Richard Rothwell (20 November 1800 – 13 September 1868) was a nineteenth-century Irish

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

and genre painter.

Biography

Richard Rothwell was born 20 November 1800 in Dublin. His father has generally been stated to be James Rothwell of Lisdaly, near Cloghen, King's Co. (Offaly), though primary source evidence suggests that he was the son of William Rothwell, gentleman, who appears in the 1820s as a publican of Ferbane, King’s Co., acquiring land at Ballicknahee, King’s Co. His mother was Elizabeth Rothwell (née Holmes). He had at least three siblings (a brother and two sisters) and possibly as many as six He trained to become a painter at the Dublin Society's school from 1814 until 1820 and won a silver medal for his work. At the age of 24, he was made a member of the newly established

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...

and exhibited portraits there from 1826 to 1829. He subsequently moved to London and worked as a studio assistant to Thomas Lawrence,.Ormond, "Richard Rothwell". When Lawrence died in 1830, Rothwell completed many of his unfinished works and was poised to become the next foremost portrait painter in Britain and Ireland. According to Leoneé Ormond's biographical article in the ''

Grove Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

'', Rothwell "was at the height of his powers from 1829 to 1831"; he "was much influenced by Lawrence, but he lacked the incisiveness and flair of his master". From 1831 to 1834, Rothwell toured Italy to study Italian art so that he could paint

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

s. When he returned to London, his popularity had evaporated.Cullen, "Richard Rothwell". Rothwell lived and exhibited works in Ireland, the United States, London, and Italy, but he never again achieved the same level of popularity he had reached in the late 1820s. In 1842 Rothwell married Rosa Marshall; the couple had several children. In 1868, Rothwell contracted a fever while working in Rome and died.

Joseph Severn Joseph Severn (7 December 1793 – 3 August 1879) was an English portrait and subject painter and a personal friend of the famous English poet John Keats. He exhibited portraits, Italian genre, literary and biblical subjects, and a selec ...

, who painted a portrait of the

Romantic poet Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

, arranged for Rothwell's funeral and tomb in the

Protestant Cemetery, Rome The Cimitero Acattolico (Non-Catholic Cemetery) of Rome, often referred to as the Cimitero dei protestanti (Protestant Cemetery) or Cimitero degli Inglesi (English Cemetery), is a private cemetery in the rione of Testaccio in Rome. It is near ...

Work

According to Fintan Cullen's biographical entry in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Rothwell's "portraits are highly accomplished" and "fine examples" include those of novelist

Gerald Griffin Gerald Griffin ( ga, Gearóid Ó Gríofa; 12 December 1803 – 12 June 1840) was an Irish novelist, poet and playwright. His novel ''The Collegians'' was the basis of Dion Boucicault's play The Colleen Bawn. Feeling he was "wasting his time" wr ...

and Mary Shelley. In the 1830s, he started painting genre pictures, such as ''The Poor Mendicants'' (1837). Rothwell usually painted Italian-inspired pieces, such as his semi-nude study ''Calisto'' (c. 1850s), a work he considered his masterpiece. He was furious when the painting was poorly hung at the 1862 International Exhibition in London and published a pamphlet on the topic.

Examples of his work

Image:RothwellMaryShelley.jpg, '' Mary Shelley'' (1840) File:William Huskisson by Richard Rothwell.jpg, '' William Huskisson'' (1831) Image:Young Man byRothwell.jpg, ''Portrait of a young man''

Notes

3. Devine, Ruth. "Rothwell, Richard". The Dictionary of Irish Biography.

Bibliography

*Cullen, Fintan. "Richard Rothwell". ''

''. Retrieved on 19 April 2008. *Ormond, Lenoeé. "Richard Rothwell". ''

''. Retrieved on 24 April 2008. Devine, Ruth. "Rothwell, Richard". The Dictionary of Irish Biography. revised 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothwell, Richard 1800 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Irish painters Irish male painters Irish genre painters People from Athlone 19th-century Irish male artists