Henry Herbert La Thangue
Encyclopedia
Henry Herbert La Thangue (Jan 19 1859 – 21 Dec 1929) was an English realist
rural landscape painter associated with the Newlyn School
.
La Thangue was born in Croydon
, Surrey, a suburb of London
, and was schooled at Dulwich College
where he met fellow painters Stanhope Forbes
and Frederick Goodall
. He studied painting first at the Lambeth School of Art
and then, from 1874–79, at the Royal Academy
, London, winning a gold medal for his work in 1879. This led to a prestigious scholarship for 3 years at the studio of Jean-Léon Gérome
at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
in Paris
. Here La Thangue came under the influence of the Barbizon school
of open-air landscape painters, such as Bastien-Lepage
and Dagnan-Bouveret
, despite the fact that his teacher was strongly critical of the movement.
Between 1881-82 La Thangue spent some time painting on the coast of Brittany
(one of his works from this period is "The Boat-builder's Yard"), then in Donzère
in the Rhone valley (1883). He became a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
in 1883. He returned to England in 1886, exhibiting at the Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists
(RBA), Grosvenor Gallery
, New Gallery
, Royal Institute of Oil Painters
, and many regional galleries. He became involved in a failed attempt to reform the Royal Academy, helping to found the rival New English Art Club
(NEAC) and exhibiting his work there.
In the late 1880s, La Thangue moved to South Walsham
in Norfolk
. One of his painting of this period, "Return of the Reapers" (1886) reflected his interest in photography and photo-realistic depictions. In the early 1890s he settled in Bosham
, in Sussex
, where he continued his large-scale rural genre paintings, some of which proved to be controversial. In 1896, the Tate Gallery
acquired "The Man with the Scythe" . In 1898 he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy, becoming a full Member in 1912.
La Thangue eventually made his base at Haylands in Graffham
, Sussex, though he also spent much time painting in Provence
in France (after 1901), Liguria
in Italy (1903–11) and the Balearic Islands
. His southern European Landscape paintings were shown in a successful exhibition at the Leicester Galleries just before the outbreak of World War I
.
In 1929 he was reportedly deeply affected by the loss of 2 of his paintings when the ship carrying them foundered off the New Zealand coast. In that same year he died in London on 21 December.
His wife Kate died on 22 September 1940 leaving a bequest of 3 of La Thangue's works ("Village Fountain", "Provençale Fishing Boats", and "Plovers on the Marshes") to the Robert McDougall Art Gallery in Christchurch, New Zealand.
La Thangue's work regularly fetches large sums when it comes up at auction. In 2006, his "Packing grapes" was sold for £70,000, while in December 2009 "In the orchards" realised over £285,000.
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
rural landscape painter associated with the Newlyn School
Newlyn School
The Newlyn School is a term used to describe an art colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists...
.
La Thangue was born in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Surrey, a suburb of 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...
, and was schooled at 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,...
where he met fellow painters Stanhope Forbes
Stanhope Forbes
Stanhope Alexander Forbes R.A., , was an artist and member of the influential Newlyn school of painters...
and Frederick Goodall
Frederick Goodall
Frederick Goodall was an English artist.Goodall was born in London, England in 1822, the second son of steel line engraver Edward Goodall . He received his education at the Wellington Road Academy....
. He studied painting first at the Lambeth School of Art
Lambeth School of Art
Lambeth School of Art was founded in 1854 by William Gregory as a night school associated with the St. Mary the Less Church in London.-History:...
and then, from 1874–79, at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, London, winning a gold medal for his work in 1879. This led to a prestigious scholarship for 3 years at the studio of Jean-Léon Gérome
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.-Life:Jean-Léon Gérôme was born...
at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Here La Thangue came under the influence of the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
of open-air landscape painters, such as Bastien-Lepage
Jules Bastien-Lepage
Jules Bastien-Lepage , was a French naturalist painter, a style related to the Realist movement.-Life and work:...
and Dagnan-Bouveret
Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret
right|thumb|Pascal Dagnan-Bouveretthumb|300px|[[Breton Women at a Pardon]], 1887. [[Museu Calouste Gulbenkian]]Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret , was one of the leading French artists of the academic school. He was born in Paris, the son of a tailor, and was raised by his grandfather after his...
