Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. His best-known work is the lion sculptures at the base of

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whi ...

in Trafalgar Square.

Life

Landseer was born in London, the son of the engraver John Landseer A.R.A. and Jane Potts. He was something of a prodigy whose artistic talents were recognised early on. He studied under several artists, including his father, and the

history painter 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 mythology, Greek and Roman my ...

Benjamin Robert Haydon Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactle ...

, who encouraged the young Landseer to perform

dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...

s in order to fully understand animal musculature and skeletal structure. Landseer's life was entwined with 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 ...

. At the age of just 13, in 1815, he exhibited works there as an “Honorary Exhibitor”. He was elected an Associate at the minimum age of 24, and an Academician five years later in 1831. He was an acquaintance of Charles Robert Leslie, who described him as "a curly-headed youngster, dividing his time between Polito's wild beasts at

Exeter Change The Exeter Exchange (signed and popularly known as Exeter Change) was a building on the north side of the Strand, London, Strand in London, with an arcade (architecture), arcade extending partway across the carriageway. It is most famous for the ...

and the Royal Academy Schools." They also visited Scotland together in 1824, which had a great effect upon Landseer. In 1823 Landseer was commissioned to paint a portrait of Georgiana Russell, Duchess of Bedford. Despite her being twenty years older than he was, they began an affair. He was knighted in 1850, and although elected to be President of the Royal Academy in 1866 he declined the invitation and the position went to Francis Grant. In his late thirties Landseer suffered what is now believed to be a substantial nervous breakdown, and for the rest of his life was troubled by recurring bouts of melancholy, hypochondria, and depression, often aggravated by alcohol and drug use. In the last few years of his life Landseer's mental stability was problematic, and at the request of his family he was declared insane in July 1872.

Painting

Landseer was a notable figure in 19th-century

British art The art of the United Kingdom refers to all forms of visual art in or associated with the country since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and encompasses English art, Scottish art, Welsh art and Irish art, and forms part ...

, and his works can be found in

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

, the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

Kenwood House Kenwood House (also known as the Iveagh Bequest) is a stately home in Hampstead, London, on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. The present house, built in the late 17th century, was remodelled in the 18th century for William Murray, 1st E ...

and 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 ...

in London. He also collaborated with fellow painter

Frederick Richard Lee Frederick Richard Lee (10 June 1798 in Barnstaple, Devon – 5 June 1879 in Vleesch Bank, South Africa) was an English artist. Life file:1862 painting of the Rock of Gibraltar by Frederick Richard Lee, Windmill Hill Barracks at the far side o ...

. Landseer's popularity in

Victorian Britain In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

was considerable, and his reputation as an animal painter was unrivalled. Much of his fame – and his income – was generated by the publication of engravings of his work, many of them by his brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. One of his earliest paintings is credited as the origin of the myth that St. Bernard rescue dogs in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

carry a small casket of

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

on their collars. ''Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller'' (1820) shows two of the dogs standing over a man who is partially buried in snow. One is barking to attract attention while the other, who is depicted with the miniature barrel, attempts to revive the man by licking his hand. His appeal crossed class boundaries: reproductions of his works were common in middle-class homes, while he was also popular with the aristocracy. Queen Victoria commissioned numerous pictures from the artist. Initially asked to paint various royal pets, he then moved on to portraits of ghillies and

gamekeeper In the United Kingdom, a gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper) is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g., areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure that there is enough Game (hunting), game for hunting, or fish ...

s. Then, in the year before her marriage, the queen commissioned a portrait of herself. He taught both Victoria and Albert to etch, and made portraits of Victoria's children as babies, usually in the company of a dog. He also made two portraits of Victoria and Albert dressed for costume balls, at which he was a guest himself. One of his last paintings was a life-size equestrian portrait of the Queen, shown at the Royal Academy in 1873, made from earlier sketches. Landseer was particularly associated with Scotland, which he had first visited in 1824 and the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

in particular, which provided the subjects (both human and animal) for many of his important paintings. The paintings included his early successes ''The Hunting of Chevy Chase ''(1825–26), '' The Illicit Highland Whisky Still'' (1826–1829) and his more mature achievements, such as the majestic stag study '' The Monarch of the Glen'' (1851) and ''Rent Day in the Wilderness'' (1855–1868). In 1828, he was commissioned to produce illustrations for the Waverley Edition of Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's novels. So popular and influential were Landseer's paintings of dogs in the service of humanity that the name Landseer came to be the official name for the variety of

