Henry Brocas (1762/1765 – 2 November 1837) was an Irish artist known for his landscapes.

Life

Henry Brocas was born in

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 ...

in 1762 or 1765. The Brocas family descended from an Englishman, Robert Brocas, who came to Ireland from Derbyshire during the Cromwellian reign as a cornet of horse. Brocas was the fifth son of Robert and Bridget Brocas (née Taylor). His mother was from

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. His older brother,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, was also an artist. Between 1795 and 1799 he lived at 9 Gordon Lane, moving to 34 Grafton Street, and later in 1804 to 19 Chatham Street. He later settled in 15 Henry Street from 1825.

Artistic career

He was a self-taught artist, working in

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

and

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

, and was also a prolific engraver. His engravings featured portraits, caricatures, and topographical views which were published in Dublin periodicals and magazines. One of his early political caricatures appeared in ''Exshaw's Magazine'' in 1784 entitled ''The loves of the fox and the badger''. He also produced a number of satirical sketches about the Act of Union in 1800. He produced engraved portraits of the most famous people of his day, including Walter Hussey Burgh, John Foster, and Earl Fitzwilliam. He engraved a portrait of Robert Emmett which was published on the day of his trail, 19 September 1803. In 1801 he was appointed Master of the Landscape and Ornament School of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

, a position he held until his death,Walter F. Strickland
"Brocas, Henry, senior"
''A Dictionary of Irish Artists'', 1913 despite being considered a poor teacher. He was regularly reprimanded by the School for his poor timekeeping and unpredictable methods, and was suspended for a period in December 1832 for "insubordination and disobedience of orders". He was exhibited at various Dublin exhibitions between 1800 and 1812, and in 1837 exhibited four drawing with the Royal Hibernian Academy. In the early 19th century he drew political cartoons for Walter Cox's ''Irish Magazine'', depicting British atrocities during the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

.Roy Douglas, Liam Harte & Jim O'Hara, ''Drawing Conclusions: A Cartoon History of Anglo-Irish Relations 1798-1998'', The Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1998, pp. 25-26 He died in Dublin on 2 November 1837. Four of his sons, James Henry, Samuel Frederick, William and Henry, were also artists.

References

Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brocas, Henry 1762 births 1837 deaths 18th-century engravers 19th-century engravers 18th-century Irish painters 19th-century Irish painters Irish male painters Irish landscape painters Irish editorial cartoonists Irish engravers Artists from Dublin (city) 19th-century Irish male artists