Rembrandt Peale
1778-1860
Rembrandt Peale Galleries
Rembrandt Peale (February 22, 1778 ?C October 3, 1860) was a 19th century American artist that received critical acclaim for his portraits of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Although modern art critics would consider Peale??s artwork as French neoclassical, its dark and stylized characteristics are similar to 15th and 16th century paintings.
Rembrandt Peale was born the third of six surviving children (eleven had died) to his mother, Rachel Brewer, and father, Charles Willson Peale in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on February 22, 1778. The father, Charles, also a notable artist, taught each child to paint scenery and portraiture, and Rembrandt was no exception. Charles tutored Rembrandt about the importance of having a strong mind from learning arts and sciences. At the age of eight, Rembrandt discovered drawing, and at thirteen, painted his first known self-portrait. Later on in his life, Rembrandt Peale "often showed this painting to young beginners, to encourage them to go from 'bad' to better..." like his steady progressions to become a successful portraitist.
A year after his mother??s death and remarriage of his father, Rembrandt Peale left the school of the arts, thereby applying his time to completing his first ever self-portrait at the age of 13. The canvas illustrates early mastery of a young aspiring artist, seeming very mature. The clothes, however give the notion that Peale over-exaggerated what a 13 year old would look like. This style demonstrates early forms of neoclassicism by the looks of Peale's angel-like hair, the way it waves and curls in such a fashion so as to depict an angel from a general Renaissance artist's works of art.
In July of 1787, Charles Willson Peale introduced his son Rembrandt to George Washington, where the young aspirant artist watched his father paint the remarkable figure of the country. In 1795, at the age of 17, Rembrandt painted an aging Washington, though the painter had depicted the politician as far more aged than the original facial characteristics. It did, nevertheless attain praise and Rembrandt had begun his debut.
At the age of 20, Rembrandt married 22-year-old Eleanor May Short (1776-1836) at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Philadelphia. During their marriage, Rembrandt and Eleanor had nine children: Rosalba, Eleanor, Sarah Miriam, Michael Angelo, and Emma Clara among them.
In 1822, Peale moved to New York City where he embarked on an attempt to paint what he hoped would become the "standard likeness" of Washington. He studied portraits by other artists including John Trumbull, Gilbert Stuart and his own father, as well as his own 1795 picture which had never truly satisfied him. His resulting work Patriae Pater, completed in 1824, depicts Washington through an oval window, and is considered by many to be second only to Gilbert Stuart's iconic Athenaeum painting of the first president. Peale subsequently attempted to capitalize on the success of what quickly became known as his "Porthole" picture. Patriae Pater was purchased by Congress in 1832 and still hangs in the U.S. Capitol.
Later on, Peale made over 70 detailed replicas of the same "father of our country", the first President of the United States. Peale continued to paint other noted portraits, such as those of the third president Thomas Jefferson while he was in office (1805), and later on a portrait of Chief Justice John Marshall. Related Paintings of Rembrandt Peale :. | George Taylor II | Rembrandt Peale, Self portrait, | Falls of Niagara viewed from the American Side | Aristotle with a Bust of Homer | Self Portrait with Velvet Beret | Related Artists: Camile Pissarro1831-1903
carl gustav piloCarl Gustaf Pilo, konstnär, målare, född 1711 i Nyköping, död 2 mars 1793 i Stockholm
Han studerade vid Konstakademien och för Arenius samt vidare i Tyskland. År 1740 till 1772 bosatt i Danmark, där han utnämndes till hovmålare, professor och direktör för akademien. I Danmark utförde han ett antal porträtt bl.a. av Fredrik V och Juliana Maria samt de kungliga barnen.
