Sebastian Pether - River Scene - Google Art Project

Sebastian Pether (24 November 1793 – 14 March 1844) was an English landscape-painter who specialised in painting moonlight, sunset, and firelight. His father

Abraham Pether Abraham Pether (1756 – 13 April 1812) was an English landscape painter, recognised for his skill in depicting moonlit scenes. He was also a talented musician, inventor, mathematician and philosopher. Life and work Abraham was born in Chichest ...

and brother

Henry Pether Henry Pether (1800–1880) was an English landscape painter famous for his depiction of moonlit scenes of 19th century Britain, Paris, and Venice. His father Abraham and older brother Sebastian Pether also painted moonlit scenes. Together they w ...

also specialised in moonlit paintings, the three were known as the "Moonlight Pethers". Sebastian's work tended to have greenish tones. The bulk of his work was managed through art dealers who helped him sell his paintings, but resulted in little income to support his large family of eleven. Pether died at the age of 51, leaving his family reliant on subscriptions raised after his death.

Life

Sebastian William Thomas Pether was born on 24 November 1793 to

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant (biblical), special ...

and Elizabeth Pether and he was baptised at Saint Luke's Church in Chelsea, London on 31 August 1794. The eldest son, he was a pupil of his father, and followed him in subject matter, but led a beleaguered life. Pether married young and had a large family of nine children, and had few opportunities to create commissioned works and his works were not often exhibited, forcing him to work for dealers at low wages. He was well-educated, and even claimed to have first proposed the idea of a

stomach-pump Gastric lavage, also commonly called stomach pumping or gastric irrigation, is the process of cleaning out the contents of the stomach. Since its first recorded use in early 19th century, it has become one of the most routine means of eliminating p ...

to the surgeon Andrew Jukes. During the last years of his life he lost three children to consumption and after his death another to lockjaw; his eldest son William became a mosaic artist. Pether died at

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batte ...

of an inflammatory attack on 14 March 1844 at York Cottage, Battersea Fields, and a subscription was raised for his family. Charity was raised for his surviving daughter in a November 1876 issue of the London ''Times'', who was said to be destitute after ruining her eyesight working as a needlewoman.

Works

Pether's main works consisted in firelights, moonlights and sunsets. In 1814 Pether sent to the Royal Academy ''View from Chelsea Bridge of the Destruction of Drury Lane Theatre'', and in 1826 ''A Caravan overtaken by a Whirlwind'', a commission from

John Fleming Leicester John Leicester, 1st Baron de Tabley (4 April 1762 – 18 June 1827) was an English landowner, politician, amateur artist, and patron of the arts. Early life Born at Tabley House in Cheshire, 4 April 1762, he was the eldest son of Sir Peter Le ...

, who was his only patron. In the spring of 1842, three pictures which, with the help of a frame-maker, he sent to the Royal Academy, were rejected. Sebastian Pether's paintings are frequently incorrectly attributed to his brother

and vice versa. However, Henry generally signed his paintings and they were more realistic and refined.

Gallery

File:Sebastian Pether (1790-1844) - A River Landscape with a Castle at Sunrise - 719393 - National Trust.jpg, alt=, ''A River Landscape with a Castle at Sunrise'' File:Sebastian Pether (1790-1844) - A Ruined Gothic Church beside a River by Moonlight - 719389 - National Trust.jpg, alt=, ''A Ruined Gothic Church beside a River by Moonlight'' File:Sebastian Pether (1790-1844) - Moonlit Landscape with a Gothic Ruin - 1449048 - National Trust.jpg, alt=, ''Moonlit Landscape with a Gothic Ruin'' File:The Bay of Naples .jpg, alt=, ''The Bay of Naples''

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