1738-1820 Benjamin West Locations Benjamin West RA (October 10, 1738 ?C March 11, 1820) was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence. He was the second president of the Royal Academy serving from 1792 to 1805 and 1806 to 1820. In 1760, sponsored by Smith and William Allen, reputed to be the wealthiest man in Philadelphia, West traveled to Italy where he expanded his repertoire by copying the works of Italian painters such as Titian and Raphael. As painted by Gilbert Stuart, 1783-84West was a close friend of Benjamin Franklin, whose portrait he painted. Franklin was also the godfather of West's second son, Benjamin. In 1763, West moved to England, where he was commissioned by King George III to create portraits of members of the royal family. The king himself was twice painted by him. He painted his most famous, and possibly most influential painting, The Death of General Wolfe, in 1770, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1771. Although originally snubbed by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the famous portrait painter and President of the Royal Academy, and others as over ambitious, the painting became one of the most frequently reproduced images of the period. In 1772, King George appointed him historical painter to the court at an annual fee of £1,000. With Reynolds, West founded the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. He was the second president of the Royal Academy from 1792 to 1805. He was re-elected in 1806 and was president until his death in 1820. He was Surveyor of the King's Pictures from 1791 until his death. Many American artists studied under him in London, including Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, and Thomas Sully. [3] West is known for his large scale history paintings, which use expressive figures, colours and compositional schemes to help the spectator to identify with the scene represented. West called this "epic representation". He died in London.  Related Paintings of Benjamin West :. | The Death of General Wolfe | The Death of General Wolfe | Death on the Pale Horse | Self-portrait | Cicero and the magistrates discovering the tomb of Archimedes. |
Related Artists:
Francesco Simonini
Italian Painter, b. 1686, Parma, d. ca. 1753, Venezia, or Firenze
CARRACCI, Antonio
Italian Baroque Era Painter, ca.1583-1618 Painter, son of Agostino Carracci. He was born either c. 1583 (Baglione) or in 1589 (Bellori). His mother was a Venetian courtesan named Isabella. After his father's death, he joined the Roman household of his uncle Annibale Carracci. While Antonio may have collaborated with other studio assistants on the wall frescoes (1603-4) of the Galleria Farnese and the decoration (1606; commissioned from Francesco Albani) of some rooms in the Palazzo Mattei di Giove, Rome, his earliest undisputed works date from after Annibale's death in 1609. At that time, according to Monsignor G. B. Agucchi (Malvasia), Antonio returned briefly to Bologna, with the intention of joining Ludovico Carracci's studio, but the proposed collaboration came to nothing. A frescoed Vision of St Francis in the lower oratory of S Colombano was most probably painted during this Bolognese sojourn, and his Burial of Christ (Rome, Gal. Borghese) dates from c. 1609. He returned to Rome in 1610 and assisted Guido Reni in the Pauline Chapel of the Palazzo del Quirinale, where he painted Virtues and other subsidiary figures on the walls.
Bartolomeo Nazari
Bartolomeo Nazari (May 31, 1693 - August 24, 1758) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque, mainly active in Venice as a portraitist. Born in Clusone, near Bergamo. By 1716, he had become an apprentice under Angelo Trevisani, but visited in 1723 the Roman studio of Angelo's brother, the Venetian Francesco Trevisani, and then also studied with Benedetto Luti. Nazari likely knew personally Fra Galgario, the renowned portraitist from Bergamo, and is described by some as a pupil. He returns to Venice in 1724, and is registered with the Fraglia dei Pittori by 1726. In 1744, he traveled to Frankfurt to paint the emperor Charles VII and his family and other members of the court. In 1756, he was inducted into the newly founded Accademia of Venice. His son Nazario Nazari was also a painter. Among his patrons was Consul Joseph Smith and the former general Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (who owned over eight diverse portrait paintings). He painted the portraits of a number of operatic singers including Farinelli. He died returning from Genoa, where he had painted the Doge.