John Alexander (painter)
Encyclopedia
John Alexander was a Scottish
painter
and engraver of the 18th century.
Alexander was the son of a clergyman, and was descended from Jamisone. In the early part of the 18th century he visited Rome, about 1717, but was not established there, as Heineken
says, and etched some plates after Raphael
's frescoes in the Loggie of the Vatican. He dedicated a set of six, dated 1717 and 1718, to Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Strutt
says that they do Alexander no kind of credit, and terms them slight, loose, and incorrect etchings. In 1721 a letter to a friend was printed at Edinburgh describing a staircase painted at Castle Gordon, with the Rape of Proserpine
, by Alexander.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and engraver of the 18th century.
Alexander was the son of a clergyman, and was descended from Jamisone. In the early part of the 18th century he visited Rome, about 1717, but was not established there, as Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
says, and etched some plates after Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
's frescoes in the Loggie of the Vatican. He dedicated a set of six, dated 1717 and 1718, to Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Strutt
Strutt
Strutt may refer to:* Strutt , a supplier of folding bicycles* Strutt , people with the surname Strutt...
says that they do Alexander no kind of credit, and terms them slight, loose, and incorrect etchings. In 1721 a letter to a friend was printed at Edinburgh describing a staircase painted at Castle Gordon, with the Rape of Proserpine
Rape of Proserpine
The Rape of Persephone is a classical mythological subject in Western art, depicting the kidnap of Proserpina by Pluto.The myth is absent in Homer and first appears in Hesiod's Theogony:[16] "Also he came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she bore white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus ...
, by Alexander.
Sources
- Long, George. The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1842-1844. 4 vols.