History Painter John Trumbull

John Trumbull, a colonel in the Revolutionary War, was the son of a distinguished scholar and governor of the state of Connecticut during the revolution. In the war, Trumbull used his skills as a draftsman by drawing plans of various works in which the army was interested. After his time in the army, Trumbull went to Europe to continue his studies of painting. Beginning in 1783, he studied day and night with Benjamin West in London. Under the tutelage of West and John S. Copley he devoted himself to art as a profession (National Cyclopedia 334).

Later, Trumbull would be considered the painter of the Revolution. In his early works, he painted subjects from Greek and Roman history, but he soon abandoned these in favor of contemporary history. His first such works were "Death of General Montgomery" and "Battle of Bunker's Hill;" these were painted in West's studio under West's direction in the spring of 1786. Trumbull was encouraged by these works, and by certain publications, and he embarked on a plan of publishing engravings after the paintings.

Trumbull proceeded to Paris in 1785 in search of suitable engravers; Thomas Jefferson encouraged him to continue in his intended program. He spent three more years in England. Stimulated by travel and broadened by study, these were the most creative years of his life. His small painting of "Declaration of Independence" was started at this time, and took eight years to complete. It remains one of the most important v

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ing as a clerk in a Charleston bookstore when his pictures "Marius on the Ruins of Carthage" and "The Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth" gained him the approval of Washington Allston and Gilbert Stuart. At this point, his parents consented to his sailing for England with Allston to study under that master. He also studied at the Royal Academy and gained the interest of Benjamin West. He produced three works of distinction at this time: a terra-cotta statuette of "Hercules" in 1812, winning the gold medal of the Society of Arts; a large canvas called "The Dying Hercules" in 1813, which would be hung in the spring exhibition of the Royal Academy; and a second painting, "The Judgment of Jupiter," which might have won the cash premium of the Royal Academy if Morse had stayed to receive it. He returned to Boston, however, and opened a studio. He failed to attract a following at that time with his historical works. He turned to portrait painting as a way of making a living, though he had previously disdained the form. In any case, it was a difficult existence. He did become a mature and able portrait painter, and the level of excellence of his portraits is high (Dictionary of American Biography 247). Morse is most famous

Category: Arts - H