| From
painting to sculpture
His big break Wealth and fame Notable works |
Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey RA (1781-1841)Francis Chantrey, one of the most important establishment sculptors in the early 19th Century, only just falls within the Victorian period. However, he had a profound influence by reason of his Bequest, which allowed the Royal Academy to purchase works of art executed in Britain for the national collection (later the Tate Gallery).Chantrey was born near Sheffield, and was initially apprenticed to a carver/gilder named Ramsay. The well-known mezzotint engraver Raphael Smith was a frequent visitor to Ramsay’s shop, took a liking to young Chantrey, and gave him drawing lessons. top Chantrey
started to paint portraits, and moved from portrait painting to wood
carving and back again before making his first attempts at clay modelling.
Finally in 1809, he exhibited a Head of Satan at the Royal Academy,
which led to commissions to make busts of Nelson and other admirals
for Greenwich Hospital. His
big break came with another bust at the Royal Academy in 1811 - Henry
Tooke - which was so well received that it brought 12,000 pounds worth
of commissions to the sculptor. A well-chosen marriage to his cousin
Ann Wale brought a further 10,000 pounds to help to establish a good
studio and purchase several houses. Chantrey’s
wealth and fame grew together. In that first successful year of 1811,
he charged 80-100 guineas for a bust, which he was able to increase
to 120-150 guineas in 1814, 200 guineas by 1822, and a lucrative 300
guineas for a bust of George IV. Chantrey also made some useful trips
abroad - to Paris in 1814, and in 1819 to Rome, where he visited the
studios of Canova and Thorvaldson, and bought marble at Carara. He had
already become ARA in 1815, and had been elected RA just three years
later. In 1835 he was knighted, and by the end of his life had built
up a huge fortune, used to establish the above-mentioned bequest. He
is buried in the churchyard of Norton Church about a mile from the old
Rowlinson school. Among
his many statues and monuments are the Sleeping Children (1817) in Lichfield
Cathedral, a series of portraits in St Paul’s Cathedral (including Gillespie
and Heber) and in Westminster Abbey (including James Watt and Stamford
Raffles), William Pitt in Hanover Square and George IV in Trafalgar
Square (made originally for Marble Arch). His George Washington is in
Boston State House, USA. |