Alexander the Great Taming Bucephalus

Last updated
Alexander the Great Taming Bucephalus
Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846) - Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), Taming Bucephalus - 485149 - National Trust.jpg
Artist Benjamin Robert Haydon
Year1826
Type Oil on canvas, history painting
Dimensions153 cm× 193 cm(60 in× 76 in)
Location Petworth House, Sussex

Alexander the Great Taming Bucephalus is an 1826 history painting by the British artist Benjamin Robert Haydon. [1] [2] It depicts a scene from ancient history when Alexander the Great tamed his famous warhorse Bucephalus. On the right of the picture are Alexander's father Philip II of Macedon and mother Olympias.

It was purchased by the art collector Lord Egremont for his country estate Petworth House. He received 500 guineas for the work. [3] In order to depict Bucephalus, Haydon originally tried to draw inspiration from equestrian works by George Stubbs. When this was unsuccessful, Egremont arranged for him to have access to the Household Cavalry's riding school. [4]

It was displayed at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition at Somerset House in 1827. Critical reception was discouraging for Haydon with the The Morning Post calling it "ill-grouped, ill-drawn, ill-coloured and exrtemely vulgar" although The Times praised its "good colouring and bold drawing". [5] Today it is in the collection of the National Trust at Petworth. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Haydon</span> English painter (1786–1846)

Benjamin Robert Haydon was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactless dealings with patrons, and by the enormous scale on which he preferred to work. He was troubled by financial problems throughout his life, which led to several periods of imprisonment for debt. He died by suicide in 1846.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bucephalus</span> Alexander the Greats horse

Bucephalus or Bucephalas, was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous horses of classical antiquity. According to the Alexander Romance (1.15), the name "Bucephalus" literally means "ox-headed", and supposedly comes from a brand on the thigh of the horse that looked like an ox's head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont</span> British statesman

Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, PC, of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, Petworth House in Sussex, and of Egremont House in Mayfair, London, was a British statesman who served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 1761 to 1763.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Wordsworth</span> English author, poet and diarist

Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron Leconfield</span> Barony in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Baron Leconfield, of Leconfield, in the East Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1859 for Col. George Wyndham (1787–1869). He was the eldest illegitimate son and adopted heir of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751–1837), by Elizabeth Ilive, his future wife, from whom he inherited Petworth House in Sussex, Egremont Castle and Cockermouth Castle in Cumbria and Leconfield Castle in Yorkshire, all formerly lands of Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670), inherited by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (1662–1748), on his marriage to the Percy heiress Elizabeth Percy (1667–1722) and inherited as one of the co-heirs of his son Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Egremont (1684–1750), by the latter's nephew Sir Charles Wyndham, 4th Baronet (1710–1763), of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, who inherited by special remainder the earldom of Egremont. The 1st Baron's eldest son, the second Baron, represented West Sussex in the House of Commons as a Conservative. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Baron, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Sussex from 1917 to 1949. The latter's nephew, the sixth Baron, served as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan from 1957 to 1963. In 1963, four years before he succeeded his father in the barony of Leconfield, the Egremont title held by his ancestors was revived when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Egremont, of Petworth in the County of Sussex. As of 2017 the titles are held by his son, the seventh Baron. Known as Max Egremont, he is a biographer and novelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petworth House</span> Country house in Petworth, West Sussex

Petworth House is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Salvin. It contains intricate wood-carvings by Grinling Gibbons. It is the manor house of the manor of Petworth. For centuries it was the southern home for the Percy family, earls of Northumberland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet</span> 18th-century English Jacobite politician

Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet, of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, was an English Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1710 to 1740. He served as Secretary at War in 1712 and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1713 during the reign of the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne (1702–1714). He was a Jacobite leader firmly opposed to the Hanoverian succession and was leader of the Tory opposition in the House of Commons during the reign of King George I (1714–1727) and during the early years of King George II (1727–1760).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Egremont</span> Earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain

Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron of Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles Wyndham, 4th Baronet, of Orchard Wyndham, and Percy Wyndham-O'Brien. The Duke had previously inherited the Percy estates, including the lands of Egremont in Cumberland, from his mother Lady Elizabeth Percy, daughter and heiress of Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland. In 1750 Sir Charles Wyndham succeeded according to the special remainder as second Earl of Egremont on the death of his uncle. His younger brother Percy Wyndham-O'Brien was created Earl of Thomond in 1756.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont</span> British peer, landowner and art collector

George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of EgremontFRS of Petworth House in Sussex and Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, was a British peer, a major landowner and a great art collector. He was interested in the latest scientific advances. He was an agriculturist and a friend of the agricultural writer Arthur Young, and was an enthusiastic canal builder who invested in many commercial ventures for the improvement of his estates. He played a limited role in politics.

