William Dobson (4 March 1611 (baptised);[1] 28 October 1646 (buried)[2]) was a portraitist and one of the first significant English painters, praised by his contemporary John Aubrey as "the most excellent painter that England has yet bred".[3] He died relatively young and his final years were disrupted by the English Civil War.
The Executioner with the Head of John the Baptist, c. 1640
Dobson was born in London, the son of a lawyer also called William Dobson. He was baptised at St Andrew's Holborn.[4] He was apprenticed to William Peake and probably later joined the studio of Francis Cleyn. There is a claim that his father was a decorative artist, but this may be a misreading of the single known quote about Dobson Sr, by the antiquarian John Aubrey.[5] Dobson is believed to have had access to the Royal Collection and to have copied works by Titian and Anthony van Dyck, the court painter of King Charles I of England. The colour and texture of Dobson's work was influenced by Venetian art, but Van Dyck's style had little apparent influence on Dobson.[6] The story that Van Dyck himself discovered Dobson when he noticed one of the young artist's pictures in a London shop window is not supported by any evidence, nor do we know how he gained his introduction to the King, who had Dobson paint himself, his sons and members of the court.
Portrait thought to be of the artist's second wife, Judith, c. 1635–1640[8]
Around sixty of Dobson's works survive, mostly half-length portraits dating from 1642 or later. The thick impasto of his early work gave way to a mere skim of paint, perhaps reflecting a wartime scarcity of materials. After Oxford fell to the Parliamentarians, in June 1646, Dobson returned to London. Now without patronage, he was briefly imprisoned for debt and died in poverty at the age of thirty-five.
Ellis Waterhouse described Dobson as "the most distinguished purely British painter before Hogarth",[9] and in the view of Waldemar Januszczak he was "the first British born genius, the first truly dazzling English painter".[10]
The 2011 anniversary of his birth was marked by exhibitions, a 'Dobson Trail' listing his paintings on a website, and a BBC television profile by Januszczak, The Lost Genius of British Art: William Dobson.[11]
Personal life
He was married twice, first to Elizabeth, whose surname is unknown, as is the date of their marriage. She was buried in St Martin-in-the-Fields on 26 September 1634. On 18 December 1637 he married Judith Sander, who survived him.[2]
^"William Dobson Portrait of the Artist's Wife c.1635–40". Tate Gallery. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^E. K. Waterhouse, Painting in Britain 1530–1790, 5th edn, New Haven and London 1994, p.80, quoted in United Kingdom Tate Gallery — William Dobson 1611–1646, Portrait of the Artist's Wife circa 1635–1640.
^Waldemar Januszczak in part three of his BBC documentary series, Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's; and 'The first great British painter?' in Tate, 17, Spring 1999, p.62.
Waldemar Januszczak, The first great British painter?, Tate, 17, Spring 1999, p. 62.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Dobson.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dobson, William" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
United Kingdom National Portrait Gallery — William Dobson
Tate Collection — William Dobson
William Dobson 1611-1646, Biography, Paintings, Dobson Art Trail
59 artworks by or after William Dobson at the Art UK site
May 05, 2023
william, dobson, other, people, with, same, name, disambiguation, march, 1611, baptised, october, 1646, buried, portraitist, first, significant, english, painters, praised, contemporary, john, aubrey, most, excellent, painter, that, england, bred, died, relati. For other people with the same name see William Dobson disambiguation William Dobson 4 March 1611 baptised 1 28 October 1646 buried 2 was a portraitist and one of the first significant English painters praised by his contemporary John Aubrey as the most excellent painter that England has yet bred 3 He died relatively young and his final years were disrupted by the English Civil War Self portrait late 1630s Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Personal life 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography Edit Portrait of the artist William Dobson centre with Nicholas Lanier left and Sir Charles Cotterell right c 1645 The Executioner with the Head of John the Baptist c 1640 Dobson was born in London the son of a lawyer also called William Dobson He was baptised at St Andrew s Holborn 4 He was apprenticed to William Peake and probably later joined the studio of Francis Cleyn There is a claim that his father was a decorative artist but this may be a misreading of the single known quote about Dobson Sr by the antiquarian John Aubrey 5 Dobson is believed to have had access to the Royal Collection and to have copied works by Titian and Anthony van Dyck the court