Wilson, Richard

Wilson, Richard
born Aug. 1, 1714, Penegoes, Montgomeryshire, Wales
died May 15, 1782, Llanberis, Carnarvonshire

Welsh landscape painter.

He worked as a portraitist for many years, but after a lengthy stay in Italy (1750–57) he worked almost exclusively in landscape, except for numerous drawings of Roman sites and buildings that he used in composing Italianate landscapes. A set of drawings made for Lord Dartmouth (dated 1754) show that he tempered his delicate observation of light and distance with the discipline of such 17th-century Classicists as Nicolas Poussin. The landscapes he produced after his return to Britain influenced J.M.W. Turner and John Constable.

* * *

▪ British painter
born Aug. 1, 1714, Penegoes, Montgomeryshire, Wales
died May 15, 1782, Llanberis, Carnarvonshire
 one of the earliest major British landscape painters, whose works combine a mood of classical serenity with picturesque effects.

      In 1729 Wilson studied portraiture with Thomas Wright in London and after about 1735 worked on his own in this genre. From 1746 his work shows a growing interest in landscape that, soon after his arrival in Italy late in 1750, became almost exclusive. Staying at first in Venice, he met the landscape painter Francesco Zuccarelli. Early in 1752 he went to Rome and became part of an art circle that included the painters Joseph Vernet and Anton Raphael Mengs. He remained in Rome until 1757, working mostly for aristocratic English tourists. He produced not only large landscapes in the manner of Nicolas Poussin, Salvator Rosa, and Claude Lorrain but also numerous drawings of Roman sites and buildings, which he used in composing Italianate landscapes after his return to England. The finest of these is a set of drawings made for Lord Dartmouth and dated 1754. They show how Wilson tempered his delicate observation of light and distance with the discipline of such 17th-century classical Baroque painters as Poussin and Claude. Returning to London probably in 1757, he became influential as a teacher and, after 1760, as an exhibitor with the Society of Artists and the Royal Academy. He was a founding member of the academy in 1768 and, from 1776, its librarian, a post he took to relieve his poverty.

 Though continuing to produce Italian landscapes, Wilson now turned to depicting his own country, especially Wales and the rural environs of London. The order and clarity rather than the classical apparatus of Italy survive, and Wilson's exact and tranquil recording of clear or suffused air, distance, and varied lights predominates, as in his famed Snowdon from Llyn Nantlle. His landscapes of this period exerted considerable influence on J.M.W. Turner (Turner, J.M.W.), John Constable (Constable, John), and John Crome (Crome, John). Wilson's later works, such as Minchenden House, tend to abandon formal composition, using tonal methods of recording space. Many works ascribed to him, especially late ones, are partly the work of his pupils.

Additional Reading
Beaumont Fletcher, Richard Wilson, R.A. (1908); Adrian Bury, Richard Wilson, R.A.: The Grand Classic (1947); National Museum of Wales, Richard Wilson in the National Museum of Wales (1961); Elis Gwyn Jones, Richard Wilson, 1713–1782 (1973); David H. Solkin, Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction (1982).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wilson, Richard — (1 ago. 1714, Penegoes, Montgomeryshire, Gales–15 may. 1782, Llanberis, Carnarvonshire). Paisajista galés. Fue retratista durante muchos años, pero tras una larga estadía en Italia (1750–57), pintó casi exclusivamente paisajes, excepto numerosos… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Richard Wilson Riley — (* 2. Januar 1933 im Greenville County, South Carolina) ist ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Er war von 1979 bis 1987 Gouverneur von South Carolina sowie und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wilson — Wilson, Angus Wilson, Charles Thompson Rees Wilson, Colin Wilson, Colin St. John Wilson, Henry Maitland Wilson, James Harold Wilson, John Wilson, Kenneth …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Richard Webber — Grey s Anatomy character The Season 7 Gallery Picture of James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber First appearance A Har …   Wikipedia

  • Richard Herrnstein — Richard J. Herrnstein (May 20 1930–September 13 1994) was a prominent American researcher in animal learning in the Skinnerian tradition. He was one of the founders of quantitative analysis of behavior. His major research finding as an… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard Voris — was the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers football program from 1958 to 1960. He is regarded as one of the worst college football coaches of all time[citation needed], having a career record of 1 29 (.033). A wide majority of the games he lost …   Wikipedia

  • Richard Guy Wilson — Dr. Richard Guy Wilson (born 1940) is a noted architectural historian and Commonwealth Professor in Architectural History at the University of Virginia. Wilson was born and raised in Los Angeles (residing in a house designed by Rudolph Schindler …   Wikipedia

  • Richard G. Wilson — Infobox Military Person name= Richard G. Wilson born= birth date|1931|8|19 died= death date and age|1950|10|21|1931|8|19 placeofbirth= Marion, Illinois placeofdeath= Opari, Korea placeofburial= caption= Private First Class Richard Wilson nickname …   Wikipedia

  • Richard Wilson (cinéma) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Richard Wilson. Richard Wilson est un producteur et réalisateur américain né le 25 décembre 1915 et décédé le 22 août 1991. Sommaire 1 Filmographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wilson — /wil seuhn/, n. 1. Sir Angus (Frank Johnstone) /jon steuhn, seuhn/, 1913 91, English writer. 2. August, born 1945, U.S. playwright. 3. Charles Thomson Rees /tom seuhn rees/, 1869 1959, Scottish physicist: Nobel prize 1927. 4. Edmund, 1895 1972, U …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”