Robert Samuel Woof was an English scholar, most famous for having been the first Director of the Wordsworth Trust, which looks after Dove Cottage and runs the tourist attraction now known as Wordsworth Grasmere in Grasmere, the Lake District, Cumbria. Dove Cottage is known as the centre for British Romanticism movement, having been the home of William Wordsworth from 1799 to 1808.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland</span> English peer (1644–1670)

JoscelinePercy, 11th Earl of Northumberland, 5th Baron Percy, of Alnwick Castle, Northumberland and Petworth House, Sussex, was an English peer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverton Park</span>

Silverton Park, also known locally as Egremont House, was a large neoclassical mansion in the parish of Silverton, Devon, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lost Leader (poem)</span> 1845 poem by Robert Browning

"The Lost Leader" is an 1845 poem by Robert Browning first published in his book Dramatic Romances and Lyrics. It berates William Wordsworth for what Browning considered his desertion of the liberal cause, and his lapse from his high idealism. More generally, it is an attack on any liberal leader who has deserted his cause. It is one of Browning's "best known, if not actually best, poems".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont</span> English nobleman (1768–1845)

George Francis Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont of Orchard Wyndham, Somerset and Silverton Park, Devon, was an English nobleman and naval officer.

Hannibal was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1804 Epsom Derby. Hannibal raced until he was four-years-old, winning only one race over his two-year racing career. His breeder, Lord Egremont, won the Derby five times and Hannibal's victory was his third time winning the event. Hannibal retired from racing in 1806 and had a limited stud career, covering few mares and standing for only the 1806 breeding season at Lord Egremont's stud in Petworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coultershaw Wharf and Beam Pump</span> Rural community in West Sussex, England

Coultershaw Bridge is a rural community situated 1.5 mi (2.4 km) south of the town Petworth in West Sussex, England where the A285 road from Petworth to Chichester crosses the River Rother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Ilive</span>

Elizabeth Ilive was an English polymath. She was the mistress and later wife of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont. She was the mother of eight of his children.

<i>The Allied Sovereigns at Petworth</i> 1817 painting by Thomas Phillips

The Allied Sovereigns at Petworth is an 1817 painting by the British artist Thomas Phillips. It depicts the gathering of several European leaders in the Marble Room at Petworth House in Sussex on 24 June 1814 during the Allied sovereigns' visit to England following the victory over Napoleon. Petworth's owner Lord Egremont is shown being presented by the Prince Regent to Alexander I, Tsar of Russia. Frederick William III of Prussia and other distinguished guests are also shown, and in the background on either side are paintings of Charles James Fox and William Pitt the Younger, long-standing political rivals.

<i>The Reform Banquet</i> 1834 painting by Benjamin Robert Haydon

The Reform Banquet is a history painting by the English artist Benjamin Robert Haydon. Completed and first exhibited in 1834 it represents a scene on 11 July 1832 when supporters of the recent Reform Act including the Prime Minister Earl Grey and other government ministers met for a celebratory dinner at the Guildhall in the City of London. Comparisons have been drawn between this work and George Hayter's The House of Commons, 1833 which were both large-scale depictions related to the recent Reform Act.

<i>Portrait of Henry Brougham</i> Painting by Thomas Lawrence

Portrait of Henry Brougham is an 1825 portrait painting by the English artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting the British politician and lawyer Henry Brougham.

References

  1. Brown, Woof & Hebron p.141
  2. O'Keeffe p 247
  3. O'Keeffe p.249
  4. O'Keefe p.249
  5. O'Keeffe p.254
  6. https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/485149

Bibliography