Francis Bourgeois
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois (November 1753 – January 8 1811) was an English-Swiss landscape
painter and court painter to George III
. He lived with his French partner Noel Desenfans and Desenfans's Welsh wife Margaret Morris. The three lived together in a house in Charlotte (now Hallam) Street, London
. With Noël Desenfans, an art dealer, they were commissioned in 1790 by King Stanisław II August Poniatowski, King of Poland
, to form a Royal Collection for Poland. The King sent his brother Michel Poniatowski
to London to discuss the matter, to promote Nöel Desenfans as Polish consul in London and to present Bourgeois the Order of Merit "Merentibus" on 12 April 1791 (which is kept in the Dulwich Picture Gallery
).
In 1795, the King was forced to abdicate and the dealers were left with the royal collection on theirs hands. In public they sought a home for the Royal Collection, approaching amongst others the Tsar of Russia and the British Government. After Desenfans's death in 1807, Francis Bourgeois became sole owner of the Royal Collection. When he died he left his collection to Dulwich College
, and £10,000 to build a gallery for them. Dulwich Picture Gallery
was therefore founded by the terms of Sir Francis Bourgeois's will upon his death in 1811. Thus came into being England's first public art gallery, built by Sir John Soane
who included a mausoleum. Sir Francis Bourgeois decided to have himself and his co-founders, Nöel and Margaret Desenfans, buried in their own mausoleum.
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
painter and court painter to George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. He lived with his French partner Noel Desenfans and Desenfans's Welsh wife Margaret Morris. The three lived together in a house in Charlotte (now Hallam) Street, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. With Noël Desenfans, an art dealer, they were commissioned in 1790 by King Stanisław II August Poniatowski, King of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, to form a Royal Collection for Poland. The King sent his brother Michel Poniatowski
Michel Poniatowski
Michel Poniatowski was a Polish Prince and French politician. He was a founder of the Independent Republicans and a part of the administration for President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Poniatowski served as Minister of Health from 1973 to 1974 and Minister of the Interior in the d'Estaing government...
to London to discuss the matter, to promote Nöel Desenfans as Polish consul in London and to present Bourgeois the Order of Merit "Merentibus" on 12 April 1791 (which is kept in the Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London. England's first purpose-built public art gallery, it was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Soane arranged the exhibition spaces as a series of interlinked rooms illuminated naturally...
).
In 1795, the King was forced to abdicate and the dealers were left with the royal collection on theirs hands. In public they sought a home for the Royal Collection, approaching amongst others the Tsar of Russia and the British Government. After Desenfans's death in 1807, Francis Bourgeois became sole owner of the Royal Collection. When he died he left his collection to Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
, and £10,000 to build a gallery for them. Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London. England's first purpose-built public art gallery, it was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Soane arranged the exhibition spaces as a series of interlinked rooms illuminated naturally...
was therefore founded by the terms of Sir Francis Bourgeois's will upon his death in 1811. Thus came into being England's first public art gallery, built by Sir John Soane
John Soane
Sir John Soane, RA was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, massing of simple form, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources...
who included a mausoleum. Sir Francis Bourgeois decided to have himself and his co-founders, Nöel and Margaret Desenfans, buried in their own mausoleum.
Paintings
- Paysage Anglais, huile signe P.F. Bourgeois 1787, dimensions 47cm de hauteur et 67cm de large, Bourgeois family
- Extensive Picturesque Landscape with Gypsies, by Sir Francis Bourgeois, Tabley House the Dining Room, Leicester family, KnutsfordKnutsfordKnutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
, CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England - Mr. Kemble as Coriolanus, by Sir Francis Bourgeois, Sir John Soane's Museum, London
- Scene from Coriolanus, (1797), 89×110 cm, oil on canvas, Standort: London, Courtesy of Trustees of Sir John Soane's Museum
- The Chestnut Hunter, oil on canvas, 33¾"×43", signed and dated lower right "P. F. Bourgeois 1781, framed, titled and labeled on reverse: "British Sporting Paintings," exhibited at Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, England, 1943, loaned by Messrs. Frost & Reed, London, registered stock # of F.R. (Frost & Reed) B311. Note: Label on reverse lists the artist as Sir F. P. Bourgeois, however the biographical listing in E. Benezet is Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois. Condition: Under black light a few small areas of inpaintingInpaintingInpainting is the process of reconstructing lost or deteriorated parts of images and videos. For instance, in the case of a valuable painting, this task would be carried out by a skilled image restoration artist...
