Page:Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, volume 1.djvu/25

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PAINTERS AND ENGRAVERS.


about 1494, is supposed to hare painted some of the beautiful windows which adorn the cathe- dral and several churches in that city. He also painted banners.

ABEL, Joseph, a German painter of great merit, was bom at Aschach in 1768. He was in- structed in the school of Fiiger at Vienna, and is said to have distinguished liimself at an early age. He was employed by the Czartoryski family in Poland, and visited Rome in 1802, where he re- mained six years, and produced several pictures, the subjects of which were taken from the Greek poets and ancient historians, and which gained him great applause. Among these, were ' Hector's Departure,' and ' Andromache on Hector's Corpse.' On his return to Vienna, in 1808, he painted por- traits, and large historical compositions, and was also employed in the decorations of the theatre. He died there in 1818. In the Darmstadt Gallery is his ' Brutus and the Relations of Lncretia swear- ing to be revenged.'

ABEL, — . Malvasia mentions this as the name of a French artist who, in 1650, received a hundred Roman crowns for a copy made by him of the ' Communion of St. Jerome,' by Domenichino. The latter had been paid, a short time previously, but fifty crowns for the original. It is to be re- gretted that we have not a more complete account of this successful copyist.

ABEL DE PUJOL, Alexandre Denis, was bom at Valenciennes, in 1787. He evinced early a taste for art, and, by his father's consent, became a pupil of David. The fortune of the former, however, being dissipated by the revolution, the son had for some time a struggling life, being left bj' his master very much to his own resources. His first painting represented ' Philopcemen recognized whilst split- ting wood in the Kitchen of a Friend who had invited him to Dinner;' and David was so much struck with it, that he gave Abel the advantage of free admission to his studio. He obtained in 1806 the first medal at the Academy ; in 1810 the gold medal of the second class for his picture of ' Jacob blessing the Sons of Joseph ; ' and the Prix de Rome for his painting of ' Lycurgus presenting to the Lace- daemonians Charilaus as heir to the Throne.' The climate of Rome not agreeing with his health, he was forced to return to Paris, when necessity com- pelled him to mingle sign-painting with a more ennobling application of his talent. In 1814 he exhibited ' Britannicus,' which obtained a medal, and is now in the Museum at Dijon; in 1817, ' St. Stephen preaching before his Martyrdom,' painted for, and now in, the church of St. Etienne du Mont, Paris; in 1819, 'The Virgin at the Tomb,' ' Cfesar in the Senate at the Ides of March' (purchased by the Duke of Orleans, afterwards King Louis- Philippe, and destroyed in the fire at the Palais- Royal ) ; and ' Sisyphus in the Infernal Regions ; ' in 1822, ' Joseph explaining the Dreams of the Butler and Baker of Pharaoh,' which obtained a gold medal at Lille, and is now in the Museum of that town ; ' Ixion in Tartarus,' which is in the Imperial Col- lection: 'Germanicus on the field of Battle,' and ' The Baptism of Clovis,' which is in the cathedral of Rheims. He also in 1819 painted the 'Renais- sance of the Arts ' on the ceiling of the staircase of the Louvre, destroyed in the course of the alter- ations made in that establishment in 1856. He also painted three subjects over doors at Versailles, and some fine frescoes in the church of St. Sulpice, Paris He was a member of the Legion of Honour, and of the ' Institute,' to which he was elected on the death of Baron Gros. He died at Paris ii 1861.

ABELS, Jacobus Theodobus, who was bora at Amsterdam in 1803, was instructed in art b^- Jan van Ravens waay, the animal painter. In 1826 he visited Germany, and on his return settled at the Hague. He distinguished himself especially in painting moonlight landscapes. The Museum at Haarlem has works by him. Abels died at Ab- coude in 1866.

ABENTS, Leonhard. This artist was a native of Passau, in Bavaria, and flourished about the year 1580. He engraved the plan of the _ city of Passau for Braun's Topography. He A marked his plates with this monogram. X-i/'

ABEREGNO, Giacomo, was a Venetian painter who flourished about the year 1400.

ABERLI, Johann Litdwig, a Swiss painter and engraver, bom at Winterthur, in 1723, was a pupil of Felix Meyer, and painted, with success, portraits and landscapes. He published several coloured prints of views in Switzerland, which have been sufficiently admired to give birth to a great num- ber of imitations. He died at Berae in 1786.

ABILDGAAKD, Nikolaj Abraham, son and pupil of Sbren Abildgaard, a Danish historical painter of great merit. He was bom at Copen- hagen in 1744; in 1767 he received the great medal at the Academy, and went soon afterwards to Italy ; he spent most of his time in Rome, where he copied the works of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian. In 1777 he returned to his native country, and in 1786 was made professor in the Academy at Copenhagen, of which he was director from 1802 until his death, in 1809. He has been considered the best painter Denmark has pro- duced. His principal subjects were taken from the ancient poets ; but some of the best perished in the fire that consumed the palace of Cliristianburg in 1794. Fiissli relates that this had such an efEect on his mind that he scarcely ever painted after- wards. His sketches made for them are still pre- served in the Copenhagen Gallery, which contains besides several good examples of his art.

ABILDGAAKD, SOren, who was born at Chris- tianssand, in Norway, in 1718, studied in Copen- hagen, and became a draughtsman of repute. He executed many drawings of antiquities in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

ABRAHAM, Frere. See Gilson.

ABKIL, Juan Alfonso, was a native of Valla- dolid. He studied under Pablo de Cespedes at Cordova, and afterwards entered a convent. He died in 1645 at Valladolid, where there is in the Museum a ' Head of St. Paul ' by him, brilliant in colour, and in good taste.

ABSHOVEN (or Abtshoven). See ArsHovEN.

ABSOLON, John, was bom at Lambeth in 1815. He studied un ier Ferrigi and at the British Museum, and started at the age of fifteen painting portraits in oil. He was next employed for some years under the well-known Grieve family in painting figures and other parts of scenes at Drury Lane and Covent Garden Theatres. His first exhibit, entitled 'A Study from Nature,' appeared at the Suffolk Street Gallery in 1832. In 1835 he visited Paris, and having exchanged oil for water-colour, on his return in 1839 exhibited at the New Water- Colour Society ' The Savoyard Boy ' and ' The First Sup.' He became a member of this Society

the same year, and was for many years its treasurer.

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