Richard James Wyatt (6 June 1795 (baptised) – May 1850) was a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He was the grandson of the architect

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

. Wyatt studied in

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, ...

under Canova, and was a fellow student of John Gibson (sculptor). He was a man of classical tastes, and produced a number of exquisitely modelled, especially female, figures.

Life

Wyatt was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of Edward Wyatt (1757–1833) and his wife, Anne Maddox. He was baptised at St James,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. He studied at the

Royal Academy Schools 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 ...

, where he gained two medals, and served his apprenticeship with John Charles Felix Rossi. In 1818 he exhibited 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 ...

a piece entitled the ''Judgment of Paris'', and in 1819 a monument to Lady Anne Hudson; other early memorial works by him are in Esher church and St. John's Wood chapel. When Canova visited this country Wyatt was brought under his notice by 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 received from him an invitation to Rome. He left England early in 1821, and, after studying for a few months in Paris under Bosio, proceeded to Rome, and entered the studio of Canova, where he had John Gibson (1790–1866) as a fellow pupil. Settling permanently in Rome, Wyatt practised his profession there with great enthusiasm and success, and from 1831 until his death was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy. Among his best works were ''Ino and the infant Bacchus'', ''Girl at the Bath'', ''Musidora'' (at Chatsworth), and ''Penelope'', ''The Huntress'', and ''Flora'' (all in the royal collection). Several of these have been engraved for ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

''. The ‘Penelope’ was a commission given by the queen to Wyatt at the time of his only visit to England in 1841. Wyatt was a highly accomplished artist, particularly excelling in his female figures, which in purity of form and beauty of line rivalled those of his master Canova. A woodcut portrait, from a drawing by S. Pearce, accompanies a memoir of him in ''The Art Journal'', published in 1850. Versions of his ''Ino and the infant Bacchus'' are at the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

, Cambridge and another formerly at County Hall Chester.

Personal

Wyatt was the son of Edward Wyatt (1757–1833), a well-known carver and gilder of Oxford Street, by his wife Anne Madox, and cousin of

Matthew Cotes Wyatt Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777 – 3 January 1862) was an English painter and sculptor and a member of the Wyatt family, who were well known in the Victorian era as architects and sculptors. Early life Wyatt was born in London, the son of the archit ...

, was born in Oxford Street, London, on 3 May 1795. His whole life was otherwise passed in Rome, where he died, unmarried, on 29 May 1850, and was buried in the

Protestant Cemetery, Rome The Non-Catholic Cemetery (), also referred to as the Protestant Cemetery () or the English Cemetery (), is a private cemetery in the Rioni of Rome, rione of Testaccio in Rome. It is near Porta San Paolo and adjacent to the Pyramid of Cestius, ...

. The monument was carved by his friend Benjamin Edward Spence.Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis p.362 Some of his works were shown at the London exhibition of 1851, and were awarded a gold medal.

References

* * *Art Journal, Aug. 1850. *Gent. Mag. 1850, ii. 99. *Redgrave's Dict. of Artists. *Royal Academy catalogues. ; Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Richard James 1795 births 1850 deaths English sculptors English male sculptors