Peter Perez Burdett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter Perez Burdett
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"Head of a Man" – one of many artworks that Burdett modelled for.
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| Born | c. 1734 Eastwood, England
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| Died | 9 September 1793 (aged 58–59) |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Cartographer, Artist |
| Spouse(s) | 1. Hannah Wansell 2. Friederike Kotkowski |
| Children | Anna Nancy Perez Burdett m. Friedrich Gf v Nostitz-Rieneck |
| Parent(s) | William Burdett and Elizabeth (Perez) Burdett |
Peter Perez Burdett (born around 1734 – died 9 September 1793) was a talented mapmaker, artist, and technical drawer from the 1700s. He was born in Eastwood, England. He chose the name Perez from his mother's family.
Burdett is known for appearing in many paintings by his friend, the famous artist Joseph Wright of Derby. He also worked on important projects. For example, he helped map the route for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1769. This canal was a big part of the Industrial Revolution. He was also connected to the "Lunar Society" of Birmingham, a group of important thinkers and scientists.
He spent his last years in Karlsruhe, Germany. He moved there to avoid people he owed money to. Even so, he was still active in German society. His daughter later married a Count.
Biography
Peter Perez Burdett was born in 1734 or 1735 in Eastwood. His parents were William and Elizabeth Burdett. He inherited a small property and the name Perez from his mother's family. His maternal grandfather was a clergyman in Eastwood.
We don't know much about his early life. But in the early 1760s, Burdett met the artist Joseph Wright of Derby. Wright lent Burdett money to help him make maps. Burdett often posed for Wright's paintings. In return, Burdett taught Wright about perspective, which is how to make things look three-dimensional in art.
Around 1766, Wright painted A Philosopher Giving that Lecture on the Orrery, in which a Lamp is put in place of the Sun. This painting shows a public talk about the solar system. A lamp stands in for the sun, lighting up the faces of the orrery (a model of the solar system) and the people watching. The faces in the painting are lit in a way that looks like the phases of the moon.
The person on the left, next to the philosopher, is clearly Burdett. The man on the right is thought to be Washington Shirley, the Earl of Ferrers. Burdett stayed with the Earl at Staunton Harold. The Earl was also interested in science, just like Burdett. He even owned this painting for a short time.
By 1767, Burdett had created a map of Derby. It was drawn at a scale of one inch to one mile. With this map, Burdett was the second person to win a challenge from the Society of Art. They had offered a prize in 1759 for county maps made at this scale. He also created an aquatint print called Two Boys Blowing a Bladder by Candle-light.
Liverpool Adventures
In 1768, Peter Perez Burdett moved from Derby to Liverpool. He wanted to create a map for Lancashire, just like he had done for Derbyshire. He found new supporters and helped George Perry with his map and history of Liverpool. Burdett drew pictures and wrote descriptions of important buildings for Perry's history book, which came out in 1773.
Burdett was very good at finding new connections. He even invited his friend, Joseph Wright, to join him in Liverpool. This was a good move for Wright too, as he quickly got art jobs from local wealthy people and merchants. Burdett also started a Society of Artists in Liverpool in 1769 and became its first president. The painting Academy by Lamplight (1768–69) by Joseph Wright of Derby is thought to show Burdett's art academy.
Peter Perez Burdett is believed to be the first British artist to create aquatints. He showed his first aquatints in 1772. Aquatint is a type of printmaking that creates areas of tone, like a watercolor painting. Burdett used acid directly on the aquatint surface. He only used varnish to protect large areas of a single color. His method seemed new and different from early French techniques. Burdett published his first aquatint based on an image by John Hamilton Mortimer. Later, he sold his aquatint process to another mapmaker, Paul Sandby. Burdett also tried to develop a way to transfer aquatints to pottery, but it wasn't successful.
Burdett learned his aquatint technique from J.B. Le Prince of Paris. He showed two prints at the Society of Arts Exhibition in 1772. One was called An Etching in imitation of a Wash Drawing, and the other was An Etching from a design of Mr. Mortimer. In 1773, he showed a print called The effect of a stained drawing attempted by printing from a plate wrought chemically, without the use of any instrument of sculpture.
We know of three images made by Burdett: Banditti Terrifying Fishermen (1771), Skeleton on a Rocky Shore (both after the painter J.H. Mortimer), and Two Boys Blowing a Bladder by Candle-light (after Wright of Derby). A copy of the last one in Liverpool Public Library says on the back: "First Specimen of aquatinta invented in Liverpool by P.P. Burdett, 1774, assisted by Mr. S. Chubbard."
The artist Paul Sandby learned the basics of aquatint from Charles Greville. Greville had bought the knowledge from either Burdett or Le Prince. It seems Greville's information was incomplete. Sandby found it hard to make a print using Le Prince's method of sifting rosin powder over the surface. He discovered that dissolving the rosin and floating it on the copper plate worked better.
Benjamin Franklin wrote to Peter Perez Burdett on August 21, 1773. He said, "I should be glad to be inform’d where I can see some example of the new Art you mention of printing in Imitation of Paintings. It must be a most valuable Discovery: but more likely to meet with adequate Encouragement on this side the water than on ours.”
In 1771, Burdett created 'A Chart for the Harbour of Liverpool'. In 1772, he made a 'Survey of the County Palatine of Chester'.
Life in Karlsruhe
In 1774, Burdett left Liverpool to start fresh and find new opportunities in Germany. He began working for Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden. Interestingly, he took the painting of himself and his first wife, Hannah, with him. However, he left his wife behind in Liverpool. The painting of Burdett and his wife is now in the National Gallery in Prague. It recently returned to Liverpool for an exhibition. This was only the second time the painting had been seen in the United Kingdom since Burdett left with it in the 1700s.
Burdett didn't completely leave his friends behind. Joseph Wright even visited him in southern Germany in 1774. Burdett married again to Friederike Kotkowski in Germany on July 11, 1787. They had a daughter named Anna, who later married a Count. In the same year, Burdett drew up plans for the Karlsruhe marketplace. You can still see his design in the layout of the buildings there today.
Peter Perez Burdett passed away in Karlsruhe on September 9, 1793.
He exchanged letters with Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was a founding member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. This group included important people like Erasmus Darwin, John Whitehurst, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Josiah Wedgwood, and James Watt. Peter Perez Burdett was considered to be connected to this important group of thinkers.
Major Works
- Derbyshire map (1762–1767): Surveyed and produced by Peter Perez Burdett.
- Two Boys Blowing a Bladder by Candle-light: An aquatint print based on a painting by Joseph Wright of Derby.
Images for kids
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A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery.jpg
A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery by Joseph Wright of Derby. Burdett is the figure on the left.