, despite the fact that his teacher was strongly critical of the movement.
Between 1881-82 La Thangue spent some time painting on the coast of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
(one of his works from this period is "The Boat-builder's Yard"), then in Donzère
Donzère
Donzère is a commune of the Drôme department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is a town located in the south of Drôme and on the left bank of Rhône river, next to Montélimar.-Geography:...
in the Rhone valley (1883). He became a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
Royal Institute of Oil Painters
The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists.-History:...
in 1883. He returned to England in 1886, exhibiting at the Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
(RBA), Grosvenor Gallery
Grosvenor Gallery
The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé...
, New Gallery
New Gallery (London)
The New Gallery was an art gallery founded at 121 Regent Street W., London, in 1888 by J. Comyns Carr and Charles Edward Hallé. Carr and Hallé had been co-directors of Sir Coutts Lindsay's Grosvenor Gallery, but resigned from that troubled gallery in 1887....
, Royal Institute of Oil Painters
Royal Institute of Oil Painters
The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists.-History:...
, and many regional galleries. He became involved in a failed attempt to reform the Royal Academy, helping to found the rival New English Art Club
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.-History:Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886...
(NEAC) and exhibiting his work there.
In the late 1880s, La Thangue moved to South Walsham
South Walsham
South Walsham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is adjacent to South Walsham Broad.It covers an area of and had a population of 738 in 303 households as of the 2001 census....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. One of his painting of this period, "Return of the Reapers" (1886) reflected his interest in photography and photo-realistic depictions. In the early 1890s he settled in Bosham
Bosham
Bosham is a small coastal village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, about ) west of Chichester on an inlet of Chichester Harbour....
, in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, where he continued his large-scale rural genre paintings, some of which proved to be controversial. In 1896, the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
acquired "The Man with the Scythe" . In 1898 he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy, becoming a full Member in 1912.
La Thangue eventually made his base at Haylands in Graffham
Graffham
Graffham is a village and civil parish in West Sussex, England, situated on the northern escarpment of the South Downs. It is made up of the village of Graffham and the hamlet of Selham...
, Sussex, though he also spent much time painting in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
in France (after 1901), Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
in Italy (1903–11) and the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
. His southern European Landscape paintings were shown in a successful exhibition at the Leicester Galleries just before the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
In 1929 he was reportedly deeply affected by the loss of 2 of his paintings when the ship carrying them foundered off the New Zealand coast. In that same year he died in London on 21 December.
His wife Kate died on 22 September 1940 leaving a bequest of 3 of La Thangue's works ("Village Fountain", "Provençale Fishing Boats", and "Plovers on the Marshes") to the Robert McDougall Art Gallery in Christchurch, New Zealand.
La Thangue's work regularly fetches large sums when it comes up at auction. In 2006, his "Packing grapes" was sold for £70,000, while in December 2009 "In the orchards" realised over £285,000.
Selected works
- The Shepherd (1880s)
- The Boat-builder’s Yard, Cancale, Britanny (1881)
- In the Dauphiné (1886)
- The Return of the Reapers (1886)
- The Mushroom gatherers (n.d.)
- Mowing Bracken (n.d.)
- Leaving home (1890)
- The Last Furrow (1895)
- The Man with the scythe (1896)
- Packing grapes
- In the orchards
- The Watersplash (1899)
- Making Ligurian Lace (1905)
- Girls with Jars (1920)
- Moonrise in Spain (1921)
Further reading
- McConkey, Kenneth. A painter's harvest: Works by Henry Herbert La Thangue R. A, 1859-1929 (Oldham Art Gallery, 1978).
- Jenkins, Adrian. Painters and Peasants: Henry La Thangue and British Rural Naturalism (Bolton Museum, 2000).
External links
- La Thangue online (ArtCyclopedia)
- Paintings by La Thangue (Art inconnu)
- The man with the scythe (background info about the painting)