Robert West (died November 1770) was an Irish artist, draughtsman and teacher.

Life and family

He was born in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, where his father was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

. Very little is known of his early life. He studied drawing and painting at the

French Academy French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

under

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

and

Jean-Baptiste van Loo Jean-Baptiste van Loo (14 January 1684 – 19 December 1745) was a French subject and portrait painter. Life and career He was born in Aix-en-Provence, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo. Hav ...

around 1735, and it is claimed he was awarded the first medal of the French Academy. Upton house, Northampton holds an oil painting from this period signed by West entitled ''Thomas Smith and his family''. West had 2 sons with his wife Mary. West died in November 1770 at Lurgan Street, Dublin.

Career

Upon his return to Ireland, West founded a drawing school in George's Lane,

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 the late 1730s. Under the influence of Samuel Maddne, the school was commissioned by the

Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

to teach pupils from around 1744. In 1757, the Dublin Society established a drawing school, with West as Master, which would later develop into the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

. In 1747, 2 of West's pupils, George Barret and James Forrester, won awards. The school moved to Shaw's Court off

Dame Street Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in Dublin, Ireland. History The street takes its name from a dam built across the River Poddle to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th c ...

in 1750, and officially became part of the Dublin Society. West taught at the figure school and James Mannin, his assistant, taught landscape and ornament. West specialised in teaching the French rococo style, with expertise in life drawing in crayon and chalk. He is cited as having a large influence on Dublin artists working in pastels. His chalk drawing of his student John O'Keeffe, in the

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious ...

style, was still being used for copying by students in 1811.

Matthew William Peters Matthew William Peters (1742 – 20 March 1814) was an English portrait and genre painter who later became an Anglican clergyman and chaplain to George IV. He became known as "William" when he started signing his works as "W. Peters".Simon ...

' 1758 drawing shows Peters being drawn by West. There is a surviving example of West's work at 20 Lower Dominick Street of figures of birds decorating a staircase from 1758. In 1761 West was awarded a silver medal for excellence in teaching when 20 of his students received premiums from the Dublin Society.

Thomas James Mulvany Thomas James Mulvany (1779–1845) was an Irish painter and keeper of the Royal Hibernian Academy. Life Mulvany was an exhibitor with the Dublin Society of Artists, at the rooms of the Dublin Society in Hawkins Street, Dublin, in May 1809. When t ...

commented that West's life drawing in chalk "have never been surpassed and perhaps but rarely equalled...They are infallible models for study and have produced more good draughtsmen, and have impressed finer notions of the human form, than have the works of any other artist in the last century." He was Master of the school from its foundation until 1763, when he suffered from a mental illness, and Jacob Ennis took over as Master. West again became Master of the school on the death of Ennis in 1770, although he too died the same year. He was succeeded as Master by his son Francis Robert West and his grandson Robert Lucius West.

References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Robert 18th-century Irish painters Irish male artists People from County Waterford 1770 deaths National College of Art and Design Year of birth unknown Irish draughtsmen