Michael Angelo Rooker (1746 or 1743
– 3 March 1801) was an English oil and
watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
painter of architecture and landscapes, illustrator and
engraver. He was also the principal scene painter at the
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...
.
Life and work
Michael was the son of artist
Edward Rooker and Elizabeth Coatham and was taught engraving by his father and drawing by
Paul Sandby
Paul Sandby (1731 – 7 November 1809) was an English map-maker turned landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768.
Life and work
Sandby was ...
at the
St. Martin's Lane school in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and at the
Royal Academy Schools. It was Sandby who called him Michael "Angelo" Rooker in jest, but the name stuck.
In 1765 he exhibited some 'stained' drawings at the exhibition in Spring Gardens, London and in 1768 a print by him of the '
Villa Adriana
Hadrian's Villa ( it, Villa Adriana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large villa complex built c. AD 120 by Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli outside Rome. The site is owned by the Republic of ...
' (after
Richard Wilson), was published. In 1770 he was elected an
Associate of the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
. In 1772 he exhibited a painting of
Temple Bar, and he contributed some illustrations to an edition of Sterne, published that year. Most of the landscapes in Kearsley's ''Copperplate Magazine'' (1776–1777) were engraved by him, as well as a few plates in its successor, 'The Virtuosi's Museum', and he both drew and engraved the headings of the ''
Oxford Almanack'' for several years, for each of which he received 50 pounds.
For a long time he was chief scene-painter at the
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...
in London, and appeared in the playbills as Signer Rookerini; but a few years before his death he was discharged, in consequence, it is said, of his refusal to aid in paying the debts of Colman, the manager.
In 1788 he began to make autumnal tours in the country, to which we owe most of those drawings which entitle him to an honourable place among the founders of the watercolour school. They are chiefly of architectural remains in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...
, and other counties, which he drew well, and treated with taste and refinement. His figures and animals were artistically introduced.
Rooker became depressed after his discharge from the Haymarket Theatre, and died suddenly in his chair in
Dean Street
Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue.
Historical figures and places
In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a young boy, gave a recital at 21 Dean Street.
Admiral Nelson stayed ...
,
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was deve ...
, on 3 March 1801. His drawings were sold at Squib's auction room in
Savile Row
Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
in the following May, and realised £1,240.
Rooker was unmarried and lived his whole life in London. He exhibited one drawing at the
Society of Artists, and ninety-eight at the Royal Academy. He was admired by
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...
who learnt an aspect of painting technique called "colour scaling" by copying Rooker's "Gatehouse at Battle Abbey", and purchased over a dozen of Rooker's paintings after his death.
The Rooker family
References
Further reading
*Patrick Conner. ''Michael "Angelo" Rooker (British watercolours)'' (Tiger Books, illustrated ed. 1984).
*Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans. ''A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, Volume 13'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 1991) p88 ff.
External links
*
(ArtCyclopedia)
Artist of the Month
(Royal Academy Collections)
(handprint.com)
The interior of the Pantheon, Oxford Street with Mr Wilson's experiments with an electrical machine
(Watercolour - Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...
)
Haymaking near Pevensey Castle, Sussex
(Watercolour - Christie's)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooker, Michael Angelo
18th-century English painters
English male painters
English engravers
English watercolourists
English illustrators
Landscape artists
1743 births
1801 deaths
Associates of the Royal Academy
Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools
18th-century English male artists