The Capture of the Foudroyant by HMS Monmouth

Francis Swaine (1725–1782) was a British marine painter.

Early life

He was born in 1725, and christened on 7 October of that year at St Dunstan's,

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, London. His parents were named Francis Swaine and Ann Joel. In 1735 the elder Francis Swaine, the marine painter's father, applied in writing to the Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy for employment as a Navy Messenger, in succession to Mr William Wyatt. He mentions that he had served "upwards of twenty eight years" in the Navy, and that his father had died Purser of the Royal Katherine. He mentions also that he had carried out "little labours in drawing", and that he at that time had five small children. The first-born of these children was the Francis Swaine who became the marine painter. The elder Swaine was duly employed as a Navy Messenger. He served for 20 years and died on 10 October 1755, aged 64.

Career

Swaine is said to have been influenced by the style of van de Velde. There is no clear evidence of this alleged influence. The suggestion that Swaine may have been a pupil of

Charles Brooking Charles Brooking (c.1723–59) was an English painter of marine scenes. Life It is highly probable that Brooking’s father was a Charles Brooking (1677–1738) who was recorded as employed by Greenwich Hospital (London) between 1729 and 1736 ...

can be dismissed, as the difference in age between the two painters was a mere two years, and there is no visual evidence to support any such influence. On the other hand, Swaine was demonstrably strongly influenced by the style of the painter

Peter Monamy Peter Monamy was an English people, English Marine art, marine painting, painter who lived between 1681 and 1749. Early life and family Peter Monamy was baptised at the church of St Botolph's Aldgate, St Botolph's-without-Aldgate, London, ...

(1681–1749), whose pupil he was.FRANCIS_SWAINE
'www.westburyfineart.co.uk'' In the will of Sir Samuel Young (1766–1826), son of Admiral Sir George Young (1733–1821), Francis Swaine is explicitly referred to as "Old Swaine, pupil of Monami". In Mark Noble's ''Biographical History of England'', 1806, under the entry for Monamy, it is also stated that "Swaine, of Stretton Ground, Westminster, his disciple, and bred under him, was an excellent painter of moon-light pieces." This remark is well confirmed by his "Capture of the Foudroyant" (see illustration), which is also referred to in at least one source (David Erskine) as "The Moonlight Battle". The French ship subsequently served in the English Fleet as the ''Foudroyant''.

Family

Swaine married Monamy's daughter Mary at Allhallows, London Wall, on 29 June 1749, when he was aged 24. Their children were christened Anna Maria Swaine, on 27 Jan 1750/51; and Monamy Swaine, christened on 27 Feb 1753, both at St Dunstan's church in Stepney. Monamy Swaine also became a marine painter. Francis Swaine was a popular artist of his time and regularly displayed works at the

Society of Artists of Great Britain The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established P ...

and the

Free Society of Artists The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established ...

. He died in 1782. Today, several of his works are held in the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

in London.

Notes

References

Parish Register Collection of the Latter Day Saints (IGI)Biography of F. Swaine
(

, London)
Swaine "pupil of Monami" source information

* ttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=7&CATID=-4509328&j=1 Navy Board: Bound Out-letters ADM 354/151/167
The National Archives. ADM 106/875/84
* PROB 11/824 * Noble, Mark. "A Biographical History of England" (1806). * Young, Sir George. "Young of Formosa" (1928). * Erskine, David. "Augustus Hervey's Journal" (1953).

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swaine, Francis 1725 births 1782 deaths 18th-century British painters British male painters British marine artists