Newfoundland dog The Newfoundland is a large breed of working dog. They can be black, grey, brown, or black and white. However, in the Dominion of Newfoundland, before it became part of Canada, only black and Landseer (white-and-black) coloured dogs were cons ...

that, rather than being black or mostly black, features a mixture of both black and white. It was this variety Landseer popularised in his paintings celebrating Newfoundlands as water rescue dogs, most notably ''Off to the Rescue'' (1827), ''A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society'' (1838), and ''Saved'' (1856). The paintings combine the Victorian conception of childhood with the appealing idea of noble animals devoted to humankind, a devotion indicated, in ''Saved,'' by the fact the dog has rescued the child without any apparent human involvement. Landseer's painting '' Laying Down The Law'' (c. 1840) satirises the legal profession through

anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

. It shows a group of dogs, with a

poodle The Poodle, called the in German () and the in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle is no ...

symbolising the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

. ''The Shrew Tamed'' was entered at the 1861 Royal Academy Exhibition and caused controversy because of its subject matter. It showed a powerful horse on its knees among straw in a stable, while a young woman lies with her head pillowed on its flanks, lightly touching its head with her hand. The catalogue explained it as a portrait of a noted equestrienne, Ann Gilbert, applying the taming techniques of the famous 'horse whisperer'

John Solomon Rarey John Solomon Rarey (1827–1866) was a nineteenth-century horse whisperer, an important figure in the rehabilitation of abused and vicious horses during the 1850s. Originally from Groveport, Ohio, Rarey trained his first horse at the age of twe ...

. Critics were troubled by the depiction of a languorous woman dominating a powerful animal and some concluded Landseer was implying the famous courtesan

Catherine Walters Catherine Walters (13 June 1839 – 5 August 1920), also known as "Skittles", was a British fashion trendsetter and one of the last of the great courtesans of Victorian era, Victorian London. Walters was an established equestrian contributing t ...

, then at the height of her fame. Walters was an excellent horsewoman and along with other "pretty horsebreakers", frequently appeared riding in Hyde Park. Some of Landseer's later works, such as his ''Flood in the Highlands'' and '' Man Proposes, God Disposes'' (both of 1864) are pessimistic in tone. The latter shows two

polar bears The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivo ...

toying with the bones of the dead and other remains, from Sir

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

's failed Arctic expedition. The painting was purchased at auction by Thomas Holloway and hangs in the picture gallery of

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

. It is a college tradition to cover the painting with a

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

, when exams are held in the gallery, as there is a longstanding rumour that the painting drives people mad when they sit near it. In 1862 Landseer painted a portrait of Louisa Caroline Stewart-Mackenzie holding her daughter Maysie. File:Portrait of an Arab Mare with her Foal by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer.jpg, ''Portrait of an Arab Mare with her Foal'' by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer. (c.1825). Commissioned by

Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to: People * Charlotte of the United Kingdom (disambiguation), various princesses ** Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015), granddaughter of King Charles III and only daughter of William, Prince of Wales * Charlott ...

for her lady-in-waiting, Lady Barbara Ponsonby File:The Monarch of the Glen, Edwin Landseer, 1851.png, '' The Monarch of the Glen'' (1851): the image was widely distributed in

steel engraving Steel engraving is a technique for printing illustrations on paper using steel printing plates instead of copper, the harder metal allowing a much longer print run before the image quality deteriorates. It has been rarely used in artistic printmak ...

s. Now in the

Scottish National Gallery The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Play ...

, Edinburgh File:Edwin Landseer Trial By Jury.jpg, '' Laying Down the Law'' (c.1840) File:The Shrew Tamed.jpg, ''The Shrew Tamed'' (1861)

Sculpture

Landseer Edwin-Old Shepherds Chief Mourner 1837

In 1858 the government commissioned Landseer to make four gold lions for the base of

in Trafalgar Square, following the rejection of a set in stone by Thomas Milnes. Landseer accepted on condition that he would not have to start work for another nine months, and there was a further delay when he asked to be supplied with copies of casts of a real lion he knew were in the possession of the academy at Turin. The request proved complex, and the casts did not arrive until the summer of 1860. The lions were made at the Kensington studio of Carlo Marochetti, who also cast them. Work was slowed by Landseer's ill health, and his fractious relationship with Marochetti. The sculptures were installed in 1867.

