1.
1780s in archaeology
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The decade of the 1780s in archaeology involved some significant events. 1786, Antonio Bernasconi and Colonel Antonio del Rio examine the ruins of Palenque, making the first map of the site,1780, Tomb of the Scipios rediscovered in Rome. 1786, Gold thumb ring of Senicianus discovered near Calleva Atrebatum in England,1789, The Stony Stratford Hoard uncovered in England. Xagħra Stone Circle first discovered in Malta,1785, Engineer Diego Ruiz visits and publishes the first account of El Tajín. 1789, Saggio di lingua Etrusca by Luigi Lanzi,1780, The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is formed. 1783, The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is incorporated,1783, June 13 - Thomas Young, English Egyptologist. 1784, July 25 - Richard William Howard Vyse, English soldier,1785, November 24 - Philipp August Böckh, German classical scholar and antiquarian. 1786, December 11 - William John Bankes, English Member of Parliament, explorer,1787, March 28 - Claudius James Rich, English traveller and scholar. 1788, September 10 - Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes,1788, December 29 - Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, Danish archaeologist
2.
1784 in architecture
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The year 1784 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings. September 1 - John Sanders becomes the first architectural student of John Soane, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the Gardens of Orienbaum, a ride is built that features carriages that undulate over hills within grooved tracks, a predecessor of the roller coaster. Étienne-Louis Boullée proposes a cenotaph to Isaac Newton, st Andrews Church in New Town, Edinburgh, Scotland, designed by Andrew Frazer and Robert Kay, opened. In New London, Connecticut, the hall is built. Ishak Pasha Palace is built in Turkey, work starts on La Moneda Palace in Santiago, originally intended to house the Spanish mint in Colonial Chile, designed by Joaquín Toesca. Grand Prix de Rome, architecture, Auguste Cheval de Saint-Hubert
3.
Thomas Chippendale, the younger
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Thomas Chippendale, the younger was an English artist, furniture maker and designer, and the eldest of Thomas Chippendales eleven children. He was devoted to his father and worked with Chippendale Senior until the latter died in 1779, thereafter he took over his fathers business until Thomas Chippendale Jnr was obliged to close the doors on the family business. The Company, listed in Sheratons The Cabinet Directory of 1803, Thomas Chippendale was also a member of the Society of Arts and exhibited his paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts between 1784 and 1801
4.
Royal Academy of Arts
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The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. The Royal Academy of Arts was founded through an act of King George III on 10 December 1768 with a mission to promote the arts of design in Britain through education and exhibition. Supporters wanted to foster a national school of art and to encourage appreciation, fashionable taste in 18th-century Britain was based on continental and traditional art forms, providing contemporary British artists little opportunity to sell their works. From 1746 the Foundling Hospital, through the efforts of William Hogarth, the success of this venture led to the formation of the Society of Artists of Great Britain and the Free Society of Artists. Both these groups were primarily exhibiting societies, their success was marred by internal factions among the artists. The combined vision of education and exhibition to establish a school of art set the Royal Academy apart from the other exhibiting societies. It provided the foundation upon which the Royal Academy came to dominate the art scene of the 18th and 19th centuries, supplanting the earlier art societies. Sir William Chambers, a prominent architect, used his connections with George III to gain royal patronage and financial support of the Academy, the painter Joshua Reynolds was made its first president. Francis Milner Newton was elected the first secretary, a post he held for two decades until his resignation in 1788, the instrument of foundation, signed by George III on 10 December 1768, named 34 founder members and allowed for a total membership of 40. William Hoare and Johann Zoffany were added to this list later by the King and are known as nominated members, among the founder members were two women, a father and daughter, and two sets of brothers. The Royal Academy was initially housed in cramped quarters in Pall Mall, although in 1771 it was given temporary accommodation for its library and schools in Old Somerset House, then a royal palace. In 1780 it was installed in purpose-built apartments in the first completed wing of New Somerset House, located in the Strand and designed by Chambers, the Academy moved in 1837 to Trafalgar Square, where it occupied the east wing of the recently completed National Gallery. These premises soon proved too small to house both institutions, in 1868,100 years after the Academys foundation, it moved to Burlington House, Piccadilly, where it remains. Burlington House is owned by the British Government, and used rent-free by the Royal Academy, the first Royal Academy exhibition of contemporary art, open to all artists, opened on 25 April 1769 and ran until 27 May 1769. 136 works of art were shown and this exhibition, now known as the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, has been staged annually without interruption to the present day. In 1870 the Academy expanded its programme to include a temporary annual loan exhibition of Old Masters. The range and frequency of these exhibitions have grown enormously since that time. Britains first public lectures on art were staged by the Royal Academy, led by Reynolds, the first president, a program included lectures by Dr. William Hunter, John Flaxman, James Barry, Sir John Soane, and J. M. W. Turner
5.
