![John Alexander Gresse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/John_Alexander_Gresse.jpg)
John Alexander Gresse (1741–1794), was an
English
English usually refers to:
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* English people
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* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
painter and drawing-master.
Early life
Gresse was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1741. His father was a native of
Rolle
Rolle () is a municipality in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Rolle until 2006, when it became part of the district of Nyon. It is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Geneva (''Lac Léman'') between Ny ...
, on the
Lake of Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
, and owned a small property close to
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
, on which the present streets, Stephen Street and
Gresse Street
Gresse Street is a street in London that is on the border between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, the north and eastern sides being in Camden and the rest in Westminster.
The street is joined by Rathbone Place, Stephe ...
,
Rathbone Place, were built about 1771. Gresse studied drawing under Gerard Scotin, the
engraver, and was one of the first students to work in the gallery of casts founded by the
Duke of Richmond. In 1755, he obtained a premium at the
Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
for a drawing by a student under the age of fourteen years; further, in 1759, he gained three premiums for drawings and studies from the human figure. He was successful again in 1761 and 1762, obtaining in all nine premiums before attaining the age of twenty-one.
Career
He was for a short time pupil of Major the engraver, and worked for several years under Cipriani, profiting at the same time by the instruction of Zuccarelli. He was employed by John Boydell to make drawings. Gresse lacked the industry and application necessary to succeed in the higher branches of his art, and as he inherited a sufficient income from his father, he did not exert his full powers. In 1763, he exhibited a landscape at the Free Society of Artists, and in 1764 two miniatures and a Madonna. In 1765 he became a member of the rival
Incorporated Society of Artists
The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established P ...
, and exhibited with them for four years, chiefly miniatures. In 1768, he sent a stained drawing of the
Earl of Bessborough
Earl of Bessborough is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1739 for Brabazon Ponsonby, 2nd Viscount Duncannon, who had previously represented Newtownards and County Kildare in the Irish House of Commons. In 1749, he was given t ...
's seat at
Roehampton
Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...
. Gresse excelled in this branch of water-colour painting, and some of his views were engraved. He became one of the most fashionable drawing-masters of his day. In 1777, he was appointed drawing-master to the royal princesses, and was soon a favourite at court. His corpulence obtained for him the nickname of ‘Jack Grease.’ He occasionally practised etching, and etched the plates for Kennedy's ‘Account of the Statues and Pictures at Wilton House’ (1769). He published a few other etchings, including one of ‘St. Jerome’ after Guido, and ‘A Satyr Sleeping’ after
N. Poussin.
Death and legacy
Gresse died on 19 February 1794, in his fifty-third year, and was buried at St. Anne's,
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
. He was a great collector of works of art, which were sold by auction shortly after his death, the sale occupying six days.
References and sources
;References
;Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gresse, John Alexander
1741 births
1794 deaths
18th-century English painters
English male painters
British draughtsmen
Painters from London
18th-century English male artists