Theodore Casimir Roussel (1847–1926) was a French-born English painter and graphic artist, best known for his landscapes and

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes.

Life and work

He came to painting late, in 1872, after his military service had ended, and he was entirely self-taught. His earliest works were scenes of daily life, rendered in the style of the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

.Brief biography
from the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

. In 1878, he moved to London and, two years later, married the widow Frances Amelia Smithson Bull (1844–1909), a distant collateral relative of

James Smithson James Smithson (c. 1765 – 27 June 1829) was a British chemist and mineralogist. He published numerous scientific papers for the Royal Society during the early 1800s as well as defining Calamine (mineral), calamine, which would eventually be ...

. In 1885, he met

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

, who became a lifelong friend and mentor. Two years later, he made a sensational début at an exhibition held by the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...

when he presented "The Reading Girl", a life-size nude. The public response was expressed by a reviewer from ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', who wrote: "...it is Realism of the worst kind: The eye of the artist sees only the vulgar appearance of his model, making it blunt and crude...". In career terms, however, the notoriety was more beneficial than otherwise. Later, Sir

William Orpen Major (United Kingdom), Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who mainly worked in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portrai ...

would declare it to be the best nude of the period. His model was Hetty Pettigrew (1867-1953). She and her sisters 872-1905nd 870-1920were popular and well-paid models who worked for Whistler,

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

and others.Jill Berk Jiminez, Joanna Banham, ''Dictionary of Artists' Models'', Taylor & Francis, 2001, pg.425, Hetty became Roussel's mistress and gave him a child but, when his wife died, he married

Arthur Melville Arthur Melville (1855–1904) was a Scottish painter of Orientalist subjects, among others. Early life and art education Arthur Melville was born in Loanhead-of-Guthrie, Forfarshire (now Angus, Scotland) on 10 April 1855. The family moved ...

's widow, Ethel, instead. Not long after the notorious exhibition, he acquired a home in

Parsons Green Parsons Green is a mainly residential district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The Parsons Green (The green), Green itself, which is roughly triangular, is bounded on two of its three sides by the New King's Road section of th ...

and spent most of his time painting atmospheric landscapes, usually featuring the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. At this time, he also learned the techniques of

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

and

drypoint Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or "matrix") with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically iden ...

from Whistler, and he is considered one of the pioneers of color etching in England. He often took part in the exhibitions of the "

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

" and the "

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

". In 1908, he was a founding member of the "

Allied Artists' Association The Allied Artists Association (AAA) was an art exhibiting society based in London in the early 20th century. History The Allied Artists Association was founded by Frank Rutter, an art critic of ''The Sunday Times'' newspaper, in 1908. Its pur ...

References

External links

Arcadja Auctions: More works by Roussel.Theodore Roussel
from "James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings" @ the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

website. *
Whistler and Roussel: Linked Visions
' exhibition catalogue from the Art Institute of Chicago
The Reading Girl painting analysis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roussel, Theodore 1847 births 1926 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters French emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century English painters People from Lorient British genre painters English landscape painters English etchers 20th-century British printmakers 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links