Jacques-Louis David
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Jacques-Louis David was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. David later became a supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre. Imprisoned after Robespierres fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release, at this time he developed his Empire style, notable for its use of warm Venetian colours. After Napoleons fall from Imperial power and the Bourbon revival, David exiled himself to Brussels, then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, where he remained until his death. David had a number of pupils, making him the strongest influence in French art of the early 19th century. Jacques-Louis David was born into a family in Paris on 30 August 1748. When he was nine his father was killed in a duel. He covered his notebooks with drawings, and he said, I was always hiding behind the instructors chair. Soon, he desired to be a painter, but his uncles and he overcame the opposition, and went to learn from François Boucher, the leading painter of the time, who was also a distant relative. Boucher was a Rococo painter, but tastes were changing, Boucher decided that instead of taking over Davids tutelage, he would send David to his friend, Joseph-Marie Vien, a painter who embraced the classical reaction to Rococo. There David attended the Royal Academy, based in what is now the Louvre, each year the Academy awarded an outstanding student the prestigious Prix de Rome, which funded a three- to five-year stay in the Eternal City. Each pensionnaire was lodged in the French Academys Roman outpost, which from the years 1737 to 1793 was the Palazzo Mancini in the Via del Corso. David competed for, and failed to win, the prize for three years, each failure contributing to his lifelong grudge against the institution. After his second loss in 1772, David went on a hunger strike, confident he now had the support and backing needed to win the prize, he resumed his studies with great zeal—only to fail to win the Prix de Rome again the following year. Finally, in 1774, David was awarded the Prix de Rome on the strength of his painting of Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus Disease, a subject set by the judges. In October 1775 he made the journey to Italy with his mentor, Joseph-Marie Vien, while in Italy, David especially studied the works of 17th-century masters such as Poussin, Caravaggio, and the Carracci. Mengs principled, historicizing approach to the representation of classical subjects profoundly influenced Davids pre-revolutionary painting, such as The Vestal Virgin, mengs also introduced David to the theoretical writings on ancient sculpture by Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the German scholar held to be the founder of modern art history. In 1779, David toured the newly excavated ruins of Pompeii, while in Rome, David also assiduously studied the High Renaissance painters, Raphael making a profound and lasting impression on the young French artist
6.
Oath of the Horatii
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Oath of the Horatii, is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a success with critics and the public. It depicts a scene from a Roman legend about a dispute between two warring cities, Rome and Alba Longa, and stresses the importance of patriotism and masculine self-sacrifice for ones country. Instead of the two cities sending their armies to war, they agree to choose three men from each city, the victor in that fight will be the victorious city. From Rome, three brothers from a Roman family, the Horatii, agree to end the war by fighting three brothers from a family of Alba Longa, the Curiatii. The three brothers, all of whom appear willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of Rome, are shown saluting their father who holds their swords out for them, of the three Horatii brothers, only one shall survive the confrontation. Aside from the three brothers depicted, David also represents, in the right corner, a woman crying whilst sitting down. She is Camilla, a sister of the Horatii brothers, who is betrothed to one of the Curiatii fighters. The principal sources for the story behind Davids Oath are the first book of Livy which was elaborated by Dionysius in book 3 of his Roman Antiquities, however, the moment depicted in Davids painting is his own invention. It grew to be considered a paragon of neoclassical art, the painting increased Davids fame, allowing him to take on his own students. In 1774, David won the Prix de Rome with his work Érasistrate découvrant la cause de la maladie d’Antiochius and this allowed him to stay five years in Rome as a student from the French government. There he met Pecoul, contractor for the buildings, and Pecouls daughter. The kings assistant, Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie, commissioned Oath of the Horatii with the intention that it be an allegory about loyalty to the state, nevertheless, David departed from the agreed-upon scene, painting this scene instead. The painting was not completed in Paris, but rather in Rome, ultimately, Davids picture manifests a progressive outlook, deeply influenced by Enlightenment ideas, that eventually contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy. As the French Revolution approached, paintings increasingly referred to the loyalty to the rather than the family or the church. Painted five years before the Revolution, the Oath of the Horatii reflects the tensions of the period. In 1789, David painted The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, as revolution in France loomed, paintings urging loyalty to the state rather than to clan or clergy abounded. Although it was painted nearly four years before the revolution in France, in the painting, the three brothers express their loyalty and solidarity with Rome before battle, wholly supported by their father
7.
