Hamlet Winstanley (1698–1756) was an English painter, engraver and art agent. As a painter, he was mainly active as a portraitist and copyist. Hamlet Winstanley Self-Portrait

Life

Winstanley was born in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the second son of William Winstanley, a tradesman. In 1707 he was placed under the tuition of Samuel Shaw, rector of the parish and master of the Boteler free grammar school. John Finch, rector of Winwick and brother of the

Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard II. As this creation could only pass to ...

, gave him access to his collection of paintings so that he could study and copy them. Finch arranged for him to study in London at the ''Kneller Academy of Painting and Drawing'' founded in 1711 in

Great Queen Street Great Queen Street is a street in the West End of central London in England. It is a continuation of Long Acre from Drury Lane to Kingsway. It runs from 1 to 44 along the north side, east to west, and 45 to about 80 along the south side, w ...

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

. He remained at the academy for three years, receiving tuition from

Sir Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs from ...

. Winstanley returned to Warrington in 1721 with a commission to paint the portrait of Sir Edward Stanley. Its success led to his introduction to

James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby (3 July 16641 February 1736), styled The Honourable until 1702, was a British peer, soldier and politician. Early life Derby was the second son of Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, and Dorothea Helena Kirkh ...

, and the earl ordered him to come and paint for him at his seat at

Knowsley Hall Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of parkland, which contains the Knowsley ...

. During the next two years he painted landscapes and portraits, including one of the earl. At the earl’s expense, he stayed in Rome from 1723 to 1725. The earl asked him to buy paintings and sculpture, through a certain 'Me. M', a Jacobite exile and collector. Winstanley was thus able to copy various paintings in Roman collections for Lord Derby. After returning to London, Winstanley continued to act as an agent for Lord Derby, bidding and buying on his behalf from auction houses and art dealers. He spent his later years at Warrington, where he built Stanley Street, and named it after his patrons at Knowsley. He died at Warrington on 18 May 1756. His collections of copper-plates and prints are stated by

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

to have been sold by auction at Essex House on 18 March 1762.

Works

As a painter, he was mainly active as a portraitist and copyist. Winstanley left sketches of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and studies of antique figures. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

purchased two examples of his pen and wash drawings in 1870. The Yale Centre for British Art holds a sketchbook containing 81 study drawings drawings of body parts by Hamlet Winstanley. He executed large copies of the '' Three Graces'' by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, in the

Farnesina Palace The Palazzo della Farnesina is an Italian government building located between Monte Mario and the Tiber River in the Foro Italico area in Rome, Italy. Designed in 1935, it has housed the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since its completion in ...

at Rome, and of the '' Triumph of Bacchus'' by

Annibale Caracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italians, Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with the Carracci, his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of ...

, in the

Farnese Palace Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French emb ...

. His etchings after pictures by old masters (including Ribera, Rembrandt,

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

, Carlo Dolci, Tintoretto, Titian, Rubens,

Frans Snyders Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11 November 1579, Antwerp – 19 August 1657, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes and still lifes. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited with ...

, and Salvator Rosa) in the possession of the Earl of Derby were bound together in a portfolio known as the ''Knowsley Gallery''. Hamlet Winstanley - A portrait of a young lady

Hamlet Winstanley - A portrait of a young lady

Winstanley executed portraits of the Stanleys,

John Blackburne of Orford Hall John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Samuel Peploe Samuel John Peploe (pronounced PEP-low; 27 January 1871 – 11 October 1935) was a Scottish Post-Impressionist painter, noted for his still life works and for being one of the group of four painters that became known as the Scottish Colouris ...

, and Jonathan Patten of Manchester. Several of his portraits were etched or engraved. He would often paint the head on a separate piece of canvas and then send it to the drapery painter Joseph Van Aken in London so it could be pasted onto the costumed figure to be painted by Van Aken. The portrait of the Earl of Derby was engraved by Gerard Van der Gucht and the portrait of

Edward Waddington Edward Waddington (1670?–1731) was an English prelate, bishop of Chichester from 1724 to 1731. Biography Waddington was born in London in 1670 or 1671. He was educated at Eton College, and was admitted a scholar of King's College, Cambridge, ...

, painted in 1730, was engraved in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...

John Faber the Younger John Faber the Younger (1684 – 2 May 1756)Johan Faber II
at the

. Some of his landscape and other subjects were at

. Winstanley also made etchings of

Sir James Thornhill Sir James Thornhill (25 July 1675 or 1676 – 4 May 1734) was an English painter of historical subjects working in the Italian baroque tradition. He was responsible for some large-scale schemes of murals, including the "Painted Hall" at the Ro ...

's paintings in the dome of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. He also made a series of large etchings after old master paintings in the collection of the 19th Earl of Derby at Knowsley Hall in c.1728-9.''Hamlet Winstanley''
at the British Museum

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winstanley, Hamlet 1698 births 1756 deaths 18th-century English painters English portrait painters English landscape painters English male painters People educated at Boteler Grammar School People from Warrington English engravers English art dealers 18th-century English male artists