Robert Turnbull Macpherson
Encyclopedia
Robert Turnbull Macpherson (27 February 1814 - 17 November 1872) was a Scottish
artist
and photographer who worked in Rome, Italy, in the 19th century.
, Scotland
, outside the city of Edinburgh
. Although family friend and author
Margaret Oliphant described him as a close relative of Clan Macpherson
chief
Ewan Macpherson of Cluny
and "the nearest male relative" of poet
James Macpherson
, his exact relations are ambiguous. Nothing is known of Macpherson's childhood until his study in medicine
at the University of Edinburgh
between 1831 and 1835. He apparently did not complete his medical studies, and subsequently studied art at the Royal Scottish Academy
in Edinburgh, where he exhibited portrait
s between 1835 and 1839. His only known surviving work from this period is Templar Knight at Roslin Chapelhttp://www.skt.org.uk/The_Rosslyn_Templar.html, an oil painting
dated 1836. In 1840 he left Scotland for Rome
, Italy
.
In addition to painting, he worked as an art dealer
. His most notable acquisition was a large, dark panel which he purchased in 1846. After cleaning the piece, it was identified as an unfinished work by Michelangelo
, The Entombment of Christ. Macpherson smuggled
the painting out of Rome, and in 1868 sold it to the National Gallery
in London
for £2000.
In 1847, Macpherson met and fell in love with seventeen-year-old Louisa Gerardine ("Geddie") Bate, who had travelled from London to Rome in the company of her aunt, art historian Anna Jameson. Macpherson and Bate continued the relationship after Bate's return to England
, despite her parents' and aunt's objections, and were married in September, 1849, in Ealing
.
, using albumin
on glass negatives
. By 1856 he had transitioned to collodio-albumin
, allowing the easier transport of dry plate
s. He typically utilized large-format negatives
and long exposure times
to attain exceptional detail of Roman
architecture
, monuments, ruins
, landscapes, and sculptures. His work emphasized careful composure of scenes to capture three-dimensional architectural relationships on the two-dimensional photographic medium. Macpherson emphasized the artistic aspects of his photography, stating in 1863 that "I remain a photographer to this day, without any feeling that by doing so I have abandoned art, or have in any way forfeited my claim to the title of artist."
By the early 1860s, Macpherson's photographic career was near its zenith, with exhibitions
in Edinburgh and London. His work received critical acclaim, with "subjects chosen with fine taste and the pictures executed with skill and delicacy."
Macpherson was the first photographer permitted to photograph inside the Vatican
, and in 1863 published Vatican Sculptures, Selected and Arranged in the Order in which they are Found in the Gallerieshttp://books.google.com/books?id=1Og-AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:OCLC162863201#v=onepage&q&f=false, a guide book
to 125 Vatican sculptures featuring woodcut
illustrations carved by his wife from his photographs.
Although resident in Rome, Macpherson remained an active member of the Photographic Society of Scotland.
, and the increasing political instability in Rome
reduced the stream of British tourists
that made up much of his customer base. At the same time, technical advances in photography moved the medium from the realm of artists to that of a commodity
.
Robert Macpherson died on 17 November 1872. His funeral was held at the artists' church Santa Maria del Popolo
in Rome, and he was buried at Campo Verano though his grave has since been lost. He was survived by his wife Gerardine and children William (who appears in the Italian record as "Guglielmo"), Joseph ("Giuseppe"), Ada ("Aida"), and Francis or Frank ("Francesco").
Over the course of his photography career, Macpherson cataloged 1,019 photographs. Today, a significant number of Macpherson works are held at the George Eastman House
, the J. Paul Getty Museum
, the Courtauld Institute of Art
, and the British School at Rome
. Smaller collections are found worldwide.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and photographer who worked in Rome, Italy, in the 19th century.
Early life
Robert Turnbull Macpherson was born on 27 February 1814 in DalkeithDalkeith
Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
, Scotland
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...
, outside the city of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Although family friend and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Margaret Oliphant described him as a close relative of Clan Macpherson
Clan Macpherson
Clan Macpherson is a Highland Scottish clan from Badenoch, on the River Spey. It is a leading member of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...
chief
Scottish clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...
Ewan Macpherson of Cluny
Ewen MacPherson of Cluny
Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, also known as "Cluny Macpherson", was the chief of the Clan Chattan at the time of the Jacobite Rising of 1745. He took part as a supporter of Charles Edward Stuart and after the rebellion was crushed he went into hiding...
and "the nearest male relative" of poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
James Macpherson
James Macpherson
James Macpherson was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.-Early life:...