John Bacon (sculptor)
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John Bacon RA was a British sculptor who worked in the late 18th century. John Bacon was born in Southwark on 24 November 1740, the son of Thomas Bacon, at the age of fourteen, John was apprenticed to Mr Crispes porcelain manufactory at Lambeth, where he was at first employed in painting the small ornamental pieces of china. His great skill at moulding led to his promotion to modeller. He devoted the additional income to the support of his parents, subsequently, its highest awards were given to him nine times between 1763 and 1776. During his apprenticeship, he improved the method of working statues in stoneware. Bacon first attempted working in marble around 1763, when he resided in George Yard on Oxford Rd. near Soho Square and he exhibited a medallion of George III and a group of Bacchanalians that year and a bas relief of the Good Samaritan the next. During the course of his efforts in this art, he was led to improve the method of transferring the form of the model to the marble by the invention of a more perfect instrument for the purpose. This instrument possessed many advantages, it was more exact, took a correct measurement in every direction, was contained in a small compass, and could be used on either the model or the marble. In 1770, he exhibited a figure of Mars, redone in marble the next year for Mr Pelhalm, in 1771, Ms Coade appointed him works supervisor at her manufactory, he directed both model-making and design there until his death. In 1774, he was gifted with a new establishment at 17 Newman St. by a Mr Johnson who was an admirer of his work. He executed a bush of George III for Christ Church, Oxford, jealous competitors criticized him for ignorance of classic style, a charge he refuted with a bust of Jupiter Tonans. In 1795, he completed a statue of Samuel Johnson for St Pauls Cathedral, on 4 August 1799 he was suddenly attacked with an affliction described as inflammation, he died a little more than two days later on the 7th and was buried in Whitefields Tabernacle in London. His widow was his wife, he left a family fully composed of six sons. His sons Thomas Bacon and John Bacon Jr. continued his work and his memoirs were edited by Rev. Cecil and published in 1801. He won numerous awards, held the esteem of George III and his works adorn St Pauls Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, Christ Church and Pembroke College in Oxford, Bath Abbey, and Bristol Cathedral. John Bacon, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. Vol. III, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,1911, Cecil, Richard, ed. Memoirs of John Bacon, Esq. R. A. with Reflections drawn from a review of his Moral and Religious Character, London, II, London, S. & R. Bentley for Henry Colburn, pp. 153–163. Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections
8.
Codrington Library
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The Codrington Library is an academic library in the city of Oxford, England. It is the library of All Souls College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The library in its current form was endowed by Christopher Codrington, Codrington bequeathed books worth £6,000, in addition to £10,000 in currency. The library, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and begun in 1716, was completed in 1751 and has been in use by scholars since then. It is a grade 1 listed building, the modern collection comprises some 185,000 items, about a third of which were produced before 1800. The librarys collections are strong in Law, European History, Ecclesiastical History, Military History. There is a collection devoted to sociological topics and the History of Science. Unusually for an Oxford college library, access to the Codrington is open to all members of the University, the library contains a significant collection of manuscripts and early printed books, and attracts scholars from around the world. The Codrington Library homepage The Unseen University, The Codrington Library
9.
All Souls College, Oxford
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All Souls College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become Fellows, All Souls is one of the wealthiest colleges in Oxford, with a financial endowment of £286. 4m. However, since the Colleges principal source of revenue is its endowment, All Souls is a registered charity under English law. The college is located on the side of the High Street adjoining Radcliffe Square to the west. To the east is The Queens College with Hertford College to the North, the current Warden is Sir John Vickers, a graduate of Oriel College, Oxford. The College was founded by Henry VI of England and Henry Chichele, the Statutes provided for the Warden and forty fellows – all to take Holy Orders, twenty-four to study arts, philosophy and theology, and sixteen to study civil or canon law. Today the College is primarily a research institution. The College now has no undergraduate members, All Souls did once have them, especially in the early 17th century on the instigation of Robert Hovenden, in order to provide the fellows with servientes. The admission of undergraduates for this purpose was abandoned in the 19th century, the All Souls Library was founded through a bequest from Christopher Codrington, a Fellow of the College. Christopher Codrington bequeathed books worth £6,000, in addition to £10,000 in currency and this bequest allowed the library to be built and endowed. Christopher Codrington was born in Barbados, and amassed his fortune from his sugar planation in the West Indies, the library was completed in 1751, and has been in continuous use since then. The modern library comprises some 185,000 items, about a third of which were published before 1800, the collections are particularly strong in Law and History. Built between 1438 and 1442, the chapel remained largely unchanged until the Commonwealth, Oxford, having been a largely Royalist stronghold, suffered under the Puritans wrath. The 42 misericords date from the Chapels building, and show a resemblance to the misericords at Higham Ferrers, both may have been carved by Richard Tyllock. Christopher Wren was a Fellow from 1653, and in 1658 produced a sundial for the College and this was originally placed on the South wall of the Chapel, until it was moved to the quadrangle in 1877. During the 1660s a screen was installed in the Chapel, which was based on a design by Wren, however, this screen needed to be rebuilt by 1713. By the mid-19th century the Chapel was in great need of renovation, each year several dozen typically do so. Two examination fellows are elected each year, although the college has awarded a single place in previous years
10.
