Jacob More facts for kids
Jacob More (born 1740, died 1793) was a talented Scottish artist. He was known as a landscape painter, which means he specialized in painting beautiful scenes of nature, like mountains, rivers, and forests. He became very famous for his art, especially after moving to Italy.
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Jacob More's Life and Art
Jacob More was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1740. He began his art studies by learning about landscape and decorative painting. He trained with a company run by James Norie. More was inspired by the works of famous painters like Gaspard Dughet and Claude Lorrain. He looked at their paintings to learn how to create his own stunning landscapes.
Moving to Rome
Around 1773, Jacob More moved to Rome, Italy. He loved it so much that he stayed there for the rest of his life. Even though he lived in Italy, he still sent his Italian landscape paintings back to England. These paintings were shown at special art shows called annual exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London during the 1780s.
More made many friends in Rome. One of his close friends was another artist named Thomas Jones. In 1776, More was waiting at the English Coffee House for Jones to arrive in Rome.
Meeting Famous People
Jacob More's art was highly respected. In 1787, a very famous German writer and scientist named Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited him. Goethe thought More's work was "admirably thought out," which means he found it very clever and well-planned.
Because of his amazing talent, Jacob More was sometimes called the "British Claude." This was a big compliment, as Claude Lorrain was a legendary landscape painter. He was also known as "More of Rome" because of his long stay and success in the city.
Success in Italy
In Italy, Jacob More was considered a rival to another well-known landscape painter, Jacob Philipp Hackert. This shows how highly regarded More was. He also became friends with the Scottish painter Allan Ramsay (1713-1784).
More's reputation in Rome was excellent. He even received an important job to design an "English" garden. This garden was created in the beautiful grounds of the Villa Borghese, a famous estate in Rome.
Famous Paintings by Jacob More
Many of Jacob More's paintings can still be seen today in art galleries across Britain. Here are some of his well-known works:
- Mount Vesuvius in Eruption: The Last Days of Pompeii (painted in 1780) is at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.
- The Falls of Clyde (Corra Linn) is also at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. This painting was once owned by the famous artist Sir Joshua Reynolds.
- Bonnington Lynn can be found at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.
- Falls of the Clyde is part of the collection at the Tate gallery in London.
- The Good Samaritan is displayed at the McManus Gallery in Dundee.
