1783-1872 Thomas Sully Galleries Sully became a professional painter at age 18 in 1801. He studied face-painting under Gilbert Stuart in Boston for three weeks. After some time in Virginia with this brother, Sully moved to New York, after which he moved to Philadelphia in 1806, where he resided for the remainder of his life. In 1809 he traveled to London for nine months of study under Benjamin West. Sully's 1824 portraits of John Quincy Adams, who became President within the year, and then the Marquis de Lafayette appear to have brought him to the forefront of his day. (His Adams portrait may be seen in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.) Many famous Americans of the day had their portraits painted by him. In 1837-1838 he was in London to paint Queen Victoria at the request of Philadelphia's St. George's Society. His daughter Blanche assisted him as the Queen's "stand-in", modeling the Queen's costume when she was not available. One of Sully's portraits of Thomas Jefferson is owned by the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society at the University of Virginia and hangs in that school's Rotunda. Another Jefferson portrait, this one head-to-toe, hangs at West Point, as is his portrait of Alexander Macomb (American general). Sully's own index indicates that he produced 2631 paintings from 1801, most of which are currently in the United States. His style resembles that of Thomas Lawrence. Though best known as a portrait painter, Sully also made historical pieces and landscapes. An example of the former is the 1819 Passage of the Delaware, now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Related Paintings of Thomas Sully :. | Eliza Ridgely with a Harp | MaryAnnHeideNorris | Miss Walton of Florida | Mrs. Katharine Matthews | Daniel Wadsworth |
Related Artists:
Mulvany, John George
Irish, 1766-1838
Jean Beraud
1848-1935 French Jean Beraud Galleries Berauds father (also called Jean) was a sculptor and was likely working on the site of St. Isaacs Cathedral at the time of his sons birth. Berauds mother was one Genevieve Eugenie Jacquin; following the death of Beraudes father the family moved to Paris. B??raud was in the process of being educated as a lawyer until the occupation of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. Beraud became a student of Leon Bonnat, and exhibited his paintings at the Salon for the first time in 1872, however he only gained recognition in 1876, with his On the Way Back from the Funeral. He exhibited with the Society of French Watercolorists at the 1889 Worldes Fair in Paris. He painted many scenes of Parisian daily life during the Belle epoque, in a style that stands somewhere between the academic art of the Salon and that of the Impressionists. He received the Legion d honneur in 1894. Berauds paintings often included truth based humour and mockery of late 19th century Parisian life. Along with frequent appearances of biblical characters in then contemporary situations. Paintings such as Mary Magdalene in the House of the Pharisees aroused controversy when exhibited because of these themes. Towards the end of the 19th century Beraud dedicated less time to his own painting, but worked in numerous exhibition committees including the Salon de la Societe Nationale. Beraud never married and has no children, he is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery beside his mother.
Stefan Luchian
Romanian Painter, 1868-1916 Romanian painter. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest, graduating in 1889 and continuing his studies at the Akademie der Bildenden Kenste in Munich and in Paris at the Academie Julian, where he was a student of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. He rejected the rigidity of academic painting early in his career, however. The Last Autumn Race (1892; Bucharest, Mus. A.), one of the few paintings known from this period, clearly illustrates the influence of Manet and Impressionism on his early work. On his return to Romania in 1892 Luchian, unwilling to restrict his work to merely copying the French artists, struggled to create an original style. In 1900 he was left partially paralysed by a spinal disease, but he continued to work, and it is during the next years that he created his most accomplished works. His self-portraits (e.g. 1907; Bucharest, Mus. A.) are clear evidence of his determination to overcome this personal tragedy; far from inspiring pity, these paintings emphasize the depth and the strength of his inner life. It is in landscapes such as Willows at Chiajna (c. 1907; Cluj-Napoca, Mus. A.), however, that his commitment becomes even more apparent, with joyful rhythms created by means of broad brushstrokes and contrasts of bright colours next to delicate tones. Towards the end of his life Luchian became completely immobilized. During this time flowers were his favourite subject (e.g. Safta, the Flower Girl; Bucharest, N. Mus. A.; see also ROMANIA, fig. 9), and they became a metaphorical bridge between the artist and the outside world. The colours are still bright in these last paintings, and the loss of pastel tones makes the contrast more dramatic.