James Barry (painter)
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James Barry RA was an Irish painter, best remembered for his six-part series of paintings entitled The Progress of Human Culture in the Great Room of the Royal Society of Arts in London. He was also an influence on William Blake. James Barry was born in Water Lane on the northside of Cork and his father had been a builder, and, at one time of his life, a coasting trader between England and Ireland. Barry actually made several voyages as a boy, but convinced his father to let him study drawing and he first studied painting under local artist John Butts. At the schools in Cork to which he was sent he was regarded as a prodigy, by the liberality of Burke and his other friends, Barry in the latter part of 1765 was enabled to go abroad. He went first to Paris, then to Rome, where he remained upwards of three years, from Rome to Florence and Bologna, and thence home through Venice. His letters to the Burkes, giving an account of Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian and Leonardo da Vinci, Barry painted two pictures while abroad, an Adam and Eve and a Philoctetes. Soon after his return to England in 1771 he produced his picture of Venus, which was compared to the Galatea of Raphael, the Venus of Titian, in 1773 he exhibited his Jupiter and Juno on Mount Ida. His Death of General Wolfe, in which the British and French soldiers are represented in very primitive costumes, was considered as a falling-off from his style of art. His fondness for Greek costume was assigned by his admirers as the cause of his reluctance to paint portraits. His failure to go on with a portrait of Edmund Burke which he had caused a misunderstanding with his early patron. ”About the same time he painted a pair of classical subjects, Mercury inventing the lyre, and Narcissus. He also painted a picture of Chiron and Achilles, and another of the story of Stratonice. Barry was upset by the failure, for he had in anticipation fixed the subject he intended to paint — the rejection of Christ by the Jews when Pilate proposes his release, Barry regularly returned to the series for more than a decade, making changes and inserting new features. The series of six paintings—The progress of knowledge and culture—has been described by critic Andrew Graham-Dixon as Britains late. Among other things, he insisted on the necessity of purchasing a collection of pictures by the best masters as models for the students, Barry remained the only academician ever to be expelled by the Academy until Brendan Neiland in July 2004. During his time at the Royal Academy of Arts, Barry painted The Thames in 1791, which featured the English music historian Charles Burney. After the loss of his salary, a subscription was set on foot by the Earl of Buchan to relieve him from his difficulties, and to settle him in a larger house to finish his picture of Pandora. The subscription amounted to £1000, with which an annuity was bought, on 4 March his remains were interred in St Pauls Cathedral, London
11.
Royal Society of Arts
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The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce is a London-based, British organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The shorter version, The Royal Society of Arts and the related RSA acronym, are used more frequently than the full name, the RSA award three medals, the Albert Medal, the Benjamin Franklin Medal and the Bicentenary Medal. Medal winners include Nelson Mandela, Sir Frank Whittle, and Professor Stephen Hawking, on the RSA buildings frieze The Royal Society of Arts words are engraved, although its full name is Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. The short name and the related R S of A abbreviation is used more frequently than the full name, on its website, the RSA characterises itself as an enlightenment organisation committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s social challenges. The RSAs Patron is currently HM Elizabeth II, the RSAs President is HRH The Princess Royal, its Chairman is Vikki Heywood, life Fellows must have demonstrated exceptionally high achievement. The RSA says, The RSA Fellowship is an international community achievers and influencers from an array of backgrounds and professions. Fellows are social entrepreneurs to scientists, community leaders to commercial innovators, artists and journalists to architects and engineers, edwin Landseer who at the age of 10 was awarded a silver medal for his drawing of a dog. The RSA originally specifically precluded premiums for patented solutions, today the RSA continues to offer premiums. The Faculty currently has 120 Royal Designers and 45 Honorary Royal Designers, the Faculty consists of the world’s leading practitioners from fields as disparate as engineering, furniture, fashion and textiles, graphics, theater and film design. Early members include Eric Gill, Enid Marx, Sir Frank Whittle, the RSA moved to its current home in 1774. The House, situated in John Adam Street, near the Strand in central London, had been purpose-designed by the Adam Brothers as part of their innovative Adelphi scheme. The former private dining room of the Tavern contains a magnificent Adam ceiling with painted roundels by the school of Kauffman and Zucchi. A major refurbishment in 2012 by Matthew Lloyd Architects won a RIBA London Award in 2013, the first of these plaques was, in fact, of red terracotta erected outside a former residence of Lord Byron. The Society erected 36 plaques until, in 1901, responsibility for them was transferred to the London County Council and, later, similar schemes are now operated in all the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. The Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce hosted the first exhibition of art in 1760. Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds, who had exhibited at this first exhibition were subsequently members of The Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. The Society was a pioneer in examinations, offering the first national public examinations in 1882 that led to the formation of the RSA Examinations Board now included in the. In 1876, a predecessor of the Royal College of Music, in 1929 The Society purchased the entire village of West Wycombe
12.
