Three daughters of King Lear by Gustav Pope

Gustav Pope (1831–1910) was a British painter of Austrian origin. Active in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, he incorporated several styles on his work, but in his mature style he showed influences of the second wave of the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

Life and career

Little is known about Pope's training as a painter, but he is listed as a regular exhibitor in London from 1852 to 1895, at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

, the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

and the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. His work shows the influence of

Thomas Seddon : ''For the New Zealand politician see'' Tom Seddon Thomas Seddon (London, 28 August 1821Cairo, 23 November 1856) was an English landscape painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who painted colourful and highly detailed scenes of ...

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

and

Frederic, Lord Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...

. English literary sources, classical mythology, portraiture and idealized images of young women are the most typical subjects in his paintings. Some sources shows Gustav Pope as deceased by 1895, based on the last year he was exhibiting at the Royal Academy. Nevertheless, a Cemetery register shows 1910 as the year of his death. In 1910, the painting ''A Rainy Day'' was presented to the

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...

. He was a resident of Chelsea, according to the 1901 London Census.

Selected works

* ''The Three Daughters of King Lear'' (1875–76; Museo de Art de Ponce, Puerto Rico) * ''Lillies'' (1874), sold at Auction at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

, London in 2009 * ''The Judgement of Paris (The Apple of the Discord)'' (1889), sold at auction at Christie's, London in 2006. * ''Dante’s Inspiration'', sold at auction at Christie's, London in 2014.Christie's Victorian and British Impressionist Art. Catalogue, 14 November 2013. London South Kensington Gustav Pope - Dante's Inspiration

* ''Accident or Design? work later engraved for The Illustrated London Almanack''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Gustav British male painters 19th-century British painters 1831 births 1910 deaths Members of the Royal Society of British Artists Pre-Raphaelite painters 19th-century British male artists