, his exact relations are ambiguous. Nothing is known of Macpherson's childhood until his study in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
between 1831 and 1835. He apparently did not complete his medical studies, and subsequently studied art at the Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
in Edinburgh, where he exhibited portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s between 1835 and 1839. His only known surviving work from this period is Templar Knight at Roslin Chapelhttp://www.skt.org.uk/The_Rosslyn_Templar.html, an oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
dated 1836. In 1840 he left Scotland for Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Early career in Rome
During his initial years in Rome, Macpherson continued to practice as a painter. While records exist of several works between 1840 and 1845, only one is known to survive from Macpherson's time in Rome -- a large oil painting of the Roman Campagna, dated 1842.In addition to painting, he worked as an art dealer
Art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
. His most notable acquisition was a large, dark panel which he purchased in 1846. After cleaning the piece, it was identified as an unfinished work by Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, The Entombment of Christ. Macpherson smuggled
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
the painting out of Rome, and in 1868 sold it to the National Gallery
National gallery
The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for £2000.
In 1847, Macpherson met and fell in love with seventeen-year-old Louisa Gerardine ("Geddie") Bate, who had travelled from London to Rome in the company of her aunt, art historian Anna Jameson. Macpherson and Bate continued the relationship after Bate's return to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, despite her parents' and aunt's objections, and were married in September, 1849, in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
.
Photography
In 1851, having failed to achieve notice as a painter, Macpherson turned to the new art of photographyPhotography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, using albumin
Collodion process
The collodion process is an early photographic process. It was introduced in the 1850s and by the end of that decade it had almost entirely replaced the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype. During the 1880s the collodion process, in turn, was largely replaced by gelatin dry...
on glass negatives
Photographic plate
Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a means of photography. A light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was applied to a glass plate. This form of photographic material largely faded from the consumer market in the early years of the 20th century, as more convenient and less fragile...
. By 1856 he had transitioned to collodio-albumin
Collodion-albumen process
The Collodion-Albumen process is one of the early dry plate processes, invented by Joseph Sidebotham in 1861.The process lacked economical success because the plate was much less sensitive and tended to have harder contrasts than wet plates...
, allowing the easier transport of dry plate
Dry plate
Dry plate, also known as gelatin process, is an improved type of photographic plate. It was invented by Dr. Richard L. Maddox in 1871, and by 1879 it was so well introduced that the first dry plate factory had been established...
s. He typically utilized large-format negatives
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
and long exposure times
Shutter speed
In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open....
to attain exceptional detail of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, monuments, ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
, landscapes, and sculptures. His work emphasized careful composure of scenes to capture three-dimensional architectural relationships on the two-dimensional photographic medium. Macpherson emphasized the artistic aspects of his photography, stating in 1863 that "I remain a photographer to this day, without any feeling that by doing so I have abandoned art, or have in any way forfeited my claim to the title of artist."
By the early 1860s, Macpherson's photographic career was near its zenith, with exhibitions
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
in Edinburgh and London. His work received critical acclaim, with "subjects chosen with fine taste and the pictures executed with skill and delicacy."
Macpherson was the first photographer permitted to photograph inside the Vatican
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums , in Viale Vaticano in Rome, inside the Vatican City, are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and...
, and in 1863 published Vatican Sculptures, Selected and Arranged in the Order in which they are Found in the Gallerieshttp://books.google.com/books?id=1Og-AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:OCLC162863201#v=onepage&q&f=false, a guide book
Guide book
A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provides details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide...
to 125 Vatican sculptures featuring woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
illustrations carved by his wife from his photographs.
Although resident in Rome, Macpherson remained an active member of the Photographic Society of Scotland.
Later life
By the late 1860s Macpherson's fortunes were in decline. His health had deteriorated due to malariaMalaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, and the increasing political instability in Rome
Second Italian War of Independence
The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, Austro-Sardinian War, or Austro-Piedmontese War , was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859...
reduced the stream of British tourists
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
that made up much of his customer base. At the same time, technical advances in photography moved the medium from the realm of artists to that of a commodity
Commodity
In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
.
Robert Macpherson died on 17 November 1872. His funeral was held at the artists' church Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo is an Augustinian church located in Rome, Italy.It stands to the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The Piazza is situated between the ancient Porta Flaminia and the park of the Pincio...
in Rome, and he was buried at Campo Verano though his grave has since been lost. He was survived by his wife Gerardine and children William (who appears in the Italian record as "Guglielmo"), Joseph ("Giuseppe"), Ada ("Aida"), and Francis or Frank ("Francesco").
Over the course of his photography career, Macpherson cataloged 1,019 photographs. Today, a significant number of Macpherson works are held at the George Eastman House
George Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
, the J. Paul Getty Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
, the Courtauld Institute of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
, and the British School at Rome
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and architecture...
. Smaller collections are found worldwide.
External links
- Robert MacPherson Online, links to Macpherson photographs at various museums and galleries.
- Scottish Knights Templar, with an image of the painting Templar Knight at Roslin Chapel.