Antonio Carnicero
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Antonio Carnicero was a Spanish painter of the Neoclassical style. In addition to his paintings, over the course of his career he produced prints. Carnicero was born in Salamanca on 10 January 1748 and his father, the sculptor Alejandro Carnicero, went to the court of Madrid in 1749 to fulfill a commission for a series of sculptures in the royal palace. Antonios brothers Gregorio and Isidro were also artists, after initial training from his father, Carnicero entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1758. At age 12, he was awarded a scholarship to accompany his brother Isidro to Rome so they could further their study of painting, in 1766 he returned to Madrid, where he began to paint for civil and religious institutions as well as private clients. In 1775, Carnicero collaborated with Joseph del Castillo in the execution of tapestry cartoons for the royal household and he also worked as a theatrical decorator for performances at the Teatro de la Cruz and the Teatro del Principe. He scored a success with his work The Coronation of King Alfonso XI and Queen Mary. Two other well-known works depict the contemporary sensation of early hot air balloon flights, in 1796, Carnicero was named chamber painter for King Charles IV of Spain. This came after several failed attempts to secure a court appointment. From that point on, he worked mainly as a portraitist of the family and leading ministers at court. He taught drawing to the children of the family, especially the future Ferdinand VII. On account of his relationship with the Prince, Carnicero drew suspicion of being involved in the El Escorial Conspiracy of 1807 to dethrone Charles IV, as a result, Carnicero was arrested on 7 November and detained for over ten days before being released. As Spain came under Napoleonic rule, beginning in 1809 Carnicero, after the restoration of the Bourbons, Carnicero was put on trial for removal from his office on the grounds that he had served the foreign king. An appeal to him came too late when Carnicero died in Madrid on 21 August 1814. Catálogo Descriptivo e Histórico del Museo del Prado de Madrid, calle del Duque de Osuna #3, Original from Oxford University, Digitized May 1,2007, M. Rivadeneyra
13.
Louvre
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The Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the worlds largest museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the citys 1st arrondissement, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres. The Louvre is the second most visited museum after the Palace Museum in China. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II, remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace, in 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nations masterpieces. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum renamed Musée Napoléon, the collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic, whether this was the first building on that spot is not known, it is possible that Philip modified an existing tower. According to the authoritative Grand Larousse encyclopédique, the name derives from an association with wolf hunting den, in the 7th century, St. Fare, an abbess in Meaux, left part of her Villa called Luvra situated in the region of Paris to a monastery. This territory probably did not correspond exactly to the modern site, the Louvre Palace was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Charles V converted the building into a residence and in 1546, Francis acquired what would become the nucleus of the Louvres holdings, his acquisitions including Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa. After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, constructions slowed, however, on 14 October 1750, Louis XV agreed and sanctioned a display of 96 pieces from the royal collection, mounted in the Galerie royale de peinture of the Luxembourg Palace. Under Louis XVI, the museum idea became policy. The comte dAngiviller broadened the collection and in 1776 proposed conversion of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre – which contained maps – into the French Museum, many proposals were offered for the Louvres renovation into a museum, however, none was agreed on. Hence the museum remained incomplete until the French Revolution, during the French Revolution the Louvre was transformed into a public museum. In May 1791, the Assembly declared that the Louvre would be a place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences, on 10 August 1792, Louis XVI was imprisoned and the royal collection in the Louvre became national property
14.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
15.
