1734-1802 George Romney Galleries By 1757 he was becoming well-known as a portraitist. He fell ill during his apprenticeship and was nursed back to health by Mary Abbott, daughter of his landlady. In 1762, by which time he was married with two children, he went to London, and saw early success with a painting, The Death of General Wolfe which won a prize from the Royal Society of Arts. Romney soon had a thriving portrait business in Long Acre. Despite his great success George Romney was never invited to join the Royal Academy nor did he ever apply to join. While there has been much speculation about his relationship with the Academy there is no doubt that he normally remained aloof maintaining that a good artist should succeed without being a member. His own career certainly supported this belief and it was only towards the end of his life that he expressed the slightest regret for his views Portrait of Miss Juliana Willoughby, 1781-83 (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) Emma Hamilton as a bacchante by George Romney, 1785In 1773 he travelled to Italy with fellow artist Ozias Humphrey to study art in Rome and Parma, returning to London in 1775 to resume business, this time in Cavendish Square (in a house formerly owned by noted portraitist Francis Cotes). In 1782 he met Emma Hamilton (then called Emma Hart) who became his muse. He painted over 60 portraits of her in various poses, sometimes playing the part of historical or mythological figures. He also painted many other contemporaries, including fellow artist Mary Moser. After an absence of almost forty years, he returned to his family in Kendal in the summer of 1799. He was greeted by his loyal, devoted and unquestioning wife. George Romney is a kinsman of Mitt Romney, U.S politician.  Related Paintings of George Romney :. | Elizabeth Harriet Warren (Viscountess Bulkeley) as Hebe | Portrat des Fraulein Willoughby | Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley | Marchioness of Donegall | Lady Hamilton in a Straw Hat |
Related Artists:
Rudolf Epp
Rudolf Epp , painter (1834-1910)
Joseph Denis Odevaere
1778-1830,Flemish painter. He attended evening classes at the Bruges Academie in 1794-5 and then went to Paris, where he entered the studio of the Bruges artist Joseph-Benoet Suvee. In 1801 he began training under Jacques-Louis David and in 1804 won the Prix de Rome for his Death of Phocion (Paris, Ecole N. Sup. B.-A.), in which he faithfully adhered to the principles of David's teaching. Before going to Italy he spent a year in Bruges carrying out portrait commissions, including the Marquis de Chauvelin (1805; Bruges, Groeningemus.). During his time in Rome (1805-12) he copied antique and Renaissance works, taking a particular interest in Raphael, who features in his wash drawing the Master of Urbino Introduced by Bramante to Julius II (1807; Bruges, Groeningemus.), a study for a lost painting. Around 1811 he was among the artists chosen to decorate the Palazzo del Quirinale for Napoleon's visit, although he never executed more than a sketch, Tanaquil Predicting the Future Greatness of Servius Tullius (c. 1811-12; Dijon, Mus. Magnin). Odevaere successfully exhibited in Paris in 1812 and then moved to Ghent, showing works at the Salon there two years later. After the union of the Low Countries in 1815 he became official painter to William I. As a result of this post he executed several works illustrating the history of the Dutch royal family, including the Prince of Orange Wounded at Waterloo (1817) and the Battle of Nieuwpoort (1820; both Brussels, Pal. Nation, on dep. Brussels, Pal. Justice). In 1815 he was commissioned to recover works of art taken from the Low Countries by the French. David's arrival in Brussels in 1816 coincided with the beginning of Odevaere's most ambitious composition, the Departure of the Athenians for Salamis (1816-25; Brussels, Mus. A. Anc.), inspired as much by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres as by David, although the latter frequently advised Odevaere on the painting. From 1825 to 1829 he worked on a series of paintings conveying his support of the philhellenic committees created during the Greek War of Independence.
Henri Serrur
1794-1865 French Henri Serrur Gallery