Francois Louis

The English ‘Romantic’ landscape painter, Richard Parkes Bonington or Richard Bonington, was born on October 25, 1802, in Arnold, near Nottingham, England. The only child of Richard Bonington, a dabbling painter & a prison guard, and Eleanor Parks, a teacher, the artisan showed interest in drawing & acting, since his early childhood. He gave to the world an astonishing mix of classical flairs, modernized with finesse.

Bonington’s father trained him on watercolor painting and at the tender age of 11, he had his basi exhibition at the Liverpool Academy. After his father lost his job, the Boningtons decisive to migrate to Calais, France, in 1817. Here they started a lace factory, with Richard simultaneously being trained on English watercolor paintings, under the painter, François Louis Thomas Francia. In 1818, the Bonington family moved to Paris to get started a lace merchandising outlet. Richard disliked working at the factory and bestloved painting and sketching. To pursue his artistic interest, he joined Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris for 1819-22 session, versus his father wishes, and studied under Baron Antoine-Jean Gros.

In Paris, Richard Bonington befriended Eugène Delacroix and also got an probability to learn watercolor painting from the famous painter, François Louis Thomas Francia. In 1821, the painter traveled to Normandy with his friend and a fellow student, Alexandre-Marie Colin. During his trip, he recorded the scenes of fish markets and architectural ruins, selling his works later to two Paris based dealers. Richard Bonington had his basi successful exhibition at the Salon in 1822, where Société des Amis des Arts purchased two of his paintings. His admirers included none other than the artists of high caliber, like Corot, Delacroix, and Gros. At the age of 20, Richard went to Italy for eleven weeks with Baron Rivet and drew “The Leaning Tower, Bologna.” In 1823, he started out work on his lithographic series on architectural ruins, “Restes et Fragmens,” which fetched him a gold medal at the Paris Salon, in 1824.

Richards Bonington became influential in England and France, as a master of ‘Romanticism.’ His works were in general poetic in essence and were widely known and esteemed for their technicalities & the bright use of colors. Richard regarded Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), the leading artisan of the French Revolutionary era, as one of his greatest influences. Some of his most widely known and esteemed works entailed “The Harbor, Le Havre (1821),” “La Seine A Mantes (1824),” “Place Du Molard (1826),” “The Bridge and Abbey at St. Maurice d’Agaune (1826),” and “Souvenir De Venise (1828).” The fate however, harshly nipped the surging phenomenon called Richard Parkes Bonington. Tuberculosis, coupled with work exertion and sunstroke, claimed his life at an early age of 26, on September 23, 1828, in London.

Francois Louis Photo

Francois Louis Image

Francois Louis Photo

Francois Louis Image