John Runciman - Mary and Joseph Outside the Inn - Google Art Project

John Runciman (1744 – 1768 or 1769) was a Scottish painter known for Biblical and literary scenes. His works include ''Flight into Egypt'' and ''King Lear in the Storm'', both in the

National Gallery of Scotland The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by Wi ...

Life

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Runciman was the younger brother of the better-known painter

Alexander Runciman Alexander Runciman (15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785) was a Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. Life He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at the Foulis Acade ...

. His earliest surviving work is the 1764 etching, ''Taking-down of the Netherebow Port, Edinburgh'', which depicts the demolition of one of

's old city gates. In Edinburgh he produced a number of small oil paintings on religious themes, including the ''Flight into Egypt'' in the

, which shows the influence of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

. In 1767 he produced one of his finest works, ''King Lear in the Storm'', inspired by Shakespeare's play, which shows a tranquil king facing down a savage storm at sea. Also in 1767 he moved to

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and, after a few months, to

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 ...

, where he produced a painted ''Self-Portrait'', the etching ''The Return of the Prodigal Son'', and some drawings. Runciman took ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1768, and destroyed many of his works, partly due to harsh comments by his fellow painter

James Nevay 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 (disambiguati ...

. He died in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1768 or 1769.

References

Duncan Macmillan. "Runciman." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 11 April 2012.

Life

References

Further reading