John Francis Rigaud - George Robertson - Google Art Project

George Robertson (–1788) was an English

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

Life

George Robertson, born in London about 1748, was son of a wine merchant, and received his education from a Mr. Rolfe in Red Lion Street,

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

. He studied art at Shipley's school, and was noted there for his skill in drawing horses, for which he received a premium from the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

in 1761. He afterwards went to Italy, and studied in Rome. He was patronised by William Beckford of Somerley Hall, Suffolk, with whom Robertson went to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, where Beckford had a large property. Robertson drew several views of this property in Jamaica, which on his return were finely engraved by D. Lerpinière, T. Vivares, and J. Mason, and published by

John Boydell John Boydell ( ; – 12 December 1804) was an English publisher noted for his reproductions of engravings. He helped alter the trade imbalance between Britain and France in engravings and initiated an English tradition in the art form. A former ...

. He also exhibited views of Jamaica and other landscapes at the

Incorporated Society of Artists The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established P ...

' exhibitions, acting as vice-president of the society for some years. He obtained employment in London as a drawing-master, notably at a ladies' boarding school in Queen Square,

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

. He inherited a small fortune from an uncle and a house in

Newington Butts Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park ...

, where he died on 26 September 1788, aged about 40.Cust 1896, p. 407.

Appraisal

According to

Lionel Cust Sir Lionel Henry Cust (25 January 1859 – 12 October 1929) was a British art historian, courtier and museum director. He was director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1895 to 1909 and co-edited ''The Burlington Magazine'' from 1909 to 1919 ...

, Robertson's landscapes are theatrical in conception, but have peculiar merits. Many were engraved, including a series of views of the

iron works An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. Iron Works may also refer to: * Iron Works, a neighborhood in Brookfield, Connecticut * Clay City, Kentucky, known as Iron ...

Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a town in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called The Gorge, Shro ...

, by J. Fittler, Wilson Lowry, and F. Chesham, and two views of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

, one with the Royal Family on the terrace, by J. Fittler; all of these were published by Boydell. A series of scenes from James Thomson's ''Seasons'', drawn by Robertson in conjunction with Charles Reuben Ryley, were also engraved. Robertson seldom painted in oil, but in the hall of the Vintners' Company is a picture by him in oils of '' St. Martin dividing his Cloak''. He also etched a few landscapes.

Collections

Robertson's work is held in the following permanent collections: *

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, London *

Yale Center for British Art The Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in central New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare ...

, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Notes

References

* Bury, Stephen, ed. (2013)
"Robertson, George"
In '' Benezit Dictionary of British Graphic Artists and Illustrators''. Oxford University Press. * Cust, L. H.; Dias, Rosie (2004)
"Robertson, George (c. 1748–1788)"
In ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, George 1740s births 1788 deaths 18th-century English painters English landscape painters