The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of

noblemen Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

s that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style.

History

Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is believed to have been established as a gentlemen's club in 1734 by a group of people who had been on the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

. Records of the earliest meeting of the society were written somewhat informally on loose pieces of paper. The first entry in the first minute book of the society is dated 5 April 1736. In 1743,

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twi ...

condemned its affectations and described it as "... a club, for which the nominal qualification is having been in Italy, and the real one, being drunk: the two chiefs are Lord Middlesex and Sir

Francis Dashwood Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer, PC, FRS (December 1708 – 11 December 1781) was an English politician and rake, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club. Life and career Early life Dashwood wa ...

, who were seldom sober the whole time they were in Italy." The group, initially led by Francis Dashwood, contained several

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

s and was later joined by

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

Uvedale Price Sir Uvedale Price, 1st Baronet (baptised 14 April 1747 – 14 September 1829), author of the ''Essay on the Picturesque, As Compared with the Sublime and The Beautiful'' (1794), was a Herefordshire landowner who was at the heart of the ' Picturesq ...

, and

Richard Payne Knight Richard Payne Knight (11 February 1751 – 23 April 1824) of Downton Castle in Herefordshire, and of 5 Soho Square,History of Parliament biography London, England, was a classical scholar, connoisseur, archaeologist and numismatist best ...

, among others. It was closely associated with

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

, one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs. The society quickly became wealthy, through a system in which members made contributions to various funds to support building schemes and archaeological expeditions. The first artist associated with the group was

George Knapton George Knapton (1698–1778) was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765 to 1778. Life and work Knapton was born in Chri ...

. The Society of Dilettanti aimed to correct and purify the public taste of the country; from the 1740s, it began to support

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...

. A few years before Joshua Reynolds became a member, the group worked towards the objective of forming a public academy, and from the 1750s, it was the prime mover in establishing the

Royal Academy of Arts 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 pur ...

. In 1775, the club had accumulated enough money towards a scholarship fund for the purpose of supporting a student's travel to Rome and Greece, or for

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

expeditions such as that of Richard Chandler,

William Pars William Pars (28 February 1742 – 1782) was an English watercolour portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and illustrator. Life and works Pars was born in London, the son of a metal engraver. He studied at "Shipley's Drawing Schoo ...

, and

Nicholas Revett Nicholas Revett (1720–1804) was a British architect. Revett is best known for his work with James "Athenian" Stuart documenting the ruins of ancient Athens. He is sometimes described as an amateur architect, but he played an important role in t ...

, the results of which they published in ''

Ionian Antiquities Ionic or Ionian may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ionic meter, a poetic metre in ancient Greek and Latin poetry * Ionian mode, a musical mode or a diatonic scale Places and peoples * Ionian, of or from Ionia, an ancient region in western ...

'', a major influence on

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...

in Britain. Among the publications published at the expense of the society was ''The bronzes of

Siris Siris may refer to: Geography * Siris (Magna Graecia), an ancient city in southern Italy *Serres, a city in Macedonia called Siris by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus * Siris, Sardinia, an Italian commune * Sinni (river) (Siris in Latin), Ital ...

'' (London, 1836) by Danish archaeologist Peter Oluf Bronsted.

Membership

The society has 60 members, elected by secret ballot. An induction ceremony is held at

, an exclusive London gentleman's club. It makes annual donations to the British Schools in Rome and Athens, and a separate fund set up in 1984 provides financial assistance for visits to classical sites and museums.

Notable members

* Thomas Anson (founder member) *Right Honourable Sir

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

* George Beaumont *Rev.

Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (1730–1799) was an English book and old master print collector, and a major benefactor of the British Museum. Life His father, Colonel Mordaunt Cracherode, later a general, had command of the marines in George Ans ...

Anthony Morris Storer Anthony Morris Storer (1746–1799) was an English man of fashion, politician and collector. Life Born on 12 March 1746, Anthony Morris Storer was elder son of Thomas Storer of Westmoreland, Jamaica (d. Golden Square, London, on 21 July 1793, a ...

, Esq.Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 22 Page 1243 * Charles Crowle, Esq. * Henry Dawkins of Standlynch Hall, Wiltshire *

Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer, PC, FRS (December 1708 – 11 December 1781) was an English politician and rake, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club. Life and career Early life Dashwood wa ...

(founder member) * Lord Dundas *Sir Henry Englefield *

Stephen Payne-Gallwey Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, Esq. *

* Major General Claude Martin * Sir James Gray, 2nd Baronet (founder member) * Sir George Gray, 3rd Baronet (founder member) *The Honourable

Charles Francis Greville Charles Francis Greville PC FRS FRSE FLS FSA (12 May 1749 – 23 April 1809) was a British antiquarian, collector and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1790. Early life Greville was the second son of Francis Greville ...

*Sir

William Hamilton (diplomat) Sir William Hamilton, (13 December 1730 – 6 April 1803), was a British diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 ...

* Thomas Hope *

Philip Metcalfe Philip Metcalfe, , (29 August 1733 – 26 August 1818), was an English Tory politician, a malt distiller and a philanthropist. The Metcalfe family were from Yorkshire of the Catholic faith and Royalists during the Civil war. Family and early ...

(from 1786) *

(from 1781) *

Duke of Leeds Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded as ...

* Constantin John Lord Murlgrave *

*Sir

(from 1766) * Lord Seaforth * John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer * Spencer Stanhope, Esq. *

Sir John Taylor, 1st Baronet Sir John Taylor, 1st Baronet FRS (1745 – 8 May 1786) was a Jamaican-born planter who was a fellow of the Royal Society and was created a baronet of Lysson Hall in Jamaica. He lived in London but he died in Jamaica. Background Taylor was bor ...

* Richard Thompson, Esq. * Sir Anthony R. Wagner,

Garter Principal King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. T ...

* William Wilkins *

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet (23 September 1749 – 24 July 1789) was a Wales, Welsh landowner, politician and patron of the arts. The Williams-Wynn baronets had been begun in 1688 by the politician Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of ...

* Charles Williams-Wynn (the elder) *Sir Charles Williams-Wynn (the younger) *

Charles Towneley Charles Townley FRS (1 October 1737 – 3 January 1805) was a wealthy English country gentleman, antiquary and collector, a member of the Towneley family. He travelled on three Grand Tours to Italy, buying antique sculpture, vases, coins, manu ...

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...

and collector

References and sources

;References ;Sources *''The Penguin Dictionary of British and Irish History'', editor: Juliet Gardiner * *This article incorporates text from:
The Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds
', Volume 2, James Northcote, 1819 *''Members of the Society of Dilettanti, 1736–1874, edited by Sir William Frazer''. Chiswick Press.

External links

Bryn Mawr Classical Review ''Bryn Mawr Classical Review'' (''BMCR'') is an open access journal founded in 1990. It publishes reviews of current scholarly work in the field of classical studies including classical archaeology.Antiquities of Ionia (Part 1 of 3)
Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room, William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, University of Houston Digital Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Society of Dilettanti Cultural organisations based in London 1734 establishments in England Organizations established in 1734 Dining clubs

History

Membership

Notable members

References and sources

Further reading

External links