Richard Bonington
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Richard Parkes Bonington (25 October 1802 – 23 September 1828) was an English Romantic
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...
painter. He moved to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
at the age of 14 and can also be considered as a French artist, and an intermediary bringing aspects of English style to France. Becoming, after his early death, one of the most influential British artists of his time, the facility of his style was inspired by the old masters, yet was entirely modern in its application. His landscapes were mostly of coastal scenes, with a low horizon and large sky, showing a brilliant handling of light and atmosphere. He also painted small historical
cabinet painting A cabinet painting (or cabinet picture) is a small painting, typically no larger than in either dimension, but often much smaller. The term is especially used for paintings that show full-length figures or landscapes at a small scale, rather th ...
s in a freely-handled version of the
troubadour style Taking its name from medieval troubadours, the Troubadour Style () is a rather derisive term, in English usually applied to French historical painting of the early 19th century with idealised depictions of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In ...
.


Life and work

Richard Parkes Bonington was born in the town of Arnold, four miles from
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
."Arnold" in ''
Chambers's Encyclopædia ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' was founded in 1859Chambers, W. & R"Concluding Notice"in ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1868, Vol. 10, pp. v–viii. by William and Robert Chambers of Edinburgh and became one of the most ...
''. London:
George Newnes Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newne ...
, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 633.
His father also known as Richard was successively a gaoler, a drawing master and lace-maker, and his mother a teacher. Bonington learned watercolour painting from his father and exhibited paintings at the Liverpool Academy at the age of eleven. In 1817, Bonington's family moved to
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
, France, where his father had set up a lace factory. At this time, Bonington started taking lessons from the painter
François Louis Thomas Francia François Louis Thomas Francia (1772–1839) was a French watercolour painter born in Calais and famous for his shore landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or h ...
,Ingamells, 19 who, having recently returned from England, where he had been deeply influenced by the work of
Thomas Girtin Thomas Girtin (18 February 17759 November 1802) was an England, English watercolour, watercolourist and etcher. A friend and rival of J. M. W. Turner, Girtin played a key role in establishing watercolour as a reputable art form. Life Thomas G ...
, taught him the English watercolour technique. In 1818, the Bonington family moved to Paris to open a lace shop. There he met and became friends with
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 â€“ 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
. He worked for a time producing copies of Dutch and Flemish landscapes 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 ...
. In 1820, he started attending the
École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...
in Paris, where he studied under
Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was granted the title of Baron Gros in 1824. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the ...
. It was around this time that Bonington started going on sketching tours in the suburbs of Paris and the surrounding countryside. His first paintings were exhibited at the
Paris Salon of 1822 The Salon of 1822 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris, opening on 24 April 1822. The Salon took place every two or three years at the time and featured paintings and sculpture. One of the most notable works to be displayed was '' The ...
. He also began to work in oils and lithography, illustrating Baron Taylor's ''Voyages pittoresques dans l'ancienne France'' and his own architectural series ''Restes et Fragmens''. In 1824, he won a gold medal at the
Paris Salon of 1824 The Salon of 1824 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris between 25 August 1824 and 15 January 1825. It took place during the Second Bourbon Restoration, Restoration Era that followed the downfall of Napoleon's First French Empire, Fre ...
along with
John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...
and
Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding (22 November 1787 – 3 March 1855), commonly called Copley Fielding, was an English painter born in Sowerby, near Halifax, and famous for his watercolour landscapes. At an early age Fielding became a pup ...
, and spent most of the year painting coastal views in
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. In 1825 he met Delacroix on a visit with
Alexandre-Marie Colin Alexandre-Marie Colin (5 December 1798 – 21 November 1875) was a French painter of History painting, historical and Genre works, genre subjects. Biography Colin was born in Paris in 1798. He was a pupil of Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioso ...
to London, and they sketched together there, and shared a studio for some months in Paris on their return; Delacroix influenced him in turning to historical painting. He also developed a technique mixing watercolour with
gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...
and gum, achieving an effect close to oil painting. His '' French Coast with Fisherman'' was one of the works he exhibited at the
British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...
in February 1826 which established his reputation in his native England where he had previously been largely unknown. In 1826 he visited northern Italy,Ingamells, 19-20 staying in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
for a month,Binyon, pp. 169 and London again in 1827–8. In late 1828 his
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
worsened and his parents sent him back to London for treatment. Bonington died of tuberculosis on 23 September 1828 at 29 Tottenham Street in London, aged 25. He was buried in the graveyard of St James's Chapel Pentonville and in 1837 his remains were transferred to Kensal Green Cemetery to be re-interred with his parents.


Reputation

Delacroix paid tribute to Bonington's work in a letter to
Théophile Thoré Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (''theós'', "God") and φιλία (''philía'', "love or affection") can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend ...
in 1861. It reads, in part:
When I met him for the first time, I too was very young and was making studies in the Louvre: this was around 1816 or 1817... Already in this genre (watercolor), which was an English novelty at that time, he had an astonishing ability... To my mind, one can find in other modern artists qualities of strength and of precision in rendering that are superior to those in Bonington's pictures, but no one in this modern school, and perhaps even before, has possessed that lightness of touch which, especially in watercolours, makes his works a type of diamond which flatters and ravishes the eye, independently of any subject and any imitation.
To
Laurence Binyon Robert Laurence Binyon, Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. Born in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, England, his parents were Frederick Binyon, ...
however, "Bonington's extraordinary technical gift was also his enemy. There is none of the interest of struggle in his painting." Beyond his watercolors, Bonington is known for his drawings with
graphite pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...
, particularly his elaborate
cityscapes In the visual arts, a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban equivalent of a landscape. ''Townscape'' is ...
. Bonington had a number of close followers, such as Roqueplan and Isabey in France, and Thomas Shotter Boys, James Holland, Edward Pritchett, William Callow and
John Scarlett Davis John Scarlett Davis (1 September 1804 – 29 September 1845), or Davies, was an English landscape painting, landscape, portrait painting, portrait and architectural painter, and lithographer.Tony Hobbs, ''John Scarlett Davis: A Biography'', ...
in England. In addition, there were many copies and forgeries of his work made in the period immediately after his death. A statue to him was erected outside the Nottingham School of Art by Watson Fothergill, and a theatre and primary school in his home town of Arnold are named after him. In addition, the house in which he was born (79 High Street, Arnold) is now named 'Bonington House' and is Grade II listed. The
Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...
has an especially large group of 35 works, representing both his landscapes and
history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...
s.


