Richard Crosse (1742–1810) was a leading
English
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painter of
portrait miniatures
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century el ...
. He was a contemporary of
John Smart
John Smart (1 May 1741 – 1 May 1811), was an English painter of portrait miniatures. He was a contemporary of Richard Cosway, George Engleheart, William Wood and Richard Crosse.
Biography
Smart was born in Norfolk, but not much is known ...
,
George Engleheart,
Richard Cosway
Richard Cosway (5 November 1742 – 4 July 1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures. He was a contemporary of John Smart, George Engleheart, William Wood, and Richard Crosse. ...
and
William Wood William Wood may refer to:
Politicians
* William Wood (MP for Berkshire), Member of Parliament (MP) for Berkshire, 1395
* William Wood (15th century MP), MP for Winchester, 1413
* William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley (1801–1881), British state ...
.
Family and home
Crosse was born on 24 April 1742 in Knowle, in the parish of
Cullompton
Cullompton () is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2011 the parish as a whole had a population of 8,499 while the built-up area of ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, to John and Mary Crosse. His father was a
lawyer, and his family were members of the
landed gentry. Crosse was, like one of his sisters, completely deaf and never able to speak. He had at least six siblings.
Crosse fell in love with his cousin, Sarah Cobley, but she was already engaged to
Benjamin Haydon
Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactle ...
- and it appears that he was deeply affected by his disappointment,
leaving Crosse heartbroken. He is said to have felt the pain of this unrequited love for the rest of his life, and never married. Crosse lived and worked in Henrietta Street,
Covent Garden, London, from 1760. His brother kept house and acted as liaison between Crosse and his clients. Crosse retired to
Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
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England
* Wells ...
in the late 1790s, and lived with Miss Cobley's brother. Crosse met Sarah Cobley again in 1807, when she decided to visit her brother after she learned she her illness was fatal. She arrived unexpectedly, and her brother was not able to get Crosse out of the house beforehand. On seeing Sarah after so many years, Crosse rushed up to her and embraced her with strong emotion. She died the next day.
Crosse died in May 1810, at his old family home in Knowle.
Professional career
Crosse began painting as a hobby, as was the fashion amongst the gentry. At the age of 16 he won a premium at the newly created 'Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce' (the Society of Arts) in London. He then moved to London and, like Richard Cosway and John Smart, he studied at the new drawing school of
William Shipley
William Shipley (baptised: 2 June 1715 – 28 December 1803) was an English drawing master, social reformer and inventor who, in 1754, founded an arts society in London that became The Royal Society of Arts, or Royal Society for the Encourage ...
, the founder of the Society of Arts. He also studied at the
Duke of Richmond's Gallery.
Crosse exhibited his work at the new London societies: at the Society of Artists 1760–1796, the Free Society 1761–1766, and the
Royal Academy 1770–1796. He lived and worked in Henrietta Street, in
Covent Garden, London, from 1760. His brother acted as intermediary between Crosse and his clients. Basil Long in his book "British Miniaturists" (1929) regarded Crosse as a very accurate draughtsman who painted without hesitation or retouching and who will one day receive recognition for his sound, if modest, work.
[
Despite not being able to hear or speak, Crosse was very successful, and was highly regarded by his distinguished clientele. His clients included the ]Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, and the Dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
. He painted his works mainly with watercolour on ivory; he also executed a few miniatures in enamel, a difficult and not always successful medium; as well as painting portraits in oil. Many of his portrait miniatures are small in size, being less than 2 inches in height. The miniaturists of the period 1760–1780 were still learning to paint on ivory, as it has a greasy surface which is difficult to paint with watercolour. Rather than attempt to paint on large surfaces, many portrait miniaturists from this period used ivories of only 1 to 2 inches in height. Ivory was used for miniatures, as it gives a beautiful luminosity to the skin tones of the sitter's face. During the 1780s and 1790s Crosse did use some large sized ivories of 3.5 inches or more in height. His fees started at around 8 guineas for small works, and rose up to 30 guineas for his largest portraits.
Crosse's work is refined, and in the best examples the sitters really look as if they could walk right out of the frame, they are so lifelike. Crosse's miniatures often seem to be dominated by a shade of greenish-blue, maybe influenced by the early work of Joshua Reynolds.[ His works tend to have a greenish-blue hue to them, and his red pigments have faded a little over the years. He seldom signed his work. The fashion of the time was for women to increasingly wear their hair high on their head, and often it was powdered. It is interesting to see how Crosse manages to fit a head and shoulders portrait of a lady with stacked hair on to such a small piece of ivory. Men generally wore their hair ‘en queue’, pulled back into a ponytail tied with a black ribbon; often they wore powdered wigs over their hair, or powdered their hair directly.
Crosse, as a member of the landed gentry, possessed a private income; he also earned quite a considerable sum from his portraiture. He invested his money wisely in property and stocks and shares, and received a good income from these investments in his later years.
He retired from commercial painting in the late 1790s, and died in 1810.
]
Examples of Crosse's work
Image:Richard Crosse - Portrait of Unknown Man - c1770 - Victoria & Albert Museum.jpg, Richard Crosse, Portrait of Unknown Man, c1770, Victoria & Albert Museum
Image:Richard Crosse - Portrait of Unknown Woman - c1780 - Victoria & Albert Museum.jpg, Richard Crosse, Portrait of Unknown Woman, c1780, Victoria & Albert Museum
References
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External links
Victoria and Albert Museum, miniatures gallery
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosse, Richard
1742 births
1810 deaths
18th-century English painters
English male painters
19th-century English painters
Portrait miniaturists
English portrait painters
Deaf artists
People from Cullompton
English deaf people
19th-century English male artists
18th-century English male artists