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 :. | the shepherd girl | Self-Portrait | Marchioness of Donegall | Portrait of Anne Montgomery | Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley |
Related Artists:
Francois Bernard
painted Portrait of Two Chitimacha Indians in 1870
Joseph Barney
(1753 - 13 April 1832), was an English artist and engraver. He is usually described as a pupil of Antonio Zucchi and Angelica Kauffmann and as a fruit and flower painter to the Prince Regent. He was born in Wolverhampton. Two of his large-scale paintings - altar pieces eThe Deposition from the Crosse (1781) and eThe Apparition of Our Lord to St Thomase (1784) have been preserved in Wolverhampton, and can be seen today at St Johnes church and at St Peter & St Paules Roman Catholic church. During Barneyes life-time, his artistic achievements were respected and praised. In 1798, Stebbing Shaw, mentioning eThe Deposition from the Crosse in his eHistory of Staffordshiree called Barney a enative geniuse of Wolverhampton. In the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery, there is a pen and ink drawing, eA Blind Musiciane, which gives some additional idea of quality and versatility of Barneyes works.
Lavinia Fontana
Italian Painter, 1552-1614 Daughter of Prospero Fontana. She was trained by her father and followed his Mannerist style. Her first recorded works, which date from 1575, were small paintings for private devotion, such as the Holy Family (Dresden, Gemeldegal.). By 1577 she had become established as a portrait painter in Bologna. Works of this date include the Self-portrait at the Harpsichord (Rome, Gal. Accad. S Luca) and the portrait of Senator Orsini (Bordeaux, Mus. B.-A.). Her portrait style reflects the formality of central Italian models as well as the naturalistic tendencies of the north Italian tradition. The elegantly costumed Orsini is shown seated at a table, with a suite of rooms opening behind him, a setting recalling such Florentine portraits of the 1530s as Agnolo Bronzino's Bartolommeo Panciatichi (Florence, Uffizi). Lavinia used a similar setting for other portraits, including the Gozzadini Family (1584; Bologna, Pin. N.). Female sitters are also shown in elaborate dress, with particular attention paid to details of embroidery and jewels, and they are often accompanied by small dogs