Thomas Gainsborough
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Thomas Gainsborough FRSA was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. He surpassed his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds to become the dominant British portraitist of the half of the 18th century. He painted quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterised by a light palette and he preferred landscapes to portraits, and is credited as the originator of the 18th-century British landscape school. Gainsborough was a member of the Royal Academy. He was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woollen goods, and his wife, the artist spent his childhood at what is now Gainsboroughs House, on Gainsborough Street. The original building survives and is now a dedicated House to his life. Gainsborough was allowed to leave home in 1740 to study art in London and he assisted Francis Hayman in the decoration of the supper boxes at Vauxhall Gardens, and contributed to the decoration of what is now the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. In 1746, Gainsborough married Margaret Burr, a daughter of the Duke of Beaufort. The artists work, then consisting of landscape paintings, was not selling well. He returned to Sudbury in 1748–1749 and concentrated on painting portraits, in 1752, he and his family, now including two daughters, moved to Ipswich. Commissions for personal portraits increased, but his clientele included mainly local merchants and he had to borrow against his wifes annuity. The Artists family and Self-Portrait In 1759, Gainsborough and his moved to Bath. There, he studied portraits by van Dyck and was able to attract a fashionable clientele. In 1761, he began to work to the Society of Arts exhibition in London. He selected portraits of well-known or notorious clients in order to attract attention, the exhibitions helped him acquire a national reputation, and he was invited to become a founding member of the Royal Academy in 1769. His relationship with the academy was not a one and he stopped exhibiting his paintings in 1773. In 1774, Gainsborough and his moved to London to live in Schomberg House. A commemorative blue plaque was put on the house in 1951, in 1777, he again began to exhibit his paintings at the Royal Academy, including portraits of contemporary celebrities, such as the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland
16.
Charles Willson Peale
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Charles Willson Peale was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution. Peale was born in 1741 in Chester, Queen Annes County, Maryland and he had a younger brother, James Peale. Charles became an apprentice to a saddle maker when he was thirteen years old, upon reaching maturity, he opened his own saddle shop, however, when his Loyalist creditors discovered he had joined the Sons of Liberty, they conspired to bankrupt his business. He was also, not very good at saddle making and he then tried fixing clocks and working with metals, but both of these endeavors failed as well. Finding that he had a talent for painting, especially portraiture, Peale studied for a time under John Hesselius, John Beale Bordley and friends eventually raised enough money for him to travel to England to take instruction from Benjamin West. Peale studied with West for three years beginning in 1767, afterward returning to America and settling in Annapolis, Maryland, there, he taught painting to his younger brother, James Peale, who in time also became a noted artist. Peales enthusiasm for the nascent national government brought him to the capital, Philadelphia, in 1776 and his estate, which is on the campus of La Salle University in Philadelphia, can still be visited. He also raised troops for the War of Independence and eventually gained the rank of captain in the Pennsylvania militia by 1776, while in the field, he continued to paint, doing miniature portraits of various officers in the Continental Army. He produced enlarged versions of these in later years and he served in the Pennsylvania state assembly in 1779–1780, after which he returned to painting full-time. Peale was quite prolific as an artist, while he did portraits of scores of historic figures, he is probably best known for his portraits of George Washington. The first time Washington sat for a portrait was with Peale in 1772, in January 2005, a full-length portrait of Washington at Princeton from 1779 sold for $21.3 million, setting a record for the highest price paid for an American portrait. One of his most celebrated paintings is The Staircase Group, a portrait of his sons Raphaelle and Titian. It is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Peale had a great interest in natural history, and organized the first U. S. scientific expedition in 1801. These two major interests combined in his founding of what became the Philadelphia Museum, later known as Peales American Museum and it housed a diverse collection of botanical, biological, and archaeological specimens. Most notably, the museum contained a variety of birds which Peale himself acquired. In 1792, Peale initiated a correspondence with Thomas Hall, of the Finsbury Museum, City Road, Finsbury, eventually, an exchange system was established between the two, whereby Peale sent American birds to Hall in exchange for an equal number of British birds. This arrangement continued until the end of the century, the Peale Museum was the first to display a mastodon skeleton that Peale found in New York State
17.
