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Shakespeare Gallery
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London, England, was the first stage of a three-part project initiated in November 1786 by engraver and publisher John Boydell in an effort to foster a school of British history painting. In addition to the establishment of the gallery, Boydell planned to produce an illustrated edition of William Shakespeare's plays and a folio of prints based upon a series of paintings by different contemporary painters. During the 1790s the London gallery that showed the original paintings emerged as the project's most popular element. The works of William Shakespeare enjoyed a renewed popularity in 18th-century Britain. Several new editions of his works were published, his plays were revived in the theatre and numerous works of art were created illustrating the plays and specific productions of them. Capitalising on this interest, Boydell decided to publish a grand illustrated edition of Shakespeare's plays that would showcase the talents of British painte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985), reported statements from present generation which "specifies that the message must be oral statements spoken, sung or called out on musical instruments only"; "There must be transmission by word of mouth over at least a generation". He points out, "Our definition is a working definition for the use of historians. Sociologists, linguists or scholars of the verbal arts propose their own, which in, e.g., sociology, stresses common knowledge. In linguistics, features that distinguish the language from common dialogue (linguists), and in the verbal arts features of form and content that define art (folklorists)."Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: "Methodology and African Prehistory", 1990, ''UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a Gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Romney (painter)
George Romney ( – 15 November 1802) was an English portrait painter. He was the most fashionable artist of his day, painting many leading society figures – including his artistic muse, Emma Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson. Early life and training Romney was born in Beckside in Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire (now in Cumbria), the 3rd son (of 11 children) of John Romney, cabinet maker, and Anne Simpson. Raised in a cottage named High Cocken in modern-day Barrow-in-Furness, he was sent to school at nearby Dendron. He appears to have been an indifferent student and was withdrawn at the age of 11 and apprenticed to his father's business instead. He proved to have a natural ability for drawing and making things from wood – including violins (which he played throughout his life). From the age of 15, he was taught art informally by a local watchmaker called John Williamson, but his studies began in earnest in 1755, when he went to Kendal, at the age of 21, for a 4-year appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Farington
Joseph Farington (21 November 1747 – 30 December 1821) was an 18th-century English landscape painter and diarist. Life and work Born in Leigh, Lancashire, Farington was the second of seven sons of William Farington and Esther Gilbody. His father was the rector of Warrington and vicar of Leigh. Three of his brothers—William, Henry, and Richard—were "employed in the naval service of the East India Company".Newby, "Joseph Farington". Edward died of yellow fever when he was 32. Robert attended Brasenose College and became vicar of St George in the East, London (whose advowson was held by Brasenose). George Farington became a painter, like Joseph himself. After his early education in Maryland, Farington went to study with Richard Wilson in London in 1763. In 1764, 1765, and 1766 he won "premiums" from the Society of Artists for his landscape drawing; he became a member in 1765. He joined the Royal Academy when it was founded in 1769 and was elected an ARA in 1783 and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Nicol (bookseller)
George Nicol (1740? – 25 June 1828) was a bookseller and publisher in 18th-century London. In 1781, he became bookseller to George III, a position he held until 1820. In 1785, he published an improved edition of James Cook's third voyage. In 1786, he became involved with John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery and bore responsibility for the letterpress. He and the others in the project wanted to create a type that would be both utilitarian and beautiful. Early life and work Nicol was born in Scotland, probably in May 1740 (or perhaps in 1741).Painting.Maxted. Around 1769, he moved to London and began working for his uncle, David Wilson at his shop in the Strand.Burke, 243. Later, the two men became partners. By spring 1773, Nicol had already become sufficiently successful to receive the king's informal commission to purchase books on his behalf. At the sale of the library of James West, president of the Royal Society, fellow booksellers such as John Almon were surprised when N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josiah Boydell
