood." On the other hand, Fuseli, his contemporary, considered Lawrence's portraits as good or better than Van Dyck's, and recommended painters to abandon hope of approaching him. In 1797, Lawrence exhibited hisSatan calling his Legions, now the property of the Royal Academy. Various and conflicting are the criticisms on this picture, a fair specimen of the painter's powers in history. A contemporary critic says of it, "The figure of Satan is colossal, and drawn with excellent skill and judgment." Fuseli, on the other hand, characterizes the principal figure briefly and strongly as "a d—d thing, certainly, but not the devil." Lawrence himself rightly thoughtSatanhis best work. On the death of West, in 1820, Lawrence was unanimously chosen President of the Royal Academy. Five years earlier the Prince Regent had knighted him. Foreign Academies loaded him with honours. He made a foreign tour at the request of the Government to paint portraits of the various illustrious persons who had engaged in the contest with Napoleon I. Ten years after his accession to the President's chair Lawrence died. The best critics declare that no high place among painters may be accorded to him. Much of his popularity was due to the fact that he flattered his sitters, and led the artificial style of the day. He lost in later years the fresh vigour of his prime. It must be allowed, however, that he was no copyist of Reynolds, nor of any one, but treated hissubjects in a style of his own. He is accused of introducing "a prevailing chalkiness" into his pictures, derived from his early studies in crayon. When he died there was no one to take his place. The Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle contains the pictures ofPius VII., theEmperor Francis, andCardinal Gonsalvi. Famous among his portraits of children areMaster Lambton,Lady Peel and Daughters, andLady Gower and Child; for the last he received 1,500 guineas. In the National Gallery are nine of his works, includingHamlet with Yorick's Skull, and portraits ofBenjamin WestandMrs. Siddons. The contemporaries of Sir Thomas who practised portraiture were all indebted to Reynolds.
GEORGEHENRYHARLOW(1787—1819) emerged from a childhood, in which he was petted and spoilt, to a brief manhood which the society of actors and actresses did not improve. He was, for a time, a pupil of Lawrence, and it is supposed that if he had lived Harlow would, as a portrait painter, have been his successful rival. After a foreign tour, he, like many of his brethren, longed to succeed in historic painting. HisQueen Catherine's Trial, in which Mrs. Siddons appears as the Queen, does not prove that he would have succeeded in this branch of art. It was at the "Old Masters" Exhibition, 1882.
WILLIAMOWEN(1769—1825), the son of a bookseller at Ludlow, came to London in 1786, after receiving a good education at the Ludlow Grammar School. He became a pupil of Charles Catton, landscape and animal painter, and of the Academy. In 1792 he exhibited aPortrait of a Gentleman, and aView of Ludford Bridge. He is chiefly known as a portrait painter, and found that branch of art remunerative, but his real tastes appeared inBlind Beggar of Bethnal Green,The Fortune Teller,The Village Schoolmistress, and other simple stories of country life. A picture of two sisters gained him one of the two as a wife; and portraits ofPitt,Lord Grenville, theDuke of Buccleuch, and othernoteworthy persons brought him into fashion. Owen was elected full member of the Academy in 1806, and appointed portrait painter to the Prince of Wales in 1810. He was an unwearied worker, and his subject-pictures commanded an interest which does not continue. In the National Gallery isThe Dead Robin. HisWilliam CrokerandLord Loughboroughare in the National Portrait Gallery.
Trial of Queen Catherine. By HARLOW. A.D. 1817. In the possession of Mrs. Morrison.Trial of Queen Catherine.ByHARLOW.A.D1817.In the possession of Mrs. Morrison.
MARTINARCHERSHEE(1770—1850), a native of Dublin, commenced art studies in the Dublin Academy. In Dublin he became known as a portrait painter. He came to London in 1788, where he was introduced to Burke, and by him to Reynolds, who advised the young painter to study at the Royal Academy, advice which he somewhat unwillingly followed. Gradually winning his way, he became a successful portrait painter of men. In 1800, he was made a R.A. Though devoting himself to portraiture Martin Shee turned ever and again to subject-pictures, of whichBelisarius,Lavinia, and aPeasant Girlare specimens. A more ambitious work wasProspero and Miranda, exhibited in 1806. Shee owed his election to the Academy to his position as a portrait painter, and he justified the choice by his defence of the institution against those who attacked its privileges. In 1830, he was elected President, and knighted. Three of his works are in the National Gallery,The Infant Bacchus, and portraits of Morton the comedian, andLewis as the Marquis in the 'Midnight Hour.'The first illustrates Shee's later style; the picture of Lewis, painted in 1791, his early method. Besides paintings, Shee was the author of several literary productions, including a tragedy, a novel, "Rhymes on Art," and art criticisms.
Swiss Peasant Girl. By HOWARD.Swiss Peasant Girl.ByHOWARD.
HENRYHOWARD(1769—1847), though not intended originally for an artist, early showed a talent for drawing, became a pupil of Philip Reinagle and the Academy, where, two years later, he gained the silver medal of the Life School, and the gold medal in the Painting School forCaractacus recognisingthe dead Body of his Son, which Reynolds, then President, warmly praised. From 1791 to 1794 Howard travelled in Italy, and paintedThe Death of Abelfor the travelling studentship of the Academy, which he did not obtain. The promise of his youth was not fulfilled. "His works are graceful and pretty, marked by propriety, and pleasing in composition; his faces and expressions are good, his drawing is correct, but his style cold and feeble." (Redgrave.) Most of Howard's works are small: he selected classic and poetic subjects, such asThe Birth of Venus,The Solar System,Pandora, andThe Pleiades, and occasionally he painted portraits. He was Secretary and Professor of Painting to the Royal Academy. In the National Gallery isThe Flower Girl, a portrait of his own daughter.
JAMESWARD(1769—1859) began life as an engraver, and was thirty-five years old before he devoted himself to painting. He selected animal portraiture, and bulls and horses were his favourite subjects. His most famous, but not his best picture isA Landscape, with Cattle(National Gallery), produced at the suggestion of West to rival Paul Potter'sYoung Bull, at the Hague, which Ward had never seen. Ward's cattle were all painted from life. Morland was a brother-in-law of Ward, and his influence is obvious in the latter's pictures. The life-size cattle in the before mentioned picture are an Alderney bull, cow, and calf in the centre, another cow, sheep, and goat in the foreground. In the National Gallery, too, is his large landscape ofGordale Scar, Yorkshire.
THOMASPHILLIPS(1770—1845) was a native of Dudley, and began as a glass painter at Birmingham. Coming to London, he was assisted by West, then President of the Academy, and in 1792 exhibited aView of Windsor Castle, and next yearThe Death of Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, at the Battle of Chatillon. Phillips was more successful as a portrait painter: his likenesses are faithful, his pictures free from faults,and possess a pleasant tone, though as a colourist he does not occupy a high place. He was Professor of Painting in 1829. In the National Gallery are a portrait ofSir David Wilkie, and aWood Nymph. The latter looks more like a young lady fresh from a drawing-room.