Benjamin West（1738-1820）
Benjamin West Pra (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was an Anglo-American historical painter during and after the American Revolutionary War and the Seven Years' War. He was the second chancellor of the Royal College of Art in London, serving from 1792 to 1805 and from 1806 to 1820. He was offered the Knighthood by the British Crown, but refused, believing he should be a peer. He said that "art is the representative of human beauty, the ideal design is perfect, the attitude is elegant, noble." ”
West was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in a house that is now on the Swarthmore campus in the Borough of Swarthmore College, as the shopkeeper and his wife's tenth child. The family later moved to NewTown Square, Pennsylvania, where his father, the owner of Square Tavern, still stands in that town. West told the novelist John Galt that in the final stages of his life he collaborated with a memoir, "The Life and Research of Benjamin West" (1816, 1820), and that when he was a child, he was Native American and showed him how to make paint by mixing clay from the riverbank with bear oil in a jar. Benjamin West is an self-taught scholar; Although outstanding in the arts, "he received very little formal education, and even the headmaster of the Royal Academy could hardly spell it".
From 1746 to 1759, West worked in Pennsylvania, mostly painting portraits. Although Western in Lancaster in 1756, his patron, a gunner named William Henry, encouraged him to paint the ancient history of Socrates' death based on the carving of Charles Rollin. His work is very different from its source and has been called "the most ambitious and interesting painting in colonial America". Dr. William Smith, then provost at Philadelphia College, saw the painting in Henry's home and decided to become a patron of the West, providing him with an education and, more importantly, a connection with affluent and politically relevant Pennsylvanians. During this time, West met a famous painter, John Wallaston, who emigrated from London. West learned Wollaston's technique of drawing silk and satin and adopted some of his "mannerisms, the most prominent of which was to give him all the subjects of large almond-shaped eyes that customers consider very fashionable".
West was a close friend of Benjamin Franklin's, and he painted portraits of him. Franklin was the godfather of West's second son, Benjamin.
St. Paul's Church in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter has an important enamel stained glass east window, made by Francis Egenton in 1791, modeled after an altarpiece painted. Founded in 1786 by West, now at the Dallas Museum of Art. It shows Paul's transformation. He was elected an honorary foreign member of the American College of Arts and Sciences in 1791.
West is known for its monumental work in st. Peter and St. Paul's churches, which are now part of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. His work "Conservative St. Paul After the Death of Malta" measures 25 feet × 14 feet and shows acts: 27 and 28. West also offers designs for other paintings performed by Biagio Rebecca in the chapel.
After losing royal patronage in the early 19th century, West embarked on a series of large-scale religious works. The first, Christ Healing the Sick, was originally given as a gift to the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia; Instead, he sold it to a British institution for £3,000 and then to the National Gallery. West then made a copy sent to Philadelphia. The success of this painting led him to paint a series of larger works, including the "Pale God" he exhibited in 1817.
West died on 11 March 1820 at his home on Newman Street in London and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.
Benjamin West, an English-American, was born on October 10, 1738, and died on March 11, 1820. Benjamin West is one of the leading figures in the field of art in the United States that must be mentioned.
Cleombrotus Ordered into Banishment by Leonidas II, King of Sparta (1768)
Cleobolotus, exiled by Leonidas II, King of Sparta
Benjamin West is good at creating paintings with historical themes, most of which achieve the inner world and emotions that he wants to express through the depiction of events in historical periods.
Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims before Iphigenia (1766)
Piladez and Orestes as victims are brought before Iphigenia (height 1003 cm * width 1263 cm)
Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims before Iphigenia (detail)
Benjamin West was active in the period after the American Revolutionary War and produced many works throughout his life. It has a wide range of influences.
Portrait Of Raphael West And Benjamin West Jr. (1775)
Raphael West with Benjamin West Jr
Benjamin West was the second dean of the Royal College of Art, where he was responsible for many things at the College. He served from 1792 until his death in 1820. Benjamin West left a great spiritual legacy in the field of art.
Ann Barbara Hill Medrickett (1720-1800) - portrait of ann barbara hill medlycott (1720 1800)
Benjamin West was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, the tenth child in the family, the father of a local innkeeper, and soon after, the family moved to Newtown, another city in Pennsylvania.
The Golden Age
According to John Galt, author of Benjamin West's biography, there, some local Americans told him how to create paintings by combining some clay and bear grease dug up from the river into one piece, and applying these things to a painting, which can achieve good results.
A Domestic Affliction of domestic suffering
From then on, Benjamin West began the road of painting. Benjamin West did not receive a systematic cultural education in his lifetime, and even if he became the president of the Royal Academy, he still could not spell out his name very well. However, this did not affect the talent of this master of art in the field of art painting.
Agrippina and Her Children Mourning over the Ashes of Germanicus
Agrippina and her children mourn the ashes of Gemanikus
Agrippine Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus
Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky (1816)
Benjamin Franklin draws electricity from the sky (1816)
Calypso's Reception of Telemachus and Me (1801)
Calypso receives Telemachus and Me (1801)
Central panel of a triptych (study for a window at St. Paul's Church, Birmingham)
Central panel of triptych (window study of St Paul's Church in Birmingham)
Charles Wilson Peale (1767-1769)
Christ Showing A Little Child As The Emblem Of Heaven (1790)
Christ Saw the Child as a Symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven (1790)
Cupid and Psyche (1808) Cupid and the Soul (1808)
Cymon and Iphigenia (1773)
Death on the Pale Horse (1796)
Dr. Enoch Edwards (1795) Dr. Enoch Edwards (1795)
Edward III Crossing the Somme
Edward III crossed the Somme
Erasistratus the Physician Discovers the Love of Antiochus for Stratonice
Dr. Erasi Stratus discovers Antiochus' love for Stratonice
Fidelia and Speranza (1776)
Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds
Francis Osborne, fifth Duke of Leeds
General Johnson (1764-1768) General Johnson
Genius Calling Forth the Fine Arts to Adorn Manufactures and Commerce
Genius called fine art for decorative and commercial
George III of the United Kingdom (1779) George III of England
Hagar and Ishmael (1776) Hagar and Ishmael
Helen Brought From Paris (1776)