Washington Allston

Wahington Allston called the American Titien is a painter of history, landscapes and portraits, a Poète and a writer American born in 1779 and died in 1843.

Biography

Washington Allston was born the November 5th 1779 with Waccamaw in South Carolina where his/her father was owner of a Plantation.

Intended for a liberal career, it enters to the college of Harvard in 1796 and is graduate in 1800 but its artistic tastes carry it and it undertakes artistic studies with Charleston in company of Charles Fraser (1782-1860) and Edward Greene Malbone (1777-1807), painter miniaturist of portraits. In autumn 1801, it embarks with this last for London to become the pupil of Benjamin West (1738-1820) and of Johann Heinrich Füssli (1741-1825) with the Royal Academy.

In 1804, it goes to Paris then, a few months later, with Rome in company of John Vanderlyn (1776-1852). The “dream of Joseph” that it paints in Rome in 1805 receives a great success. In Italy, it binds friendship with Washington Irving, writer American (1783-1859), Samuel Taylor Coleridge, British poet (1772-1834) and Bertel Thorwaldsen, sculptor Danish (1770-1844).

In 1809, of return to the United States, it marries there Ann Chaming, a sister of Doctor Chaming, then settles with his wife in England in 1811. This one will die in London in 1813 what, added to the excess of work of the artist, will carry seriously reached to its health.

During the second stay of Washington Allston in England, this one and Benjamin West transmit their art to another American who will follow their inspiration: Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) especially known for its invention of the electric telegraph but which after its return to the United States, in 1815, will carry out there the many paintings devoted to the American history. It also had as pupils two of its nephews, George Whiting Flagg and Jared Bradley Flagg which devoted a biographical work to him after its death.

After a second stay in Paris in 1818, Washington Allston returns to the United States and settles with Boston. In 1819, it is allowed like associated member of the Royal Academy.

In 1830, it remarie with the girl of Richard Henry Dana Sr., judge of Cambridge (Massachusetts), city where he will reside until his death, the July 9th 1843.

Allston, the western district of Boston where the university and the college of Boston as well as the University of Harvard are, was named thus in its memory in 1868.

Work

The “Resurrection”, the first work of the painter at the time of its second stay in England of 1811 to 1818, is worth to him the recognition of its pars and the attribution of a price of 200 Guineas of the British Institution; this work is aujourdhui in Pennsylvania Academy off Fine Arts of Philadelphia). It will paint then the “Delivery of Saint Pierre by the angels” (offered in 1877 to the Asylum of Worcester, Massachusetts), “Uriel in the sun” (1817, particular collection) as well as the “Dream of Jacob” (Petworth House, Sussex), “Élie in the desert”, etc

In 1813, it publishes “The Sylphs off the Seasons and other Poems”, collection of poetries which reveals its love of the nature and its knowledge of the human sensitivity.

After its return to the United States in 1818, it paints the “Prophet Jérémie” (Yale Center for British Art], New Haven, Connecticut), “Saül and the Pythonisse of Eudor”, the “Song of Myriam”, “Dante and Béatrice”, and one of its main works “Spalatro seeing the bloody hand” (inspired by the novel “Italian” of Anne Radcliffe). With its death, it will leave unfinished the “Feast of Balthazar” (Athenæum of Boston, Massachusetts), painting on which it worked since 1817.

He also wrote a Satire “The Two Painters” as well as a Romance tragic “Monaldi” whose scene is held in Italy (published in 1841); its “Readings one Art” were published in 1850 on a purely posthumous basis by his/her brother-in-law Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815-1882).

Work analyzes

In spite of a formation and a neo-classic environment and if the ambition of Washington Allston were above all to be a painter of history and scenes biblical, the artist was sensitive to romantic esthetics and assimilated the influence of Joseph Mallord William Turner. From its landscapes emanates thus an atmosphere of mystery and dream, as testifies to it “Landscape with the moonlight” (1809, Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts) or “Lorenzo and Jessica” (1832). It was thus one of the first painters, even the first, to introduce the romanticism in the United States before the movement impelled by Thomas Cole and Hudson River School. It also carried out many portraits, in particular “Benjamin West” and “Coleridge” (National Portrait Gallery, London) or its “Self-portrait” (1805, Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts) which show that the artist also succeeded in this kind.

The charm of its color, its manner of using the light and the colors and its power of dramatic effect were worth to him the nickname of “American Titien”.

List works

Peintures

the 1804 Déluge (Metropolitan Museum off Art, New York)
1804 Storm incipient on the sea (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1804 Landscape with a lake (particular collection)
1804 Landscape with a lake (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1805 Self-portrait (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1805 Landscape traditional (Addison Gallery off American Arts, Andover, Massachusetts)
1805 Thinks of Joseph (?)
1809 Landscape with the moonlight (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1811 Resurrection (Pennsylvania Academy off Fine Arts, Philadelphia)
1814 Italian Landscape (Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio)
1814 Portrait of Doctor John King de Clifton (Art Museum, San Francisco)
1815 Study of the Life or Study of an angel for the Delivery of holy Pierre by angels (particular collection)
1817-1843 Feast of Balthazar (Athenæum, Boston)
1817 Portrait of ISOC of York (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1817 Portrait of Jew (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1817 Uriel in the sun (Mugar Memorial Library, Boston, Massachusetts)
1818 Élie in the desert (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1818 Thinks of Jacob (Petworth House, Sussex)
1819 Removal of Florimel (Detroit Institute off Arts, Detroit, Michigan)
1819 Landscape of the moonlight (Museum off Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)
1832 Daydream of an young girl Spanish (particular collection)
1832 Lorenzo and Jessica (?)

18?? Song of Myriam (?)
18?? Dante and Béatrice (?)
18?? Delivery of holy Pierre by the angels (Worcester, Massachusetts),
18?? Landscape with the moonlight (?)
18?? Italian landscape (Institute Strait off Arts, Strait, Michigan)
18?? Portrait of Benjamin West (National Portrait Gallery, London)
18?? Portrait of Coleridge (National Portrait Gallery, London)
18?? Prophet Jérémie (Yale Center for British Art], New Haven, Connecticut)
18?? Saül and the Pythonisse of Eudor (?)
18?? Spalatro seeing the bloody hand (?)

Poetry

1813 The Sylphs off the Seasons with Other Poems

Romance

1841 Monaldi

Other works

1850 (posthumous) Readings one Art

See too

external Bonds

Readings one Art, Washington Allston, Editor Richard Henry Dana, Jr., 1850 with Préface of the editor
Entry one The New Students Refers Work
Web Gallery off Art
Musée of American art of Giverny, teaching Dossier 2006

Other sources

critical and documentary Dictionary of the painters, sculptors, draftsmen and engravers of all times and all the countries, under the direction of E. Bénézit - Volume first - Editor R. Roger and F. Chernoviz, Paris, 1911
The Life And Letters off Washington Allston, Jared Bradley Flagg - Editor Kessinger Publishing (DEC 2004), ISBN: 1417960191
Washington Allston, Edgar P. Richardson, 1948 - Editor University off Chicago pr.

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