Philip Calderon
Encyclopedia
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
before moving towards historical genre. He was Keeper of 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...
in 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...
.
Calderon was born in Poitiers, France. His father was a professor of Spanish literature and a former Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
priest who had converted to Anglicanism. Calderon planned to study engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, but he became so interested in drawing technical figures and diagrams that he changed his mind and devoted his time to art. In 1850, he trained at Leigh's art school
James Mathews Leigh
James Mathews Leigh was an English art educator, painter, writer, dramatist and critic. He is best known as the founder of a popular private art school in London known as "Leigh's Academy", which eventually became the present day Heatherley School of Fine Art.-Life and work:Leigh was born in...
, 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...
, then went to 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...
to study under Picot
François-Édouard Picot
François-Edouard Picot was a French painter during the July Monarchy, painting mythological, religious and historical subjects.-Life:Born in Paris, Picot won the Prix de Rome painting scholarship in 1813...
in 1851. His first successful painting was called By the Waters of Babylon (1853), which was followed by a much more popular one called Broken Vows (1857). From the beginning he was inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, and some of his work showed the detail, deep colors, and realistic forms that characterize the style.
Calderon became a leading member of the St John's Wood Clique
St John's Wood Clique
The St John's Wood Clique was a group of Victorian artists who mostly lived in the St John's Wood area of London. Their ideas were broadly similar to an earlier group also called The Clique...
, a group of artists interested in modern genre and historical subjects. Historical, biblical, and literary themes were common in Calderon's later work. Many of his pieces show female forms wearing rich, silky clothing in gently-colored landscapes. His Morning (1884) features a copper-haired maiden watching a sunrise.
His Juliet (1896) shows Shakespeare's young heroine
Juliet Capulet
Juliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the other being Romeo. She is the daughter of old Capulet, head of the house of Capulet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself....
seated on her balcony gazing at the stars. His later paintings adopt more classical style, comparable to Edward Poynter
Edward Poynter
Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman who served as President of the Royal Academy.-Life:...
. His 1891 painting
St Elizabeth of Hungary's Great Act of Renunciation won the Chantrey bequest but caused considerable controversy because of its perceived anti-Catholic message. It depicted the saint bending naked over an altar watched by monks.
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...
exhibits several of Calderon's paintings.
Further reading
- Winifred Meynell. Volume 2 The modern school of art, volume 2 (W. R. Howell, c. 1887) pp. 212-220.
External links and references
- P. H. Calderon online (ArtCyclopedia)
- Biography and paintings (Art Renewal Center Museum)
- Calderon biography
- Biography and paintings (Artmagick)