John Claude Nattes facts for kids
John Claude Nattes was an artist who lived a long time ago, from about 1765 to 1839. He was known for his beautiful watercolour paintings. He also drew many detailed pictures of places, especially landscapes and buildings. People think he might have been from France or England.
Painting Places and Buildings
In 1789, a famous scientist named Sir Joseph Banks asked John Claude Nattes to draw buildings in a part of England called Lincolnshire. Nattes spent many years, from 1789 to 1797, making over 700 drawings and watercolours. These amazing artworks are now kept in the library in Lincoln. They help researchers understand what places looked like before the Victorian age.
Nattes also traveled to Scotland in 1799 and 1800 with another person named John Stoddart. He drew pictures for Stoddart's book, Remarks on Local Scenery and Manners in Scotland, which came out in 1801.
An Artist's Life
John Claude Nattes created some of the very first watercolour paintings in Britain. He helped start a group called the Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1804. However, he was asked to leave the society after only two years. This happened because he showed other artists' work as if it were his own. Even after this, he continued to show his paintings at the Royal Academy until 1814.
His Later Years
There is some confusion about when John Claude Nattes died. Some records say he died in London in 1822. But other information suggests he might have died in Dover in 1839. This later date is supported by records showing he was a witness at a wedding in 1836.
According to the Dover Museum, parish records show that John Claude Nattes died in Dover on September 7, 1839. He was about 75 years old. His funeral was held at St Mary's Church in Dover, and he was buried in Cowgate Cemetery. It's thought that Nattes was staying in Dover for his health, enjoying the sea air and sea bathing.
John Claude Nattes married a woman named Sarah Barber. They had a son named Charles Claude Nattes, who was born in 1794. Charles later became a lieutenant in the Madras Engineers and sadly died in Penang in 1818. Sarah, John Claude Nattes's wife, passed away in late 1845.
