Henry Tresham RA (c.1751 – 17 June 1814) was an Irish-born British historical painter active in London in the late 18th century. He spent some time in Rome early in his career, and was professor of painting at the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 1807 to 1809.
Henry Tresham was born in about 1751. He received his first art instruction from W. Ennis, a pupil of Robert West at the Dublin Art School.
He moved to England in 1775, but spent most of the next fourteen years in Rome. [1] There he became a friend of the British painter, Thomas Jones and the artist and dealer, Gavin Hamilton. Like many other artists in Rome he also acted as a dealer, working with Gavin Hamilton and Thomas Jenkins, and negotiating sales of antiquities to Frederick Hervey and John Campbell. He also acted as an intermediary between Campbell and the sculptor, Antonio Canova: a pastel by Hugh Douglas Hamilton of Antonio Canova in his studio with Henry Tresham and a plaster model for Cupid and Psyche, showing a work commissioned by Campbell, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. [2] [3]
Tresham returned to Britain in 1788. His reputation was gained primarily through large-scale history paintings, somewhat similar in style to those of Henry Fuseli. These were based on his travels to Rome.[ citation needed ]
In 1791 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy, [1] and became a full Academician in 1799. Soon afterwards he was at the centre of a dispute over the running of the institution, having complained to the king that the law in the "Instrument of Institution" – its founding constitution – under which all its members were supposed to serve on its council in turn, was being ignored, and the vacancies balloted for instead. His appeal to the monarch was ultimately successful, and the practice of the rotation of the council members reinstated. [4]
He was professor of painting at the Academy from 1807 to 1809. He was involved in several of the major history painting ventures of late 18th-century London, including Robert Bowyer's History Gallery, the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery and Thomas Macklin's Holy Bible.[ citation needed ]
He died in 1814.[ citation needed ]
Antonio Canova was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists, his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the classical revival, and has been characterised as having avoided the melodramatics of the former, and the cold artificiality of the latter.
Psyche is the Greek term for "soul".
Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor and medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a working-class Danish/Icelandic family, and was accepted to the Royal Danish Academy of Art at the age of eleven. Working part-time with his father, who was a wood carver, Thorvaldsen won many honors and medals at the academy. He was awarded a stipend to travel to Rome and continue his education.
Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann, usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, Kauffman was a skilled portraitist, landscape and decoration painter. She was, along with Mary Moser, one of two female painters among the founding members of the Royal Academy in London in 1768.
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly in London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the fine arts through exhibitions, education and debate.
Henry Fuseli was a Swiss painter, draughtsman, and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain.
Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable works include the statues of King George IV ; King George III (Guildhall), and George Washington. He also executed four monuments to military heroes for St Paul's Cathedral, London. He left the Chantrey Bequest for the purchase of works of art for the nation, which was available from 1878 after the death of his widow.
John William Waterhouse was an English painter known for working first in the Academic style and for then embracing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. His paintings are known for their depictions of women from both ancient Greek mythology and Arthurian legend. A high proportion depict a single young and beautiful woman in a historical costume and setting, though there are some ventures into Orientalist painting and genre painting, still mostly featuring women.
John Gibson was a Welsh neoclassical sculptor who studied in Rome under Canova. He excelled chiefly in bas-relief, notably the two life-size works The Hours Leading the Horses of the Sun and Phaethon Driving the Chariot of the Sun, but was also proficient in monumental and portrait statuary. He is famous for his statues of Sir Robert Peel, William Huskisson and Queen Victoria. Gibson was elected a Royal Academician in 1836, and left the contents of his studio to the Royal Academy, where many of his marbles and casts are currently on display.
Antonio Canova's statue The Three Graces is a Neoclassical sculpture, in marble, of the mythological three Charites, daughters of Zeus – identified on some engravings of the statue as, from left to right, Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia – who were said to represent mirth (Euphrosyne), elegance (Aglaea), and youth/beauty (Thalia).
Gavin Hamilton was a Scottish neoclassical history painter, who is more widely remembered for his searches for antiquities in the neighbourhood of Rome. These roles in combination made him an arbiter of neoclassical taste.
John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor, FRS, FSA was a British politician and military officer who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1777 to 1796.
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss is a sculpture by Italian artist Antonio Canova first commissioned in 1787 by Colonel John Campbell. It is regarded as a masterpiece of Neoclassical sculpture, but shows the mythological lovers at a moment of great emotion, characteristic of the emerging movement of Romanticism. It represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness, immediately after awakening the lifeless Psyche with a kiss. The story of Cupid and Psyche is taken from Lucius Apuleius' Latin novel The Golden Ass, and was popular in art.
Biagio Rebecca (1731–1808) was an Italian artist, active mainly as a decorative painter in England.
Gaspare Landi was an Italian painter of the Neoclassic period, active in Rome and his native city of Piacenza.
John Deare was a British neo-classical sculptor. His nephew Joseph (1803–1835) was also a sculptor.
Henry Blundell was an English art collector, who amassed a large collection of art and antiquities at Ince Blundell Hall in Lancashire.
George Carter (1737–1794) was an English artist who described himself as a "historical portrait painter". He visited Italy in the company of John Singleton Copley, who had a significant influence on his work, and spent some time in India.
The Palazzo Bolognetti-Torlonia, today demolished, was a palace located in Piazza Venezia, Rome, Italy.
In the art world, if an artwork exists in several versions, the one known or believed to be the earliest is called the prime version. Many artworks produced in media such as painting or carved sculpture which create unique objects are in fact repeated by their artists, often several times. It is regarded as a matter of some importance both by art historians and the art market to establish which version has "priority", that is to say was the original work. The presumption usually is that the prime version is the finest, and perhaps the most carefully done, though some later versions can be argued to improve on the originals.
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