Peter Turnerelli (c.1772–1839) was an Irish-born sculptor of Italian descent working in Britain in the early 19th century.
Life and career
He was born in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, the son of Iacomo (James) Turnerelli, a sculptor, whose own father had left Italy as a refugee, despite being landed gentry in the
Lake Como
Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...
region. His grandfather's surname had been Tognarelli, but this was quickly adapted to the Irish vernacular. The family moved to
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 1787, often thereafter identifying him as "from Dublin".
Peter initially studied for the priesthood, at Saul's Court under Father
Thomas Betagh
Thomas Betagh (1737 – 16 February 1811) was an Irish Jesuit priest, schoolteacher, and professor of languages at Pont-à-Mousson Jesuit scolasticate (France). Betagh established a number of free schools in Dublin, which taught over 300 boys. T ...
, but following the death of his mother in 1792 the family moved again, 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 ...
the following year. Peter abandoned his studies in 1794 and joined them there. He then began studies in October of that year at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
to specifically train as a sculptor. In 1796/7 he took a study trip to Rome, a normal practice at this time, and is thought to have specifically studied
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
as his work shows much influence from Canova's style. He continued his studies on returning to London, also receiving tutorship from
Peter Francis Chenu, and received his first commissions that year when
Lord Heathfield
Lord Heathfield, Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 6 July 1787 for George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, General Sir George Augustus Eliott in recognition of his defence of Gib ...
asked him to sculpt busts of
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
and
General Eliott. By 1799 he was accomplished and won the silver medal for sculpture in the class.
Turnerelli was one of the first to portray his subjects in their natural attire, rather than in classical costume, as was the convention of the age.
In 1797 (before the official end of his own studies), he had been given the enormously prestigious role as art tutor to the royal princesses, apparently at the request of Sir
Thomas Lawrence and
Benjamin West. In 1801 this role was elevated when he became Sculptor in Ordinary to the Royal family. However, he twice refused a knighthood.
[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]
He died intestate on 20 March 1839 at his house in Newman Street, and is buried in the graveyard of St John's Chapel,
St John's Wood, London.
Family
His first wife Margaret Mary Tracy, bore him one son,
Edward Tracy Turnerelli. He remarried in 1835 following the death of his wife. His second wife, Mary O'Connor, bore him a daughter. Edward Tracy Turnerelli (1813–96) taught English and Latin at the University of Kazan circa 1837-54 and wrote a book on Kazan.
Works
*Bust of Lord Hood, 1801
*Bust of Princess Charlotte, Royal Collection, 1802
*Bust of
Horatio Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
, Town hall,
Lewes, Sussex, 1805
*Bust of
Viscount Melville, 1807
*Monument to Lt Col John Stuart,
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
, 1808
*Bust of Colonel
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
, Vice President of America, 1809
*Jubilee Bust of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
,
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
, 1809 (at least 80 copies made from the original)
*Bust of
Henry Erskine,
Parliament Hall, Edinburgh, 1811
*Bust of
William III William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
, Bank of England Museum, 1811
*Bust of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, Bank of England Museum, 1812
*Bust of
Bishop Douglass, RC Chapel,
Ware, Hertfordshire
Ware is a town in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parishes in England, civil parish in East Hertfordshire district.
Location
The town lies on the north–south A10 road (Great Britain), A10 road ...
, 1812
*Bust of
Henry Grattan,
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 ...
, 1812
*Statue of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
,
King's College, London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, 1813
*Bust of Sir
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
, Royal College of Surgeons, 1814 (copy in the National Maritime Museum)
*Bust of the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
,
Guildhall, London
Guildhall is a municipal building in the Moorgate area of the City of London, England. It is off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. The building has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is ...
, 1814
*Monument to John Willett,
Great Canford,
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, 1815
*Bust of King Louis XVIII of France, 1816
*Monument to
James Edwards,
Harrow, Middlesex
Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a popul ...
, 1816
*Monument to Bishop Moynan, Shandon, Co. Cork, 1816
*Bust of the
Duke of Cumberland,
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
, 1816
*Statue of
Robert Burns forming the centrepiece of the Burns Monument in
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
, 1816
*Monument to Father
Thomas Betagh
Thomas Betagh (1737 – 16 February 1811) was an Irish Jesuit priest, schoolteacher, and professor of languages at Pont-à-Mousson Jesuit scolasticate (France). Betagh established a number of free schools in Dublin, which taught over 300 boys. T ...
(his tutor), St Michael and St John, Dublin, 1817
*Monument to John and Patrick Stirling,
Dunblane Cathedral
Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland.
The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-standi ...
, 1818
*Statues of Saints Peter and Paul, Roman Catholic Chapel, Bath, 1819
*Bust of the Duke of Kent, Royal collection, 1820
*Monument to Admiral
Sir George Hope,
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, 1820
*Bust of
Bishop Doyle of Kildare,
Carlow Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Assumption is both the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin and the parish church for the cathedral parish. Located in Carlow town, the cathedral was dedicated to the Assumption of the Blesse ...
, 1829
*Bust of the Queen of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, 1829
*Marble altar, Marlborough Street 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 ...
, 1830
*Bust of
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
, 1830, allegedly 10,000 plaster copies sold
References
*Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:Turnerelli
*Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851, Rupert Gunnis
External links
*http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp07664/peter-turnerelli
*http://www.libraryireland.com/irishartists/peter-turnerelli.php
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnerelli, Peter
1774 births
1839 deaths
Neoclassical sculptors
British architectural sculptors
British sculptors
British male sculptors
Monumental masons