Gervase Spencer facts for kids
Gervase Spencer (around 1715–1763) was a talented English artist. He was known for painting tiny, detailed pictures called miniatures.
About Gervase Spencer
Gervase Spencer started his life as a footman, which was like a personal servant, for a doctor. But he had a secret talent for art! He taught himself how to paint beautiful miniatures using watercolours on ivory. His employer saw his skill and encouraged him to keep going.
At that time, paintings made with enamels were very popular. Enamel painting is a complex process where colours are fused onto metal with heat. Gervase Spencer also became an expert at this. He created a huge number of artworks, with about half being enamels and half on ivory.
His early paintings, from the 1740s, look a lot like the work of another artist named Jean-André Rouquet. This suggests Rouquet might have influenced Spencer's style. Most of Spencer's work was created between 1745 and 1761.
Gervase Spencer also helped teach other artists. He trained Henry Spicer and possibly Penelope Carwardine to continue the art of miniatures. He even met famous London artists like Sir Joshua Reynolds, who painted his portrait!
By 1763, the year he passed away, Gervase Spencer was considered one of the top artists in his field. He was one of only 24 miniaturists listed in a special directory called Mortimer's Universal Director. He often signed his works simply with "G. S." He mostly painted portraits of women, using soft, light colours over a delicate grey base.
Known Artworks
Gervase Spencer painted many portraits of important people during his time. Here are some of his well-known works:
- Lady Gower, née Elizabeth Fazakerley. Signed and dated GS 1745.
- Lady Caroline Fox. Enamel, signed and dated 1747.
- Sir James MacDonald. Enamel, signed and dated GS 1747.
- Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby (1735-1803). Signed 'GS 1748'.
- Susan Ashley-Cooper Noel (1710 – 1758). Painted around 1748 on ivory.
- Martha North. Signed and dated 1749.
- Marguerite Madeleine de Cerjat. Signed and dated GS 1749.
- Margaret Woffington (known as Peg) (1714-1760). Signed and dated GS 1750.
- Lady Louisa Augusta Greville (born 1743). Signed and dated GS 1751.
- Unknown Lady. Signed and dated J Spencer pinx 1752. This painting is at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
- François Duquesnoy (1579-1643). Enamel on copper, signed with initials and dated 'G S 1752'.
- George, 3rd Duke of St. Albans. Signed with initials and dated 'G.S 1753'.
- Susannah Beckford (née Love) (died 1803). Signed and dated G. Spencer pinxit/ 1755.
- Countess of Coventry. Enamel, signed with initials and dated 1757.
- Henry Vansittart (1756-1786). Signed and dated GS 1760.
- Isabella Dalton (née Wray, 1731–1780). Signed and dated 1761.
