Jacob Ennis (1728-1770) was an Irish historical and portrait painter. He studied at Dublin under Robert West, and afterwards in Italy. He subsequently became a master in the Dublin Art School.

Life

Jacob Ennis was baptised at St Peter's church,

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 ...

on 29 February 1728. His parents were James and Margaret Ennis. He attended the

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 ...

school of drawing at George's Lane, training under Robert West. He received premiums in 1747, 1748, and 1750 while a student. He died, through a fall from his horse, in the county of Wicklow, in 1770.

Career

Vulcan_Ends_the_Manufacture_of_Arms_P5546

Under the patronage of Arthur Jones Nevill, Ennis travelled to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to study, arriving in

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 ...

in late January 1954. While there he shared lodgings with James Forrester and Robert Crone. He studied at Accademia del Nudo in 1755 under

Anton Raphael Mengs Anton Raphael Mengs (22 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German people, German painter, active in Dresden, Rome, and Madrid, who while painting in the Rococo period of the mid-18th century became one of the precursors to Neoclassicism, Neoclas ...

and

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

, and later visited

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. At

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

he won 7th prize for painting at the triennial competition in November 1754. In 1755 and 1756, he won 3rd prize in the Concorso Nudo. These drawings are now held in the archive of the

Accademia Nazionale di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

in Rome. While in Italy, Ennis drew from life and from antique statuary. Ennis visited

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

on his way home to Ireland, and he painted some portraits there. Having returned to Dublin, Ennis began painting historical subjects and portraits. At the home of Arthur Jones Nevill at 14 Rutland Square, Dublin, Ennis painted a set of 4 lunettes on a ceiling, 3 are now held in the collection of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

. He was appointed to succeed Robert West as master of the school of figure drawing, Shaw's Court, Dublin on 10 May 1763. He exhibited annually with the Society of Artists between 1765 and 1770. He was awarded a premium from Dublin Society in June 1768 for "the best original history piece painted in oil colours", and we won again with

Henry Tresham Henry Tresham (c.1751 – 17 June 1814) was an Irish-born British historical painter active in London in the late 18th century. He spent some time in Rome early in his career, and was professor of painting at the Royal Academy of Arts in London ...

in June 1770. On 9 August 1770, Ennis received his final payment as the master of figure drawing. After his death, Robert West returned to the position of master in October 1770. West died in November 1770, and was succeeded by his son, Francis Robert West.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ennis, Jacob 1728 births 1770 deaths 18th-century Irish painters Irish male painters Painters from Dublin (city) Alumni of the National College of Art and Design