Richard Wilson (painter)
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Richard Wilson (1 August 1714 – 15 May 1782) was an influential
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
, who worked in Britain and Italy. With George Lambert he is recognised as a pioneer in British art of landscape for its own sake and was described in the Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales as the "most distinguished painter Wales has ever produced and the first to appreciate the aesthetic possibilities of his country". In December 1768 Wilson became one of the founder-members 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 ...
. A ''
catalogue raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...
'' of the artist's work compiled by Paul Spencer-Longhurst is published by the
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been s ...
.


Life

The son of a clergyman, Richard Wilson was born on 1 August 1714, in the village of Penegoes in
Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...
(now
Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
). The family was an established one, and Wilson was first cousin to
Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, PC (baptised 21 March 1714 – 18 April 1794) was an English lawyer, judge and Whig politician who was first to hold the title of Earl Camden. As a lawyer and judge he was a leading proponent of civil liberties, ...
. In 1729 he went to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, where he began as a
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, under the apprenticeship of an obscure artist, Thomas Wright. Wilson could often be found walking around
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
Gardens with his acquaintance Baretti heading toward the
Farthing Pie House The Greene Man is a public house in London's Euston Road. It was formerly known as the Green Man (and Porters Bar) and before that, the Farthing Pie House or Pye House as mutton pies could be bought there for a farthing. When it was establis ...
, now known as the
Greene Man The Greene Man is a public house in London's Euston Road. It was formerly known as the Green Man (and Porters Bar) and before that, the Farthing Pie House or Pye House as mutton pies could be bought there for a farthing. When it was establis ...
. From 1750 to 1757 Wilson was in Italy, and became a landscape painter on the advice of
Francesco Zuccarelli Giacomo Francesco Zuccarelli (commonly known as Francesco Zuccarelli, ; 15 August 1702 – 30 December 1788) RA, was an Italian artist of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He is considered to be the most important landscape painter to hav ...
. Painting in Italy and afterwards in Britain, he was the first major British painter to concentrate on landscape. He composed well, but saw and rendered only the general effects of nature, thereby creating a personal, ideal style influenced by
Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in It ...
and the Dutch landscape tradition.
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
wrote that Wilson "paints in a manly way, and occasionally reaches exquisite tones of colour". He concentrated on painting idealised Italianate landscapes and landscapes based upon classical literature, but when his painting, ''
The Destruction of the Children of Niobe ''The Destruction of the Children of Niobe'' is a painting by Richard Wilson, created in 1760. It depicts the Greek myth of the murder of Niobe's daughters by the goddess Artemis and her sons by Apollo. The painting won acclaim for Wilson, who o ...
'' (c.1759–60), won acclaim, he gained many commissions from landowners seeking classical portrayals of their estates. Among Wilson's pupils was the painter Thomas Jones. His landscapes were acknowledged as an influence by
Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
,
John Crome John Crome (22 December 176822 April 1821), once known as Old Crome to distinguish him from his artist son John Berney Crome, was an English landscape painter of the Romantic era, one of the principal artists and founding members of the Norw ...
and
Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...
. Wilson died in Colomendy,
Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
on 15 May 1782, and is buried in the grounds of
St Mary's Church, Mold St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in Mold, Flintshire, Wales, and a Grade I listed building. It belongs to the Deanery of Mold, the Archdeaconry of Wrexham and the Diocese of St Asaph of the Church in Wales. It has historical associat ...
,
Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...
.


Works

In 1948, Mary Woodall, keeper of art at
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...
, organized a pioneer exhibition of his work.Kenneth Garlick, ‘Woodall, Mary (1901–1988)’,
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 ...
, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004
Extant works include: *Landscapes **''Caernarfon Castle'' **''Cock Tavern at Cheam'', at the
Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...
**''Dolbadarn Castle'' **''Dover Castle'' **''Lake Avernus with a Sarcophagus'', at the
Worcester Art Museum The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ranks among th ...
, Worcester, MA **''Lydford Waterfall, Tavistock'' **''River at Penegoes'' **''The Garden of the Villa Madama, Rome'' **''Valley of the Mawddach with Cader Idris'' **''View at Tivoli'' **''View in Windsor Great Park'' **''Cilgerran Castle'' **''Classical Landscape, Strada Nomentana'' **''Conway Castle'' **''Dolgellau Bridge'' **''The Niagara Falls' **''Pistyll Rhaeadr, Aber Falls'' **''Solitude'' (or ''Landskip with Hermits'') *Other **''Ceyx and Alcyone'' (1768) **''
Francis Ayscough Francis Ayscough (1701–1763) was a tutor to George III and Clerk of the Closet to his father Frederick, Prince of Wales
, Dean of Bristol and tutor to King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
of Great Britain with his pupils'' **''Miss Catherine Jones of Colomendy, near Mold'' (1740)


References

;References


Further reading

*Postle, Martin and
Robin Simon Robin Simon (born 12 July 1956) is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage. Biography Early career Robin Simon played guitar in a number of local Halifax based bands in the early to mid-1970s. The bands include ...
, ''Richard Wilson and the Transformation of European Landscape Painting'', New Haven and London, 2014 * * *Cole, Timothy.
Old English masters
' (New York : The Century Co., 1902) pp. 67–76. *Fletcher, Beaumont. ''Richard Wilson. R.A. The Makers of British Art'' (Walter Scott, London, 1908). *Edwards, R. 'Richard Wilson and his pupil', in ''Country Life'' (1945 November) *Ford, B. ''The Drawings of Richard Wilson'' (1951) *Constable, W. G. ''Richard Wilson'' (1953) *Spencer-Longhurst, Paul.
Richard Wilson: Online Catalogue Raisonné
' (London: Paul Mellon Centre, 2014). *Sutton, Denys & Clement, Ann. ''An Italian sketchbook: drawings made by the artist in Rome and its environs'' (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968). * Solkin, David H., ''Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction'' (Tate Gallery, London, 1982). * Davies, John,
Nigel Jenkins Nigel Jenkins (20 July 1949 – 28 January 2014) was an Anglo-Welsh poet. He was an editor, journalist, psychogeographer, broadcaster and writer of creative non-fiction, as well as being a lecturer at Swansea University and director of the crea ...
, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (Eds.). ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales'' (University of Wales Press, 2008). *Wright, T., Some Account of The Life of Richard Wilson, Esq. RA, with testimonies to his genius and memory, and remarks on his landscapes,''' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, 1824).


External links

*
Works by Richard Wilson
on
Google Art Project Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...
(50 works)
Works by Richard Wilson
on
ArtCyclopedia Artcyclopedia is an online database of museum-quality fine art founded by Canadian John Malyon. Information The Artcyclopedia only deals with art that can be viewed online, and indexes 2,300 art sites (from museums and galleries), with links to a ...

Richard Wilson
entry in the Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art

*Museo virtuale della città di Tivol
W.G. Constable archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Richard 18th-century British painters 1714 births 1782 deaths People from Montgomeryshire Welsh landscape painters Welsh male painters Royal Academicians