Gabriel Beranger (1725–1817) was a Dutch artist, known for his works showing Irish antiquities.

Life

Beranger was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

on 9 March 1725, as the son of Henry Beranger and Marie le Duc/Anne Marie Leduc. His parents, who had married in Rotterdam in 1713, were both of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

origin. In 1760, Beranger went to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to join family members there. Beranger opened a print shop and artist's warehouse at 5

South Great George's Street South Great George's Street is a street in south-central Dublin, Ireland. History Early history and naming The area is associated with Early Scandinavian Dublin. Four burials excavated near South Great George's Street were also associated ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and followed the profession of an artist.

Charles Vallancey General Charles Vallancey FRS (6 April 1731 – 8 August 1812) was a British military surveyor sent to Ireland. He remained there and became an authority on Irish antiquities. Some of his theories would be rejected today, but his drawings, fo ...

and

William Conyngham William Burton Conyngham (1733 – 31 May 1796) was an Irish politician and improver. Life He was born William Burton, the second son of Francis Burton and Mary Conyngham, sister of Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham. In 1781, his name was c ...

became his patrons and found him a government situation in the Dublin exchequer office. In later life Beranger was financially independent, after a bequest from his brother-in-law. He died at the age of 91 or 92, and was interred in the French burial-ground in Dublin.

Works

Beranger drew the antiquities of Dublin and its neighbourhood, and then, with the French artist Angelo Bigari, sketching tours through

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbh ...

, and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. Many of his drawings are accompanied by descriptions of the places and people he visited. He transferred his drawings and descriptions to manuscript volumes intended for publication, most of which were kept in Dublin, in the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

and elsewhere. The drawings give the appearance of ancient buildings and stone monuments that later deteriorated or were destroyed. George Petrie made use of these drawings to illustrate his book on the

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and ful ...

s of Ireland.

External links

* William Robert Wilde,
Memoir of Gabriel Beranger: And His Labours in the Cause of Irish Art and Antiquities, from 1760 to 1780
' (1880)
Beranger Watercolours in University College Dublin Library. A UCD Digital Library Collection

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Beranger, Gabriel 1725 births 1817 deaths 18th-century Dutch painters 18th-century Dutch male artists Dutch male painters 18th-century Irish painters Irish male painters Dutch watercolourists Painters from Rotterdam