George Théodore Berthon (3 May 1806 – 18 January 1892) was a Canadian portrait painter. Born in Vienna to a well-known French portrait painter,

René Théodore Berthon René Théodore Berthon (1776–1859) was a French painter of religious and historical subjects, and of portraits. Life Berthon was born at Tours in 1776, and studied under David. He painted scriptural and historical subjects, and a large number ...

, he emigrated first to Great Britain, and then to Canada, sometime before 1845. He specialised in portraiture of high-ranking British and Canadian officials, developing a sense of realism and simplicity. He died in Toronto in 1892.

Biography

Berthon's father,

, was a court painter to Napoleon I, and likely trained his son in art. As well, his knowledge of art in Paris would have been significant: his father was a student of

Jacques Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

. As an adult, he lived in England for a number of years in the household of Sir Robert Peel to teach Peel's daughters drawing and French. The first verifiable record of his immigration to Canada is an advertisement for his portraiture services in a Toronto newspaper in 1845. Berthon was notable in the history of Canada for his creation of formal portraits characterized by a sense of realism. He focused on defining his subjects' features and characters without idealization. The composition of his portraits remains simple with dark backgrounds. His work is important both as a historical record and as an example of the style of Canadian portraiture during that period. He was nominated as a founding member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

but failed to qualify. He was elected a life member of the

Ontario Society of Artists The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke M ...

in 1891. He died of a bronchial infection, at his Toronto home, in 1892.

Paintings by George Théodore Berthon

File:ColonelSimcoe.jpg, Colonel

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...

File:John Colborne.jpg, Sir

John Colborne Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, (16 February 1778 – 17 April 1863) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. After taking part as a junior officer in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, Sir Ralph Abercromby's expedit ...

, GCB, GCMG (Baron Seaton) Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, 1828–36 File:George Murray Portrait.jpg,

George Murray (British Army officer) Sir George Murray (6 February 1772 – 28 July 1846) was a British soldier and politician from Scotland. Background and education Murray was born in Perth, Scotland, the second son of Sir William Murray, of Ochtertyre, 5th Baronet (see Murra ...

, Governor of Upper Canada, 1815 File:Sir John Beverley Robinson.jpg, Sir

John Beverley Robinson John Beverley Robinson (February 21, 1821 – June 19, 1896) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was mayor of Toronto and a provincial and federal member of parliament. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario between ...

File:Peregrine Maitland Portrait.jpg,

Peregrine Maitland General Sir Peregrine Maitland, GCB (6 July 1777 – 30 May 1854) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. He also was a first-class cricketer from 1798 to 1808 and an early advocate for the establishment of what would become the Canadi ...

File:GenIsaacBrock.jpg, General

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he c ...

c. 1883 File:Frederick Philipse Robinson Portrait.jpg, Lieutenant Governor

Frederick Philipse Robinson Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, GCB (September 1763 – 1 January 1852) was a soldier who fought for Britain during the American War of Independence. His father, Colonel Beverley Robinson, was a Virginian who moved to New York, marrying a wea ...

, Upper Canada, 1815 File:Francis Gore Portrait.jpg,

Francis Gore Francis Gore, (1769 – 3 November 1852) was an English military officer and British colonial administrator in Bermuda and Upper Canada. Gore was born in Blackheath, London, England in 1769 the son of Francis Gore and Caroline Beresford. ...

File:Henry William Stisted Portrait.jpg, Lieutenant Governor

Henry William Stisted Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Henry William Stisted (5 June 1817 – 10 December 1875), served as the List of lieutenant governors of Ontario#Lieutenant Governors of Ontario, 1867–present, first Lieutenant Go ...

of Ontario, 1867–68 File:Peter Russell Portrait.jpg,

Peter Russell (politician) Peter Russell (11 June 1733 – 30 September 1808) was an Irish-born military officer in the American War of Independence and a government official, politician and judge in Upper Canada. Early life Born in Cork, Kingdom of Ireland to Captain ...

President and Admin of Upper Canada, 1796–99, ca 1882 File:Gordon Drummond.jpg, Lieutenant Governor

Gordon Drummond General Sir Gordon Drummond, GCB (27 September 1772 – 10 October 1854) was a Canadian-born British Army officer and the first official to command the military and the civil government of Canada. As Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Drumm ...

of Ontario File:Edmund Walker Head.jpg, Sir

Edmund Walker Head Sir Edmund Walker Head, 8th Baronet, KCB (16 February 1805 – 28 January 1868) was a 19th-century British politician and diplomat. Early life and scholarship Head was born at Wiarton Place, near Maidstone, Kent, the son of the Reverend Sir J ...

, Governor General of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

, 1854–1861

References

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthon, George Theodore 1806 births 1892 deaths Immigrants to pre-Confederation Canada Province of Canada people 19th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 19th-century Canadian male artists Canadian portrait painters