Josiah Boydell (18 January 1752 – 27 March 1817) was a British publisher and painter, whose main achievement was the establishment of the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery with his uncle, John Boydell. Biography Boydell was born in Hawarden, Flintshire, the fourth child of a farmer, Samuel Boydell (1727–1783), and his wife Ann, née Turner (1725–1764). In 1766, at the age of 14, he moved to London to begin his seven-year apprenticeship to Samuel's brother, John Boydell. While an apprentice, he learned painting from Benjamin West and mezzotint engraving from Richard Earlom.Fagan After completing his apprenticeship, he continued to work closely with John Boydell, making some engravings himself and drawing scenes for others. He also exhibited at the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmond Malone
Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first political and then more congenial literary pursuits. He went to London, where he frequented literary and artistic circles. He regularly visited Samuel Johnson and was of great assistance to James Boswell in revising and proofreading his ''Life'', four of the later editions of which he annotated. He was friendly with Sir Joshua Reynolds, and sat for a portrait now in the National Portrait Gallery. He was one of Reynolds' executors, and published a posthumous collection of his works (1798) with a memoir. Horace Walpole, Edmund Burke, George Canning, Oliver Goldsmith, Lord Charlemont, and, at first, George Steevens, were among Malone's friends. Encouraged by Charlemont and Steevens, he devoted himself to the study of Shakespearean chronolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Rowe (dramatist)
Nicholas Rowe (; 20 June 1674 – 6 December 1718), English dramatist, poet and miscellaneous writer, was appointed Poet Laureate in 1715. His plays and poems were well-received during his lifetime, with one of his translations described as one of the greatest productions in English poetry. He was also considered the first editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Life Nicholas Rowe was born in Little Barford, Bedfordshire, England, son of John Rowe (d. 1692), barrister and sergeant-at-law, and Elizabeth, daughter of Jasper Edwards, on 20 June 1674. His family possessed a considerable estate at Lamerton in Devonshire. His father practised law and published Benlow's and Dallison's Reports during the reign of King James II. The future Poet Laureate was educated first at Highgate School, and then at Westminster School under the guidance of Richard Busby. In 1688, Rowe became a King's Scholar, which was followed by his entrance into Middle Temple in 1691. His entrance into Midd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacob Tonson
Jacob Tonson, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the Elder (1655–1736), was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher. Tonson published editions of John Dryden and John Milton, and is best known for having obtained a copyright on the plays of William Shakespeare by buying up the rights of the heirs of the publisher of the Fourth Folio after the Statute of Anne went into effect. He was also the founder of the famous Kit-Cat Club. His nephew, Jacob Tonson the Younger (1682–1735), was his business partner. The business was continued by the younger Tonson's son, Jacob Tonson (1714–1767). History Scholars have not always been sure of Tonson's birthdate, and it has in the past been listed as occurring in 1655 or 1656. But the register of christenings in the parish of St Andrew Holborn demonstrates that Tonson was born on 12 November 1655 and baptized 18 November 1655. The register lists Tonson as the "sonne of Jacob Tonson Shoemaker and of Elizabeth his wife neare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Taylor (English Literature Scholar)
Gary Taylor (born 1953) is an American academic, George Matthew Edgar Professor of English at Florida State University, author of numerous books and articles, and joint editor of ''The Oxford Shakespeare'' and '' The Oxford Middleton''. Life The first member of his family to graduate from high school, Taylor won scholarships that led to bachelor's degrees in English and Classics from the University of Kansas (1975) and to a doctorate in English from the University of Cambridge (1988). With Stanley Wells, he worked for eight years as the "enfant terrible" of the Oxford Shakespeare (1978–86), a project that generated much controversy through editorial decisions such as printing two separate texts of ''King Lear'' and attributing a poem commonly known as "Shall I die?" to Shakespeare (an attribution that has since been almost universally rejected). He has taught at Oxford University, Catholic University of America, Brandeis University (where he was Chair of the English department), a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' calls him "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, he attended Pembroke College, Oxford until lack of funds forced him to leave. After working as a teacher, he moved to London and began writing for ''The Gentleman's Magazine''. Early works include ''Life of Mr Richard Savage'', the poems ''London'' and ''The Vanity of Human Wishes'' and the play ''Irene''. After nine years' effort, Johnson's '' A Dictionary of the English Language'' appeared in 1755, and was acclaimed as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship". Later work included essays, an annotated ''The Plays of William Shakespeare'', and the apologue ''The History of R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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