George Knapton
Encyclopedia
Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity – as...
from 1765-1778.
Life and work
Knapton was born in LondonLondon
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...
, the son of James Knapton, a Bookseller of Ludgate street
Ludgate Hill
Ludgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1780. Ludgate Hill is the site of St Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana. It is one of the three...
. He studied art under Jonathan Richardson, then at the St. Martin's Lane Academy
St. Martin's Lane Academy
The St. Martin's Lane Academy, which was the precursor of the Royal Academy, was organized in 1735 by William Hogarth, from the circle of artists and designers who gathered at Slaughter's Coffee House at the upper end of St. Martin's Lane, London. The artistic set that introduced the Rococo style...
. He spent some years in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
where he became known as a sound judge of the works of the "Old Masters". An account of his visit to Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
was published in the "Philosophical Transactions" of 1740 (no. 458).
Knapton was an original member of the "Society of Dilettanti" and their first portrait artist. He painted many members of the society - mostly in fancy dress - including the Duke of Dorset
Duke of Dorset
Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset. The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas Sackville, was a statesman, poet and dramatist and notably served as...
, Viscount Galway
Viscount Galway
Viscount Galway is a title that has been created once in the Peerage of England and thrice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1628 in favour of Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde. He was made Earl of St Albans at the same time...
, Sir Francis Dashwood
Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer
Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer was an English rake and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of the Hellfire Club.-Early life:...
, the Earl of Holdernesse, Earl of Bessborough
Earl of Bessborough
Earl of Bessborough is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1739 for Brabazon Ponsonby, 2nd Viscount Duncannon, who had previously represented Newtownards and County Kildare in the Irish House of Commons...
and Sir Bourchier Wray. Knapton resigned his position at the society in 1763.
In 1750, the then Prince of Wales
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...
commissioned Knapton, together with George Vertue
George Vertue
George Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.-Life:...
, to produce a catalogue of the pictures at Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...
, Hampton Court and Windsor castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. In 1765, he succeeded Stephen Slaughter as Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures
Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity – as...
; he was also in charge of Lord Spencer
Spencer family
The Spencer family are a British noble family descended in the male line from Henry Spencer, claimed to be a descendant of the cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer , male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the later Dukes of Marlborough, and the Earls Spencer...
's collection at Althorp
Althorp
Althorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
.
Knapton's largest painting was that of the widowed Princess of Wales and her family (1751). He also painted portraits of the Earl of Upper Ossory
Earl of Upper Ossory
Earl of Upper Ossory was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 October 1751 for John FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Gowran, who later represented Bedfordshire in the House of Commons. He was the son of Richard FitzPatrick, who had been created Baron Gowran on 27 April 1715, also in the...
(with his brother and sister), the Earl of Burlington
Earl of Burlington
Earl of Burlington is a title that has been created twice, the first time in the Peerage of England and the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation was for Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork, on 20 March 1664...
, Admiral Sir John Norris, Francis, Fifth Duke of Leeds
Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds
Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds KG, PC , styled Marquess of Carmarthen until 1789, was a British politician...
, Admiral George Vandeput
George Vandeput
Admiral George Vandeput was an English naval officer, the illegitimate son of Sir George Vandeput, 2nd Baronet and an unknown mother.-Naval career:...
, Archibald Bower, Nicolas Tindal
Nicolas Tindal
Nicolas Tindal was the translator and continuer of the History of England by Paul de Rapin. Very few comprehensive histories existed at the time and Tindal wrote a three volume , a history of the Kingdom from the reigns of James II to George II...
, Hildebrand Jacob, Admiral Edward Hawke
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke
Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke KB, PC was an officer of the Royal Navy. He is best remembered for his service during the Seven Years' War, particularly his victory over a French fleet at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, preventing a French invasion of Britain...
, and the singers Carestini and Lisabetta du Parc.
Kanpton assisted his brothers, John and Paul - who had succeeded to and extended their father's business - in the production of several publications including works by Thomas Birch
Thomas Birch
Thomas Birch was an English historian.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell....
and "The History of England" by Nicolas Tindal and Paul de Rapin
Paul de Rapin
Paul de Rapin , sieur of Thoyras , was a French historian writing under English patronage....
.
Knapton died in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
in December 1778 and was buried there on the 28th of that same month.
Knapton's brother, Charles Knapton (1700-1760), was also an artist and, together with Arthur Pond
Arthur Pond
Arthur Pond was an English painter and engraver.-Life:Born about 1705, was educated in London, and stayed for a time in Rome studying art, in company with the sculptor Roubiliac. He became a successful portrait-painter....
(1705?-1758), published a book "Imitations of the Italian Masters" in 1735, which contained many engravings by himself, mainly of works by Guercino.
Further reading
- Redford, Bruce. Dilettanti: the antic and the antique in eighteenth-century England (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008).
External links
- George Knapton online (Artcyclopedo)
- George Knapton ("Draw Paint Sculpt")