George Romney (painter)
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George Romney was an English portrait painter. He was the most fashionable artist of his day, painting many leading society figures – including his artistic muse, Emma Hamilton, Romney was born in Beckside in Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire, the 3rd son of John Romney, cabinet maker, and Anne Simpson. Raised in a cottage named High Cocken in modern-day Barrow-in-Furness, he was sent to school at nearby Dendron and he appears to have been an indifferent student and was withdrawn at the age of 11 and apprenticed to his fathers business instead. He proved to have an ability for drawing and making things from wood – including violins. All costs were to be borne by Georges father, in October 1756, Romney married Mary Abbot, but the couple were immediately separated when he was called away to York on business by his employer. After a year, Steele eventually agreed to cancel the apprenticeship, at Georges request, in 1757, Romney rejoined his wife and young son in Kendal, working as a portraitist, landscape and historical painter. In this period he became friends with Adam Walker, the inventor and writer, in March 1762, he parted from his wife, son and daughter, to seek his fortune in London, where he stayed until 1799. Throughout the separation, he maintained contact with his family and financially supported them, in 1763, Romney entered his painting, The Death of General Wolfe, into a Royal Society of Arts competition. According to friends of Romney, he was awarded the prize of 50 guineas. It is said that Sir Joshua Reynolds himself was the mover behind this decision. Despite his later success, Romney was never invited to join the Royal Academy of Arts, though he was asked, urged even and this decision certainly cost him valuable royal patronage and support from others connected at court. His own career supported this belief, and it was only towards the end of his life that he expressed the slightest regret for his views and his early years in the capital were something of a struggle financially. In September 1764, he travelled to Paris for a few weeks to study the works of the old masters, in 1765 he again won the second prize of 50 guineas in the Royal Society of Arts competition. In 1768, he made the acquaintance of Richard Cumberland, the dramatist, whose portrait he painted, and he also became friends with miniature painter Ozias Humphrey. In 1770 he started to exhibit his work at the Chartered Society of Artists rather the rival Free Society of Artists, by 1772 Romney was financially secure enough to make the journey to Italy to study the great artists of the past, as he had always intended. He set off in March, making his way through Europe, a letter of introduction allowed him to meet the Pope, Clement XIV, who allowed him to set up scaffolding in the Vatican to study the frescoes of Raphael. He spent 18 months in Rome making studies and sketches of the art works on view there. He returned to London in July 1775 after an absence of over 2 years, on his return, in 1775, Romney moved to Cavendish Square, in a house formerly owned by noted portraitist Francis Cotes
18.
William Hamilton (diplomat)
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Sir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800 and he studied the volcanoes Vesuvius and Etna, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society and recipient of the Copley Medal. His second wife was Emma Hamilton, famed as Horatio Nelsons mistress and his mother was a favourite, and possibly a mistress, of the Prince of Wales and William grew up with his son George III, who would call him his foster brother. At age nine, he went to Westminster School, where he made friends of Frederick Hervey. Hamilton used to say that he was born with an ancient name, so, six weeks after his sixteenth birthday, he was commissioned into the 3rd Foot Guards as an ensign. He spent some time with the regiment in the Netherlands, in September 1757 he was present as aide-de-camp to General Henry Seymour Conway at the abortive attack on Rochefort. The following year he left the Army, after having married Catherine Barlow, the couple shared a love of music, and the marriage, which lasted until Catherines death on 25 August 1782, was a happy one. When Catherines father died in 1763 she inherited his estates in Wales, in 1761 Hamilton entered Parliament as Member for Midhurst. When he heard that the ambassador to the court of Naples, Sir James Gray, was likely to be promoted to Madrid, Hamilton expressed an interest in the position, and was duly appointed in 1764. These official duties left him plenty of time to pursue his interests in art, antiquities, Catherine, who had never enjoyed good health, began to recover in the mild climate of Naples. Hamilton began collecting Greek vases and other antiquities as soon as he arrived in Naples, obtaining them from dealers or other collectors, in 1766–67 he published a volume of engravings of his collection entitled Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman antiquities from the cabinet of the Honble. Wm. Hamilton, His Britannick Maiestys envoy extraordinary at the Court of Naples, the text was written by dHancarville with contributions by Johann Winckelmann. A further three volumes were produced in 1769–76, during the his first leave in 1771 Hamilton arranged the sale of his collection to the British Museum for £8,410. Josiah Wedgwood the potter drew inspiration from the reproductions in Hamiltons volumes, during this first leave, in January 1772, Hamilton became a Knight of the Order of the Bath and the following month was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. In 1777, during his leave to England, he became a member of the Society of Dilettanti. Hamilton had bought it from a dealer and sold it to the Duchess of Portland, the cameo work on the vase again served as inspiration to Josiah Wedgwood, this time for his jasperware. The vase was bought by the British Museum. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts, in 1798, as Hamilton was about to leave Naples, he packed up his art collection and a second vase collection and sent them back to England
19.