Death

Landseer's death on 1 October 1873 was widely marked in England: shops and houses lowered their blinds, flags flew at half mast, his bronze lions at the base of

Nelson's column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whi ...

were hung with wreaths, and large crowds lined the streets to watch his funeral cortege pass. Landseer was buried in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London. At his death, Landseer left behind three unfinished paintings: ''Finding the Otter'', ''Nell Gwynne'', and ''The Dead Buck'', all on easels in his studio. It was his dying wish that his friend

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

should complete the paintings, and this he did.J In 1876, a 30-foot self-righting lifeboat, built by Woolfe of

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

, costing £275, was gifted to the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

, and placed at Chapel Lifeboat Station in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. Funded by Miss Jennie Landseer, the lifeboat was named ''Landseer'', in memory of her late brother.

Miscellaneous

Landseer was rumoured to be able to paint with both hands at the same time, for example, paint a horse's head with the right and its tail with the left, simultaneously. He was also known to be able to paint extremely quickly—when the mood struck him. He could also procrastinate, sometimes for years, over certain commissions. The architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens was named after him and was his godson—Lutyens' father was a friend of Landseer.

Gallery

File:Edwin Landseer - Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler.jpg, '' Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller'', 1820 File:Landseer, Edwin Henry (Sir, RA) - Lion- A Newfoundland Dog - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Lion, a Newfoundland Dog'', 1824 File:Edwin Landseer- The Monkey Who Had Seen the World.JPG, '' The Monkey Who Had Seen the World'', 1827 File:Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) - A Scene at Abbotsford - N01532 - National Gallery.jpg, '' A Scene at Abbotsford'', 1827 File:Edwin Landseer - Attachment.jpg, '' Attachment'', 1829 File:The Illicit Highland Whisky Still.png, '' The Illicit Highland Whisky Still'', 1829 File:Sir Edwin Henry Landseer - A Highland Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''A Highland Landscape'', File:Sir Edwin Henry Landseer - Deer and Deer Hounds in a Mountain Torrent - Google Art Project.jpg, '' The Hunted Stag'', 1833 File:Rachel Russell (1826-1898) by Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873).jpg, ''Rachel Russell'', 1835 File:Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) - A Highland Breakfast - FA.87(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg, '' A Highland Breakfast'', 1834 File:Sir Edwin Henry Landseer - Favourites, the Property of H.R.H. Prince George of Cambridge - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Favourites, the Property of H.R.H. Prince George of Cambridge'', 1834 to 1835 File:A Highland Shepherd's Home.jpeg, ''A Highland Shepherd's Home'', 1836 File:Edwin Landseer. Falcon.JPG, ''Falcon'', 1837 File:A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society by Sir Edwin Landseer.jpg, '' A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society'', exhibited 1838 File:Sir Edwin Landseer (1803-73) - Eos - RCIN 403219 - Royal Collection.jpg, '' A Favourite Greyhound of Prince Albert'', 1841 File:Windsor Castle in Modern Times. 1841-1845.jpg, ''Windsor Castle in Modern Times'', Queen Victoria and her family, File:Edwin Landseer - Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the Bal Costumé of 12 May 1842 - WGA12439.jpg, ''Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the Bal Costumé of 12 May 1842'' File:Edwin Henry Landseer's Alexander and Diogenes.jpg, alt=, Alexander and Diogenes, exhibited 1848 File:Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) - A Dialogue at Waterloo - N00415 - National Gallery.jpg, '' A Dialogue at Waterloo'', 1850 File:Edwin Landseer - Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania and Bottom - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream'', File:Landseer Saved.jpg, ''Saved'', 1856 File:Landseer.doutful.crumbs.jpg, '' Doubtful Crumbs'', 1858 File:Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) - Lady Godiva's Prayer - VA.1955.0431 - Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.jpg, '' Lady Godiva's Prayer'', 1865 File:Edwin Landseer - The Arab Tent - WGA12440.jpg, ''The Arab Tent'', 1866 File:Edwin Landseer- The Wild Cattle of Chillingham.JPG, ''The Wild Cattle of Chillingham'', 1867 File:Flood in the Highlands by Sir Edwin Landseer - Sir Edwin Landseer - ABDAG002312.jpg, ''Flood in the Highlands'',

Aberdeen Art Gallery Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art ...

File:Manproposesgoddisposes.jpg, '' Man Proposes, God Disposes'', 1864

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Landseer Gallery at MuseumSyndicate

The Royal Collection
��Landseer works belonging to the British Royal Family.
Google Art Project
��Landseer works on Google Art Project. * * * * * , engraved by Charles Heath for The Keepsake annual for 1829 with ''Verses'' by

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landseer, Edwin Henry 1802 births 1873 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters British painters of animals English animal artists History of mental health in the United Kingdom Burials at St Paul's Cathedral Dog artists People with mental disorders British artists with disabilities Royal Academicians Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) 19th-century English male artists