Robert Dodd (1748–1815) was a British marine painter and aquatint engraver. He is known for his works on the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

Life and family

Born as one of three sons of Alexander Dodd, his younger brother was the engineer and painter Ralph Dodd. He married Mary Fulton (b. 1748) on 1 November 1772. He died in early 1815 and was buried on 20 February at St Dunstan and All Saints,

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

Style

Dodd started his career as a landscape painter, but after gaining some recognition in this field, specialised in marine scenes. Living in Wapping, London, he had plenty of material to hand in the way of ships, docks and wharfs, and much of his work includes scenes of the River Thames and naval dockyards. Other themes include battles and actions of the French Revolutionary Wars and the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, prominently including a large canvas of the battle of the First of June for the dining room of his local inn, the Half Way House, in

Commercial Road Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), through ...

, London; the painting is now at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

.Biography of Robert Dodd (1748–1815)
on the website of

Although much of his work was subsequently engraved by other artists, he also engraved and published over 100

aquatint Aquatint is an intaglio (printmaking), intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching that produces areas of tone rather than lines. For this reason it has mostly been used in conjunction with etching, to give both lines and shaded tone. ...

s of his own work. His use of light effects, particularly the contrasts between the sun's rays and the dark clouds, or the fire against the smoke of battle, convey the drama and activity of a sea battle. Although technically accurate and meticulous, his artistic talents were somewhat eclipsed by the greatest of his peers, and it is his contribution to the historical record that is his greatest legacy.

Exhibitions

He exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1780 and 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 ...

in 1782, continuing to exhibit there regularly until 1809.

References

External links

Works of Robert Dodd at the National Maritime Museum's online collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Robert 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters British marine artists People from Wapping 1748 births 1815 deaths 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists