George Théodore Berthon RCA (3 May 1806 – 18 January 1892) was a Canadian portrait painter. Born in Vienna to a well-known French portrait painter, René Théodore Berthon, he emigrated first to Great Britain, and then to Canada, sometime before 1845. He specialised in portraiture of high-ranking British and Canadian officials, developing a sense of realism and simplicity. He died in Toronto in 1892.
George Théodore Berthon | |
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| Born | 3 May 1806 Royal Palace of Vienna |
| Died | 18 January 1892 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Austrian-born French |
| Education | Paris, France. He likely was trained by his father who is said to have been a student of Jacques Louis David |
| Known for | Canadian portrait artist |
Biography
editBerthon's father, René Théodore Berthon, was a court painter to Napoleon I, and likely trained his son in art. As well, his knowledge of art in Paris would have been significant: his father was a student of Jacques Louis David.[1] As an adult, he lived in England for a number of years in the household of Sir Robert Peel to teach Peel's daughters drawing and French.[2] The first verifiable record of his immigration to Canada is an advertisement for his portraiture services in a Toronto newspaper in 1845.
Berthon was notable in the history of Canada for his creation of formal portraits characterized by a sense of realism. He focused on defining his subjects' features and characters without idealization. The composition of his portraits remains simple with dark backgrounds. His work is important both as a historical record and as an example of the style of Canadian portraiture during that period.
He was nominated as a founding member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts[3] but failed to qualify.[2] He was elected a life member of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1891.[2]
He died of a bronchial infection, at his Toronto home, in 1892.[1]
Paintings by George Théodore Berthon
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Colonel John Graves Simcoe -
Sir John Colborne, GCB, GCMG (Baron Seaton) Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, 1828–36 -
George Murray (British Army officer), Governor of Upper Canada, 1815 -
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General Isaac Brock c. 1883 -
Lieutenant Governor Frederick Philipse Robinson, Upper Canada, 1815 -
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Lieutenant Governor Henry William Stisted of Ontario, 1867–68 -
Peter Russell (politician) President and Admin of Upper Canada, 1796–99, ca 1882 -
Lieutenant Governor Gordon Drummond of Ontario -
Sir Edmund Walker Head, Governor General of the Province of Canada, 1854–1861
References
edit- ^ a b Lowrey, Carol. "George Theodore Berthon". www.biographi.ca. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Bradfield 1970, p. 27–29.
- ^ Records of the Founding of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts. Toronto: Globe Printing Co. 1879–80. p. 16. ISBN 9780665132964.
Bibliography
edit- Bradfield, Helen (1970). Art Gallery of Ontario: the Canadian Collection. Toronto: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0070925046. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
External links
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