Jonathan Richardson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jonathan Richardson
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Self-portrait, 1729
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| Born | 12 January 1667 London, England
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| Died | 28 May 1745 (aged 78) Bloomsbury, London, England
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| Nationality | British |
Jonathan Richardson (born January 12, 1667 – died May 28, 1745) was an English artist and writer. He was known for painting portraits in London. People sometimes called him "the Elder" to tell him apart from his son, who was also named Jonathan.
Some art experts thought he was one of the top three painters of his time. He taught famous artists like Thomas Hudson and George Knapton. Richardson was also very important as a writer. His book An Essay on the Theory of Painting inspired another famous painter, Joshua Reynolds, to paint and write about art ideas. This book is seen as the first important book about art theory written in English.
Contents
Life of Jonathan Richardson
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Jonathan Richardson was born in London on January 12, 1667. His parents were William and Mary Richardson. When he was five years old, his father died, and his mother remarried.
Richardson first became an apprentice for a legal writer. But he was lucky because his master retired early. Then, he became a painting apprentice for John Riley. He learned how to paint portraits while living in Riley's house. Later, Richardson married Riley's niece.
Richardson's Writing Career
According to writer Samuel Johnson, Richardson was even more important as a writer than as a painter. His 1715 book, An Essay on the Theory of Painting, encouraged Joshua Reynolds to paint and think deeply about art.
In 1722, Richardson published a book with his son, also named Jonathan (1694–1771). This book was called An Account of Some of the Statues, Bas-Reliefs, Drawings, and Pictures in Italy. Richardson the elder wrote the book using notes his son collected during a trip to Italy in 1720.
This book became very popular. Young men used it to plan their "Grand Tour" – a big trip around Europe to see art and culture. It also helped wealthy collectors decide what art to buy. This book even influenced later art history books, like Johann Joachim Winckelmann's History of Art (1764).
Richardson and his son also wrote Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Milton's Paradise Lost (1734). These notes were partly a response to another writer who criticized the famous poem Paradise Lost. The Richardsons' comments helped people understand the poem better in the future.
Jonathan Richardson's Legacy
Richardson was seen as one of the top three painters of his time, along with Charles Jervas and Michael Dahl. He was also a great artist who made many chalk drawings of his friends and family. Recent studies show he also made many prints, mostly portraits.
He taught other artists, including Thomas Hudson and George Knapton. Richardson painted, drew, and etched many self-portraits, which are still highly valued today. More than 120 of his paintings are owned by public museums and galleries in the United Kingdom.
His Family and Collections
Jonathan Richardson the Elder died in Bloomsbury, London, on May 28, 1745. He had four daughters. One of them married Thomas Hudson, who had been Richardson's student.
His son, Jonathan Richardson the Younger (1694–1771), also survived him. The son became a gentleman and tried his hand at painting and printmaking. Although he painted a bit, his works are now lost.
The elder Richardson left behind a huge and valuable collection of nearly 5,000 drawings by famous old artists. These drawings were sold at auction over eighteen days by Sotheby's. Another large collection of his art was sold over many evenings in 1747. Today, if a drawing has Richardson's special collector's mark, it becomes much more valuable. Richardson is known as one of the "greatest collectors of drawings of all time."
Works by Jonathan Richardson
- An Essay on the Theory of Painting (1715)
- An Essay on the Whole Art of Criticism as it Relates to Painting and an Argument in Behalf of the Science of a Connoisseur (1719)
- An Account of Some of the Statues, Bas-Reliefs, Drawings, and Pictures in Italy (1722)
- Explanatory notes and remarks on Milton's Paradise lost (1734) – written with his son.
Images for kids
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Self-portrait, 1729
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Alexander Pope (attributed to Richardson, c. 1736)
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Thomas Fanshawe (1696–1758), 4th of Parsloes Manor, (attributed to Richardson), ca. 1736.
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Fisher Harding, Master Shipwright at the launch of HMS Royal Sovereign
