Sir Charles Lock Eastlake (17 November 1793 – 24 December 1865) was a British

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, gallery director, collector and writer of the 19th century. After a period as keeper, he was the first director of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

. From 1850 to 1865 he served as President of the Royal Academy, succeeding

Martin Archer Shee Sir Martin Archer Shee (23 December 1769 – 13 August 1850) was an Irish portrait painter. He also served as the president of the Royal Academy. Early life He was born in Dublin, of an old Irish Roman Catholic family, the son of Martin Shee ...

in the role.

Life

Eastlake was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, the fourth son of an Admiralty lawyer. He was educated at local grammar schools in Plymouth, including Plymouth Grammar School, and, briefly, at Charterhouse (then still in London). He was committed to becoming a painter, and in 1809 he became the first pupil of Benjamin Haydon and a student at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

schools in London—where he later exhibited. However, his first exhibited work was shown at the British Institution in 1815, a year in which he also visited Paris and studied works in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

(then known as the Musée Napoléon). His first notable success was a painting '' Napoleon on the Bellerophon'' (1815; National Maritime Museum, London). Like many other people at the time, Eastlake had hired a boat to take him to the ship on which Napoleon was held in Plymouth harbour. He sketched him from the boat. In 1816, he travelled to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where he painted members of the British elite staying in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

including fellow artists Sir

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

and J. M. W. Turner. He also travelled to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Despite being based predominantly in mainland Europe, Eastlake regularly sent works back to London to be exhibited, and in 1827 he was elected a member of the Royal Academy. Three years later, he returned to England permanently where he continued to paint historic and biblical paintings set in

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

landscapes. While he had been abroad his 1827 painting '' Lord Byron's Dream'' was exhibited at the 1829 Royal Academy summer exhibition. CharlesLockEastlakeKensalGreen01

As an art historian, he translated

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's ''Zur Farbenlehre'' (

Theory of Colours ''Theory of Colours'' () is a book by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about the poet's views on the nature of colours and how they are perceived by humans. It was published in German in 1810 and in English in 1840. The book contains detailed descri ...

, 1840). He edited with extensive and valuable notes the 'Handbuch der Geschichte der Malerei'' (Handbook of the History of Painting) ''by Franz Kugler, which in its first English version was translated by 'A Lady', Mrs. Margaret Hutton. These publications and Eastlake's reputation as an artist led to his nomination in 1841 to become secretary of the Fine Arts Commission, the body in charge of government art patronage. He set up home in

Fitzroy Square Fitzroy Square is a Georgian architecture, Georgian garden square, square in London, England. It is the only one in the central London area known as Fitzrovia. The square is one of the area's main features, this once led to the surrounding di ...

. In his On Vision and Colours, § 14, Schopenhauer praised Eastlake's translation of Goethe. Having already advised the National Gallery, London on acquisitions, he was appointed the Gallery's second Keeper in 1843, a post he later resigned "in consequence of an unfortunate purchase that roused much animadversion, a portrait erroneously ascribed to Holbein". In 1855 he returned as the first director, "with more extended powers". In 1849, he married Elizabeth Rigby, an art historian and translator of German art histories. Together they formed a formidable art history writing partnership. In 1845, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary Academician. From 1850 to 1865, he was the second president of the Birmingham Society of Artists. Elected president of the Royal Academy and knighted in 1850, he became a notable figure in the British art establishment. He was appointed the first president of the Photographic Society in 1853 and the first director of the National Gallery in 1855. In 1864, the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

awarded him an honorary degree.

Legacy

On 24 December 1865, Eastlake died in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, Italy. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London. His will provided for the Gallery to purchase his collection of paintings. Lady Eastlake sold her husband's art history book collection to the Gallery's library.

Popular culture

In the film '' Effie Gray'' (2014), he is portrayed by James Fox.

Gallery

File:Eastlake - Napoleon on the Bellerophon.jpg, '' Napoleon on the Bellerophon'', 1815 File:A View of the Erechtheum on the Acropolis, Athens, by Charles Lock Eastlake, 1818, oil on paper on canvas - Middlebury College Museum of Art - Middlebury, VT - DSC08177.jpg, ''A View of the Erechtheum on the Acropolis, Athens'', 1818 File:The Erechtheum, Athens.png, '' The Erechtheum, Athens'', 1821 File:Charles Lock Eastlake - A View of Trajan's Forum, Rome - Google Art Project.jpg, '' A View of Trajan's Forum, Rome'', 1821 File:Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865) - The Colosseum from the Esquiline - T00664 - Tate.jpg, ''The Colosseum from the Esquiline'', 1822 File:Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865) - The Colosseum from the Campo Vaccino - T00665 - Tate.jpg, '' The Colosseum from the Campo Vaccino'', 1822 File:Charles Lock Eastlake - The Celian Hill from the Palatine - 56.099 - Rhode Island School of Design Museum.jpg, '' The Celian Hill from the Palatine'', 1823 File:The Champion - Charles Lock Eastlake - Google Cultural Institute.jpg, ''The Champion'', 1824 File:Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865) - Lord Byron's 'Dream' - N00898 - National Gallery.jpg, '' Lord Byron's Dream'', 1827 File:Pilgrims arriving in sight of Rome (1827), by Charles Lock Eastlake.jpg, ''Pilgrims arriving in sight of Rome'', 1827 File:Charles Lock Eastlake - Christ Blessing Little Children.jpg, ''

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

Blessing Little Children'', 1839 File:Sir Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865) - Zia Theresa, The visit to the nun - RCIN 405854 - Royal Collection.jpg, ''Zia Theresa: The Visit to the Nun'', 1844 File:Eastlake.jpg, ''Christ Lamenting over Jerusalem'', 1846, one of Eastlake's most popular biblical paintings.

Publications

*''Materials for a History of Oil Painting'' (1847). A second volume was published posthumously in 1869. *''Contributions to the Literature of the Fine Arts'' (1848).

References

;Attribution *; Endnotes: **Memoir by Lady Eastlake prefixed to the second series of ''Contributions to the Literature of the Fine Arts'' **Pictures by Sir Charles Eastlake **Haydon's Autobiography **Catalogue of the National Gallery (Wornum), and books mentioned in the text. *

External links

* * * * * * , an engraving of the painting in Friendship's Offering, 1827, with the poem The Brigand Leader and his Wife by

Felicia Hemans Felicia Dorothea Hemans (25 September 1793 – 16 May 1835) was an English poet (who identified as Welsh by adoption). Regarded as the leading female poet of her day, Hemans was immensely popular during her lifetime in both England and the Unit ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eastlake, Charles Lock 1793 births 1865 deaths Artists from Plymouth, Devon People educated at Charterhouse School English curators 19th-century English painters English male painters English art historians Directors of the National Gallery, London English translators Royal Academicians Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal Society Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Members and Associates of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 19th-century British translators 19th-century British male artists Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 19th-century British businesspeople People educated at Plymouth Grammar School Writers from Plymouth, Devon Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge