John Hamilton Mortimer

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John Hamilton Mortimer
Born 17 September 1740
Eastbourne
Died 4 February 1779
London
Education Duke of Richmond's Academy
Occupation Artist
Spouse Jane Hurrel

John Hamilton Mortimer (1740 - 1779) was a British Neoclassical painter known primarily for his romantic paintings and pieces set in Italy and its countryside, various other works depicting conversations between people,[1] and works drawn in the 1770s portraying war scenes, very similar to those of Salvator Rosa.[I] Among other things, Mortimer took the place of President of the Society of Artists in 1774, only several years before his death, at age 39.

Not much is known about Mortimer's family, other than that his father was a customs officer. He studied at the Duke of Richmond's Academy, while he was young (by 1757). During this time, Mortimer became a close friend of Joseph Wright, who was a fellow student at the Academy, a friendship which endured throughout Mortimer's life. Mortimer is also known to have had some professional relationship with the artist Samuel Ireland, a man who was involved with etching Mortimer's work[2]. He began to display his works on a regular basis from the early 1760s onwards, and became an active member of the Society of Artists. This involvement with the Society of Artists culminated in his rise to presidency of the Society in 1774.[3] In the 1770s, Mortimer was associated with presenting a more masculine, and criminal, presentation of the male form after a period of more effete images. His painting Sir Arthegal, the Knight of Justice, with Talus, the Iron Man is used as an example of this style.[4] In 1775 he married Jane Hurrel, [5] which had an effect on his productivity in regards to his creation of artwork. He died of undocumented causes four years later.[6]

Very few of Mortimer's paintings have endured to the present day, for a variety of reasons. However, some of his work may still be viewed through their engravings.[6]

Dr Daniel Solander Sir Joseph Banks Captain James Cook Dr John Hawkesworth Earl of Sandwich use button to expand image or a cursor to investigate

Use cursor to find Dr Daniel Solander, Sir Joseph Banks, Captain James Cook, Dr John Hawkesworth and Earl Sandwich by Mortimer
Use cursor to find Dr Daniel Solander, Sir Joseph Banks, Captain James Cook, Dr John Hawkesworth and Earl Sandwich by Mortimer

[edit] Notes

I ^  Despite his great rate of productivity and his prolificity, Mortimer was often accused of being a "copier" of others in relation to artwork. Horace Walpole, a politician and writer, among other things, was one such accuser, who claimed that Mortimer was nothing more than an "imitator" of Salvator Rosa in his war scene paintings.[5]

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ John Hamilton Mortimer (1740-1779), History painter. Retrieved on 7 September, 2007.
  2. ^ Samuel Ireland at ilab.org accessed 7 September 2007
  3. ^ National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved on 7 September, 2007.
  4. ^ Gothic Romance and the Quixotic Hero:A Pageant for Henry Fuseli in 1783 by Martin Myrone at Tate.org accessed 8 September 2007
  5. ^ a b Jeffrey Kahan Reforging Shakespeare: The Story of a Theatrical Scandal Lehigh University Press, 1998. ISBN 0934223556
  6. ^ a b Biography of artist. Retrieved on 7 September, 2007.