Gilbert Stuart
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Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island. Gilbert Stuart is widely considered one of Americas foremost portraitists and his best known work is the unfinished portrait of George Washington that is sometimes referred to as The Athenaeum, begun in 1796 and never finished. Stuart retained the portrait and used it to paint 130 copies which he sold for $100 each, throughout his career, Gilbert Stuart produced portraits of over 1,000 people, including the first six Presidents of the United States. C. The National Portrait Gallery, London, Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, Gilbert Stuart was born on December 3,1755 in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, a village of North Kingstown, and baptized at Old Narragansett Church on April 11,1756. Stuarts father worked in the first colonial snuff mill in America, Gilbert Stuart moved to Newport, Rhode Island at the age of six, where his father pursued work in the merchant field. In Newport, Stuart first began to show promise as a painter. In 1770, Stuart made the acquaintance of Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander, a visitor of the colonies who made portraits of local patrons and who became a tutor to Stuart. Under the guidance of Alexander, Stuart painted the famous portrait Dr. Hunters Spaniels when he was fourteen years old, the painting is also referred to as Dr. Hunters Dogs by some accounts. In 1771, Stuart moved to Scotland with Alexander to finish his studies, Stuart tried to maintain a living and pursue his painting career, but to no avail, so he returned to Newport in 1773. Stuarts prospects as a portraitist were jeopardized by the onset of the American Revolution, Stuart departed for England in 1775 following the example set by John Singleton Copley. He was unsuccessful at first in pursuit of his vocation, the relationship was beneficial, with Stuart exhibiting at the Royal Academy as early as 1777. By 1782, Stuart had met with success, largely due to acclaim for The Skater, Stuart said that he was suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture. At one point, the prices for his pictures were exceeded only by those of renowned English artists Joshua Reynolds, despite his many commissions, however, Stuart was habitually neglectful of finances and was in danger of being sent to debtors prison. In 1787, he fled to Dublin, Ireland where he painted and accumulated debt with equal vigor, Stuart ended his 18-year stay in Britain and Ireland in 1793, leaving behind numerous unfinished paintings. He returned to the United States and settled briefly in New York City, in 1795, he moved to Germantown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, where he opened a studio. It was here that he gained a foothold in the art world, Stuart painted George Washington in a series of iconic portraits, each of them leading in turn to a demand for copies, and keeping Stuart busy and highly paid for years. The most famous and celebrated of these likenesses is known as The Athenaeum and is portrayed on the United States one dollar bill. Stuart, along with his daughters, painted a total of 130 reproductions of The Athenaeum, however, he never completed the original version, after finishing Washingtons face, he kept the original version to make the copies
20.
John Webber
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John Webber RA was an English artist who accompanied Captain Cook on his third Pacific expedition. He is best known for his images of Australasia, Hawaii, Webber was born in London, educated in Bern and studied painting at Paris. His father was Abraham Wäber, a Swiss sculptor who had moved to London, Webber served as official artist on James Cooks third voyage of discovery around the Pacific aboard HMS Resolution. At Adventure Bay in January 1777 he did drawings of A Man of Van Diemens Land and he also did many drawings of scenes in New Zealand and the South Sea islands. On this voyage, during which Cook lost his life in a fight in Hawaii, Webber became the first European artist to make contact with Hawaii and he made numerous watercolor landscapes of the islands of Kauai and Hawaii, and also portrayed many of the Hawaiian people. In April 1778, Captain Cooks ships Resolution and Discovery anchored at Ship Cove, now known as Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, the crew took observations and recorded encounters with the local people. Webber made watercolour landscapes including Resolution and Discovery in Ship Cove,1778 and his drawings and paintings were engraved for British Admiraltys account of the expedition, which was published in 1784. Back in England in 1780 Webber exhibited around 50 works at Royal Academy exhibitions between 1784 and 1792, and was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1785, most of his work were landscapes. Sometimes figures were included as in A Party from H. M. S, Resolution shooting sea horses, which was shown at the academy in 1784, and his The Death of Captain Cook became well known through an engraving of it. Another version of this picture is in the William Dixson gallery at Sydney and his Young Woman of the Sandwich Islands is in San Antonio Museum of Art. Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
21.
Death of Cook
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Death of Cook is the name of several paintings depicting the 1779 death of British explorer and European discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook at Kealakekua Bay. Most of these seem to go back to an original by John Cleveley the Younger, painted in 1784, although other versions, like that of John Webber. Such artworks were reproduced in paint and engraving over the course of world history. However, in 2004, the original Cleveley painting was discovered in a collection belonging to a family since 1851. Cleveleys brother was a member of Cooks crew, and the painting is said to concur with eyewitness accounts, the original depicted Cook involved in hand-to-hand combat with the native Hawaiians. The original watercolour painting, together with three others in a series by Cleveley, was put up for auction by Christies auction house in London in 2004, the lot of four paintings sold for £318,850. A later painting titled The Death of Captain James Cook,14 February 1779 by Johann Zoffany was begun in circa 1795 and was the painting owned by Cooks widow and this painting is in the National Maritime Museum