in the sky and an area to the right of the horse noted; basically in very fine condition. October 2003 Schrager Auction Galleries Ltd. item 1285 price was $18,000.00 - The Ferry's Crossing watercolour/paper 24×37.5 cm sold 09 Sep 1993
- Tobias and the Angel oil panel 20.3×20.8 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Seashore oil canvas 101×106.3 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Friar in Prayer oil panel 16.5×12 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Soldiers oil panel 16.5×12 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Man holding a Horse oil canvas 21×15.8 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Tiger Hunt oil canvas 114.3×142.2cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Landscape with Cattle oil canvas 91.7×145.1cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Cupid oil canvas 60.6×81.9cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Landscape with Cattle oil canvas 101.9×127.5 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Landscape with Soldiers oil canvas 63.8×75.8 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Figures in a Landscape oil canvas 43.2×76.2 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Landscape with Cattle oil canvas 42.9×53 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Cavalry in a Landscape oil canvas 40×67.9 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Self-portrait oil canvas 61×51.8 cm provenance gift of the executors of Sir Felix Agar
- Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois, creator Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois after Sir William BeecheyWilliam BeecheySir Henry William Beechey , English portrait-painter, was born at Burford, the son of William Beechey and Hannah Read ....
oil canvas 76.2×60.9 cm damaged 1939/45 Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery - Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois, creator Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois after Sir William Beechey oil canvas 76.5×64.1 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- William Tell oil canvas 76.8×110.2 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Seashore oil canvas 91.7×146.7 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Landscape with Cattle oil canvas 79.4×107.9 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Funeral Procession oil canvas 131.5×206.1 cm Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Religion in the Desert oil canvas 94.6×120 cm damaged 1939/45 Bourgeois bequest 1811 at the Dulwich
- A Man on Horseback, called Noel Desenfans creator ascribed to Bourgeois, Sir Peter Francis 1756 1811 oil canvas 119.7×101 cm; is the only picture in the collection that could conceivably be identified with no.273 in the 1813 inventory ('Desenfans up on Horse' by Bourgeois). The attribution to Bourgeois, however seems impossible and the identity of the sitter indeterminate. Provenance London, London, Sir Francis Bourgeois, 1811
- Richard Earlom after Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois, Smugglers Defeated. From the original Picture in the Collection of Noel Desenfans Esqr. &c. London, B. B. Evans May 1st 1798. Mezzotint. 520×690mm
- Scene pastorale, dessin lave de sepia, British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
- Etude de troupeaux, aquarelle gouache, British Museum
- Peter Francis Bourgeois, The Ferry's Crossing, Watercolor w/scratching out, 9.5×14.8 in. / 24.2×37;5 cm, Signed, sold by Bonhams Chelsea: 9.September 1993 Lot 130 English and Continental Watercolours and Drawings
- Attributed To Peter Francis Bourgeois, Whispering sweet nothings, Oil on Canvas, 28.2×34.5 in. / 71.8×87.6 cm., sold by New Orleans Auction Galleries: 17 November 2002 Lot 975 Sale 0206, no picture available
- After Peter Francis Bourgeois, Cottage Cares (+ Rural Innocence; 2 works by J. Whessell), 1806–, Medium stipple engravings in colors, 24×20.5 in. / 61×52 cm., R. Bowyer, pub., sold by Christie's South Kensington: 27.April 2006 Lot 2773, British and Continental Pictures