James Tassie facts for kids

James Tassie, painted by David Allan, around 1781

James Tassie (born 1735, died 1799) was a talented Scottish artist. He was known for making special miniature medallions, which were small profile pictures of famous and important people in Britain. He also created and sold many "Tassie casts." These were copies of engraved gems, which are tiny artworks carved into precious stones. Collectors loved to buy these casts.

The Life of James Tassie

James Tassie was born in Pollokshaws, near Glasgow, into a family that wasn't rich. When he was younger, he worked as a stonemason, shaping stones. But then he saw a collection of paintings in Glasgow. These paintings were put together by two printers, Robert Foulis and Andrew Foulis. This inspired James, so he moved to Glasgow and joined an art school started by the Foulis brothers. He quickly became one of their best students.

Moving to London

Later, James went to Dublin to find work. There, he met Henry Quin, who was trying to copy old carved gems using colored glass-like materials. James became Henry's helper, and together they found a way to make a special, hard, and beautiful glass material. This material was perfect for making gems and medallions.

Henry Quin encouraged James to try his luck in London, so James moved there in 1766. At first, it was hard for him to succeed. But he worked very carefully and precisely. He would always destroy any copies of his gems that weren't absolutely perfect.

Becoming Famous

Slowly, people started to notice how beautiful and artistic his creations were. The Empress of Russia, Catherine II, even asked him to make a huge collection of about 15,000 examples! Important art collections across Europe let him study their ancient gems so he could make copies. His copies were so good that sometimes dishonest sellers would try to pass them off as the real, ancient gems. James Tassie showed his art at the Royal Academy from 1769 to 1791.

A portrait of James Tassie, painted by John Paxton.

In 1775, he published his first list of works, which included 2,856 items. Then, in 1791, he released a much bigger list in two books. This larger list had illustrations by David Allan and descriptions in both English and French by Rudolf Erich Raspe. It listed nearly 16,000 pieces! This detailed list is called "A Descriptive Catalogue of a General Collection of Ancient and Modern Engraved Gems."

Making Portraits

Besides copying old gems, James Tassie also made many large profile medallion portraits of people living at the time. These portraits are considered his most original and artistic works. He would first sculpt them in wax, either while looking at the person or from drawings. If that wasn't possible, he used other reliable pictures.

Then, he would cast these wax models in his special white glass-like material. Sometimes the whole medallion was made of this material. Other times, only the head was made of the white material, standing out against a background of colored glass. His first large portrait in this material was of John Dolbon in 1793 or 1794. His series of portraits is very important for history and art. It includes famous people like Adam Smith, Sir Henry Raeburn, and many other well-known figures from the late 1700s.

When James Tassie passed away in 1799, his collection of works had grown to about 20,000 pieces. His nephew, William Tassie, continued the family business.

Tassie's Legacy

Even in the 1830s, James Tassie's works were still being sold. A company called H. Laing, engraver and manufacturer of James Tassie's composition seals sold official copies of Tassie's art from a shop in Princes Street in Edinburgh. Later in the 1800s, Andrew Dickson White, who was the first president of Cornell University, bought a large collection of Tassie's gem casts (called a daktyliotheca) from a German maker named Gustav Eichler. He then gave this collection to the university.

In 2008, a bar in the Shawlands area of Glasgow was named "The James Tassie" in his honor. People who go there often lovingly call it "The Tassies."

Images for kids

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  Cameo medallion of James Tassie by William Tassie in the style invented by Tassie

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  Henry Raeburn by James Tassie, a typical Tassie medallion

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  Cameo ring, 1788, by James Tassie. V&A Museum no. M.93-1969