Jonathan Richardson (12 January 1667 – 28 May 1745), sometimes called "the Elder" to distinguish him from his son (Jonathan Richardson the Younger), was an English artist, collector of drawings and writer on art, working almost entirely as a portrait-painter in London. He was considered by some art-critics as one of the three foremost painters of his time. He was the master of Thomas Hudson and George Knapton. Richardson was even more influential as a writer; he is credited with inspiring

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

to paint and theorise with his book ''An Essay on the Theory of Painting''.Jonathan Richardson
London – National Portrait Gallery, accessed January 2010 This book is credited with being "the first significant work of artistic theory in English."

Life

Richardson was born in the parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate in London on 12 January 1667 to William and Mary Richardson. In 1672 his father died and his mother married again. Richardson became a

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who, before the advent of compulsory education, could literacy, read and write or who wrote letters as well as court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying w ...

's apprentice, but he was released early when his master retired. Richardson was lucky enough to be taken on as a painting apprentice by John Riley. He learnt the art of portraiture from Riley whilst living at his master's house. Richardson's wife was Riley's niece. Richardson was even more influential as a writer than as a painter according to

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

. He is credited with inspiring

to paint and theorise with his 1715 book ''An Essay on the Theory of Painting''. In 1722, Richardson published with his son, also Jonathan (1694–1771), ''An Account of Some of the Statues, Bas-Reliefs, Drawings, and Pictures in Italy (1722)''. The book was compiled by Richardson the elder using material gathered by his son whilst touring Italy in 1720. This was a very popular book and was used by young men as a basis for their Grand Tour. It was said that the book became the basis for future purchases of art by wealthy collectors and therefore shaped English interest in foreign old masters.Jonathan Richardson
, Dictionary of Art Historians, accessed January 2009 It also provided an important model for Johann Joachim Winckelmann's ''History of Art'' (1764). Richardson and his son also co-authored their ''Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Milton's Paradise Lost'' (1734). These notes are, in part, a response to Richard Bentley's 1732 edition of ''Paradise Lost'', in which he frequently faults Milton's style or places exceptionable passages in square brackets, claiming they are the work of another hand. The Richardsons' responses to Bentley helped to lay the foundation for subsequent interpretation of the poem.

Legacy

Richardson was considered as one of the three foremost painters of his time with

Charles Jervas Charles Jervas (also Jarvis and Jervis; c. 1675 – 2 November 1739) was an Irish portrait painter, translator, and art collector of the early 18th century. Early life Born in Shinrone, County Offaly, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland around 1675, ...

and

Michael Dahl Michael Dahl ( 1659–1743) was a Swedish portrait painter who lived and worked in England most of his career and died there. He was one of the most internationally known Swedish painters of his time. He painted portraits of many aristocrats and ...

. He was also an excellent and prolific draughtsman, and made a number of chalk drawings of friends and family, often using

blue paper Blue paper (known in Italian as ''carta azzurra'', ''carta cerulea'', and ''carta turchina'') has often been used as a support for drawings and prints by artists. With its inherent middle tone, blue paper is a particularly effective material for ...

for them. Recent research has shed light also on his activity as a printmaker, once again mostly in the field of portraiture.Bryony Bartlett-Rawlings, "Jonathan Richardson (1667–1745) as Etcher", Print Quarterly, XXXV, no.4, December 2018, pp.392–406 http://www.printquarterly.com/8-contents/66-contents-2018.html He was the master of Thomas Hudson and George Knapton. He painted, drew and etched many

self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

s, which are highly regarded today. Richardson has over 120 paintings in public ownership in the United Kingdom. When the elder Richardson died in

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 ...

on 28 May 1745 he left four daughters, one of whom married Thomas Hudson the painter, Jonathon Richardson, Dictionary of National Biography, accessed January 2010 who had previously been Richardson's pupil. He was also survived by his son, Jonathan Richardson the Younger (1694–1771), who was brought up as a gentleman; he dabbled in painting and

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

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

stated that he "painted a little" but whatever works he created are now lost. He left a large and valuable collection of 4,749

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

drawings which were auctioned by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

over eighteen days. Another large collection of painting, prints, drawings, etc. (1241 lots in all) was auctioned by Christopher Cock over eighteen evenings from 22 January to 11 February 1747. Today a drawing that still bears Richardson's collector's mark gains substantially in value. Richardson has been described as one of the "greatest collectors of drawings of all time."; Frits Lugt, ''Les marques de collections de dessins & d'estampes'', 1921 & 1956, nos L.2183 and L.218
Lugt online
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Works

Fisher Harding Master Shipwright with the launch of the Royal Sovereign 1701 by Jonathan Richardson

*''An Essay on the Theory of Painting'' (1715) *''An Essay on the Whole Art of Criticism as it Relates to Painting and an Argument in Behalf of the Science of a Connoisseur'' (1719) *''An Account of Some of the Statues, Bas-Reliefs, Drawings, and Pictures in Italy (1722)'' *''Explanatory notes and remarks on Milton's Paradise lost'' By J. Richardson, father and son. With the life of the author, and a discourse on the poem.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Jonathan 1667 births 1745 deaths 17th-century English painters English male painters 18th-century English painters 18th-century English male artists English portrait painters English art collectors Painters from London People from the City of London