Efter Gustav III:s statskupp år 1772 blev man i Danmark avogt inställd mot svenskar och Pilo blev helt enkelt tvungen att fly till Sverige. Han bosatte sig i sin barndomsstad Nyköping. Gustav III sökte upp honom med uppdraget, att måla kungens kröning. Pilo försökte avsäga sig det, för han hade ju faktiskt inte varit med vid kröningen och han hade aldrig tidigare målat en gruppbild. Men kungen var envis och han ville ha en motsvarande målning till Ehrenstrahls på Drottningholm av Karl XI:s kröning och Gustav III ville att Pilo skulle måla den. Pilo antog till slut uppdraget och 1782 till 1793 arbetade han med tavlan , utan att bli helt färdig, vilket man ser om man studerar den noga där man på flera ställen på målningen upptäcker flera dubbla ansikten. Dessutom experimenterade Pilo med asfaltsfärg, vilket gör att tavlan uppvisar många större sprickbildningar.
Tavlan Gustav III:s kröning hänger på Nationalmuseum och är Pilos kanske yppersta arbete och en pärla i svensk konst. Kompositionen är väl avvägd, koloriten glänsande harmonisk samt de individuella porträtten är briljant utförda.
Pilo bör räknas till våra främsta målare och var särskilt skicklig som kolorist, där man ser spår och inflytande från den venetianska skolan och från Rembrandt. Många av hans tavlor utstrålar festivitas detta gäller framförallt den stora kröningstavlan. Pilos betydelse i svensk konsthistoria kan också utläsas i att Postverket vid tre tillfällen använt målningar av P. som motiv vid frimärksutgivning. Bl a utgavs till Pilos 250-årsdag en detalj ur kröningstavlan.
Även två av Pilos bröder var också konstnärer, dock med mindre framgång, Jöns Pilo (1707-?) och Olof Pilo (1718-1795). Samuel Finley Breese Morse1791-1872
Samuel F.B. Morse was born on April 27, 1791 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the first child of geographer and Pastor Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826) and Elizabeth Ann Breese (1766-1828). Jedidiah was a great preacher of the Calvinist faith and supporter of the American Federalist party. He not only saw it as a great preserver of Puritan traditions (strict observance of the Sabbath), but believed in its idea of an alliance with English in regards to a strong central government. Jedidiah strongly believed in education within a Federalist framework alongside the instillation of Calvinist virtues, morals and prayers for his son. After attending Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, Samuel Morse went on to Yale College to receive instruction in the subjects of religious philosophy, mathematics and science of horses. While at Yale, he attended lectures on electricity from Benjamin Silliman and Jeremiah Day. He earned money by painting. In 1810, he graduated from Yale.
Morse's Calvinist beliefs are evident in his painting the Landing of the Pilgrims, through the depiction of simplistic clothing as well as the austere facial features. This image captured the psychology of the Federalists; Calvinists from England brought to the United States ideas of religion and government thus forever linking the two countries. More importantly, this particular work attracted the attention of the famous artist, Washington Allston. Allston wanted Morse to accompany him to England to meet the artist Benjamin West. An agreement for a three- year stay was made with Jedidah, and young Morse set sail with Allston aboard the Lydia on July 15, 1811 (1).
Upon his arrival in England, Morse diligently worked at perfecting painting techniques under the watchful eye of Allston; by the end of 1811, he gained admittance to the Royal Academy. At the Academy, he fell in love with the Neo-classical art of the Renaissance and paid close attention to Michelangelo and Raphael. After observing and practicing life drawing and absorbing its anatomical demands, the young artist successfully produced his masterpiece, the Dying Hercules.
To some, the Dying Hercules seemed to represent a political statement against the British and also the American Federalists. The muscles apparently symbolized the strength of the young and vibrant United States versus the British and British-American supporters. During Morse??s time in Britain the Americans and English were engaged in the War of 1812 and division existed within United States society over loyalties. Anti-Federalists Americans aligned themselves with the French, abhorred the British, and believed a strong central government to be inherently dangerous to democracy.(3) As the war raged on, his letters to his parents became more anti-Federalist in their tones. In one such letter Morse said, "I assert that the Federalists in the Northern States have done more injury to their country by their violent opposition measures than a French alliance could. Their proceedings are copied into the English papers, read before Parliament, and circulated through their country, and what do they say of them... they call them (Federalists) cowards, a base set, say they are traitors to their country and ought to be hanged like traitors."
|
|
|