Gallery

Image:Richard Parkes Bonington 005.jpg, ''
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
'', c. 1823 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - Fishmarket - Google Art Project.jpg, ''
A Fishmarket near Boulogne ''A Fishmarket near Boulogne'' is an 1824 landscape painting by the British artist Richard Parkes Bonington. Born in England, he moved with his family to France shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. He became celebrated for his views of th ...
'', 1824 File:A Distant View of St-Omer.png, '' A Distant View of St-Omer'', 1824 File:Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) - French Coast with Fishermen - T11900 - Tate.jpg, '' French Coast with Fisherman'', 1824 File:Ruins of the Abbey Saint Bertin.png, '' Ruins of the Abbey Saint Bertin'', 1824 File:Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) - On the Seine near Mantes - P339 - The Wallace Collection.jpg, '' On the Seine near Mantes'', 1825 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - Rouen - WGA02431.jpg, ''
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
'', 1825 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - Beached Vessels and a Wagon, near Trouville, France - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Beached Vessels and a Wagon, near Trouville'', 1825 File:The Château of the Duchess of Berry.jpg, '' The Château of the Duchess of Berry'', 1825 File:Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) - The Pont des Arts, Paris - N06326 - National Gallery.jpg, '' The Pont des Arts, Paris'', 1826 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - On the Adriatic - WGA2427.jpg, '' On the Adriatic'', 1826 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - The Doge's Palace, Venice - 1985.56 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, ''The Doge's Palace, Venice'', 1826 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - View on the Grounds of a Villa near Florence - 2005.291 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, ''View on the Grounds of a Villa near Florence'', 1826 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - On the Coast of Picardy - WGA02430.jpg, ''On the Coast of Picardy'', 1826 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - Barges on a River - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Barges on a River'', 1826 File:Richard Parkes Bonington Venice Grand Canal.jpg, ''Venice, Grand Canal'', 1826 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - The Giudecca in Venice 90 bonington 2762.jpg, ''The Giudecca in Venice'', 1826 Image:Richard Parkes Bonington 001.jpg, ''View of the Lagoon Near Venice'', 1827.
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 ...
File:Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) - View of the Piazzetta near the Square of St Mark, Venice - N00374 - National Gallery.jpg, ''View of the Piazzetta near the Square of St Mark, Venice'', 1827 File:Charles V visits François Ier after the Battle of Pavia.jpg, ''
Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...
visits Francis I after the
Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg Empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, Holy Roman Empero ...
'', c. 1827 File:Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) - Henri IV and the Spanish Ambassador - P351 - The Wallace Collection.jpg, ''Henry IV and the Spanish Ambassador'', 1827 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - Henri III - WGA02429.jpg, ''Henri III'', 1828 File:Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) - Venice, Ducal Palace with a Religious Procession - N05789 - National Gallery.jpg, '' Venice, Ducal Palace with a Religious Procession'', 1828 File:Quentin Durward at Liège.png, ''
Quentin Durward at Liège ''Quentin Durward at Liège'' is an 1828 oil painting by the British-French artist Richard Parkes Bonington. It depicts an episode from the novel ''Quentin Durward'' by Walter Scott set during the Wars of Liège in the fifteenth century. Translat ...
'', 1828 File:Richard Parkes Bonington - Corso Sant'Anastasia, Verona - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Corso Sant'Anastasia, Verona'', 1828


References and sources


References


Sources

* *Cambridge, M (2002). ''Richard Parkes Bonington: Young and Romantic.'' Nottingham: Nottingham Castle (Catalogue of exhibition at
Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Normans, Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortr ...
Museum in 2002; contains an account of the life and works that includes many references.) *Ingamells, John, ''The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Pictures, Vol I, British, German, Italian, Spanish'', Wallace Collection, 1985, * Noon, Patrick & Bann, Stephen. ''Constable to Delacroix: British Art and the French Romantics''. Tate, 2003. *


Further reading

*Noon, P (2009). ''Richard Parkes Bonington : the complete paintings.'' New Haven, Yale University Press.


See also

*
List of Orientalist artists This is an incomplete list of artists who have produced works on Orientalism#Orientalist art, Orientalist subjects, drawn from the Islamic world or other parts of Asia. Many artists listed on this page worked in many genres, and Orientalist subj ...
*
Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...


External links

*
Handprint.com – Biography by Bruce MacEvoy.
Retrieved 17 November 2004.
Works by Bonington
in 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 ...

Works by Bonington in the Wallace Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonington, Richard Parkes 1802 births 1828 deaths 19th-century English painters 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Artists from Nottingham Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English male painters English romantic painters English watercolourists Tuberculosis deaths in England English landscape artists Orientalism Orientalist painters People from Arnold, Nottinghamshire Pupils of Antoine-Jean Gros