painter of King Charles I of England The colour and texture of Dobson s work was influenced by Venetian art but Van Dyck s style had little apparent influence on Dobson 6 The story that Van Dyck himself discovered Dobson when he noticed one of the young artist s pictures in a London shop window is not supported by any evidence nor do we know how he gained his introduction to the King who had Dobson paint himself his sons and members of the court Endymion Porter c 1642 1645 Little is known of Dobson s career in the 1630s but when Van Dyck died in 1641 the opportunity arose for him to gain royal commissions from King Charles He is said to have become serjeant painter to the king and groom of the privy chamber 2 However this claim comes from only one old and as yet unverified source 7 During the English Civil War Dobson was based at the Royalist centre of Oxford and painted many leading Cavaliers His portrait of the future Charles II as Prince of Wales at the age of around twelve is a notable baroque composition and perhaps his finest work He also painted at least the head of Duke of York as well as portraits of leading Royalists such as Charles Lucas and John Byron 1st Baron Byron Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Prince Maurice Works Edit Portrait thought to be of the artist s second wife Judith c 1635 1640 8 Around sixty of Dobson s works survive mostly half length portraits dating from 1642 or later The thick impasto of his early work gave way to a mere skim of paint perhaps reflecting a wartime scarcity of materials After Oxford fell to the Parliamentarians in June 1646 Dobson returned to London Now without patronage he was briefly imprisoned for debt and died in poverty at the age of thirty five Ellis Waterhouse described Dobson as the most distinguished purely British painter before Hogarth 9 and in the view of Waldemar Januszczak he was the first British born genius the first truly dazzling English painter 10 There are examples of Dobson s work at the National Gallery the National Gallery of Scotland Tate Britain the National Portrait Gallery the National Maritime Museum Queen s House in Greenwich the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull the Courtauld Institute of Art the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London in several English country houses including notably Alnwick Castle where Dobson s self portrait with Nicholas Lanier and Charles Cotterell is displayed and at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in New Zealand The 2011 anniversary of his birth was marked by exhibitions a Dobson Trail listing his paintings on a website and a BBC television profile by Januszczak The Lost Genius of British Art William Dobson 11 Personal life EditHe was married twice first to Elizabeth whose surname is unknown as is the date of their marriage She was buried in St Martin in the Fields on 26 September 1634 On 18 December 1637 he married Judith Sander who survived him 2 William Dobson s paintings Charles II when Prince of Wales c 1642 or 1643 Abraham van der Doort c 1640 Richard Neville n d Edward Hyde Earl of Clarendon c 1643 Sir Richard Fanshawe 1st Baronet 1644 Sir Edward Dering 1st Baronet c 1642 Nicholas Oudart n d Sir Thomas Aylesbury n d References Edit London Metropolitan Archives St Andrew Holborn Register of baptisms 1558 1623 P82 AND2 A 001 MS06667 Item 001 a b c Katherine Gibson William Dobson Oxford Online Dictionary of National Biography 2004 National Portrait Gallery William Dobson Biography used for television series Retrieved 10 May 2021 Jones The King s Painter p27 Waldemar Januszczak Summer 2016 The Full English Bonhams Magazine 47 29 Jones The King s Painter p16 William Dobson Portrait of the Artist s Wife c 1635 40 Tate Gallery Retrieved 2 February 2015 E K Waterhouse Painting in Britain 1530 1790 5th edn New Haven and London 1994 p 80 quoted in United Kingdom Tate Gallery William Dobson 1611 1646 Portrait of the Artist s Wife circa 1635 1640 Waldemar Januszczak in part three of his BBC documentary series Baroque From St Peter s to St Paul s and The first great British painter in Tate 17 Spring 1999 p 62 William Dobson 1611 1646 Further reading EditR F Jones William Dobson The King s Painter Tyger s Head Books 2016 Malcolm Rogers William Dobson 1611 46 1983 National Portrait Gallery Exhibition Catalogue ISBN 0904017532 John Aubrey Brief Lives Waldemar Januszczak The first great British painter Tate 17 Spring 1999 p 62 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Dobson Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Dobson William Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press United Kingdom National Portrait Gallery William Dobson Tate Collection William Dobson William Dobson 1611 1646 Biography Paintings Dobson Art Trail 59 artworks by or after William Dobson at the Art UK site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Dobson amp oldid 1153001388, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
