Thomas Douglas Guest (1781–1845), often simply Douglas Guest, was a British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

- and

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 ...

painter, and lecturer and writer on art.

Life

He was the son of Thomas Robert Guest, an artist who lived in Salisbury from the beginning of the 19th Century, and his wife Margaret (née Douglass). Guest studied at the schools of 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 ...

, and in 1803 sent his first contribution to its exhibitions: a portrait of the sculptor

Joseph Wilton Joseph Wilton (16 July 1722 – 25 November 1803) was an English sculptor. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and the academy's third keeper. His works are particularly numerous memorialising the famous Britons ...

. The next year he was represented by ''Madonna and Child'', and in 1805 was awarded the gold medal for historical painting, the subject being ''Bearing the Dead Body of

Patroclus In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's ''Iliad'', Patroclus (pronunciation variable but generally ; grc, Πάτροκλος, Pátroklos, glory of the father) was a childhood friend, close wartime companion, and the presumed (by some later a ...

to the Camp,

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

's Grief''. This work was exhibited at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

in 1807. He continued to contribute paintings to the Academy until 1838 (see list below). He also exhibited several pictures at the British Institution, and a few at the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

. In 1809 he painted a large picture of 'The Transfiguration', which he presented as an altarpiece to

St Thomas's Church, Salisbury St Thomas's Church is a Church of England parish church in central Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The church was founded in the early 13th century and rebuilt in the 15th century at the expense of the city's prosperous merchants. Above the chanc ...

. It was variously described as being forty feet high and as measuring 21 feet high and thirteen feet wide. Towards the end of the 19th century, the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' noted that some remains of it survived in the vestry. In 1829, Guest published ''An Inquiry into the Causes of the Decline of Historical Painting'', describing himself on the title-page as "historical painter, formerly lecturer in fine arts at the Royal Institution of Great Britain". To the ''Inquiry'' he appended a description of his painting ''The Banquet of Plato'', which he was then exhibiting at his home in Charles Street, St James's Square, along with some press notices of the work. In 1839 he sent two small works to the exhibition of the British Institution, and in 1844 he contributed a large cartoon depicting the signing of the

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

to the exhibition held at

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

to choose artists to decorate the rebuilt Houses of Parliament.

Works

* Portrait of the sculptor

(1803) * ''Madonna and Child'' (1804) * ''Bearing the Dead Body of

to the Camp,

's Grief'' (1805) * ''

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

unravelling the web'' (1806) * ''

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

wrestling with Pan; an allegory'' (1808) * ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

recumbent and Cupids'' (1809) * ''Clorinda'' (1811) * ''

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...

'' (1811) * '' The Second Appearance of the Messiah'' (1834) * ''The Judgement of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'' (1834) * ''The Prism'' (1838) * '' Phaeton driving the Chariot of the Sun'' (1838)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guest, Thomas Douglas 1781 births 1845 deaths 19th-century British painters British male painters 19th-century painters of historical subjects 19th-century British male artists