Philip Hermogenes Calderon
{{Short description|English painter (1833–1898)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
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| birth_date = 3 May 1833
| birth_place = Poitiers, France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1898|04|30|1833|05|03}}
| death_place = London, United Kingdom
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| occupation = Painter
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| nationality = British
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| children = William Frank Calderon
George Calderon
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Philip Hermogenes Calderon {{Post-nominals|post-noms=RA}} (Poitiers 3 May 1833 – 30 April 1898 London) was a British painter of French birth (mother) and Spanish (father) ancestry, who initially worked in the Pre-Raphaelite style before moving towards historical genre painting. He was Keeper of the Royal Academy in London.
Life
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon - Ruth and Naomi.jpg
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon by J. P. Mayall.jpg]
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon - Broken Vows - Ashmolean Museum.jpg, London).]]
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon - The Vine.jpg
Calderon was born in Poitiers, France. His father, the Reverend Juan Calderón (* {{dts|format=dmy|1791|04|19}} in Villafranca de los Caballeros; † {{dts|format=dmy|1854|01|28}} in London) was a professor of Spanish literature and a former Roman Catholic priest who had converted to Anglicanism. Calderon planned to study engineering, but he became so interested in drawing technical figures and diagrams that he changed his mind and devoted his time to art. In 1850, he trained at Leigh's art school, London, then went to Paris to study under François-Édouard Picot in 1851. His first successful painting was called By the waters of Babylon (1852), which was followed by a much more popular one called Broken Vows (1856). From the beginning he was inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, and some of his work showed the detail, deep colors, and realistic forms that characterize the style. The artist Henry Stacy Marks was his friend and brother-in-law, and Calderon exhibited his portrait at the Royal Academy in 1872.W. W. Fenn, 'Our Living Artists: Philip Hermogenes Calderon RA', Magazine of Art, December 1878, pp. 197–202.
Calderon became a leading member of the St John's Wood Clique, a group of artists interested in modern genre and historical subjects who were inspired, both artistically and socially by the Pre-Raphaelites. Historical, biblical, and literary themes were common in Calderon's later work. Many of his pieces show women wearing rich, silky clothing in gently colored landscapes. His Morning (1884) features a copper-haired maiden watching a sunrise.
His Juliet (1888){{cite web|title=The Artists|work=Shakespeare Illustrated|url=http://shakespeare.emory.edu/illustrated_showimage.cfm?imageid=33|year=2003|publisher=Emory University|accessdate=2013-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102181832/http://shakespeare.emory.edu/illustrated_showimage.cfm?imageid=33|archive-date=2 November 2013|url-status=dead}} shows Shakespeare's Juliet seated on her balcony gazing at the stars. His later paintings adopt a more classical style, comparable to Edward Poynter, which resulted from his close relationship with Frederic Leighton, then-President of the Royal Academy. Calderon became Keeper of the Royal Academy in 1887, and from then on worked to support the teaching of anatomy based on nude models at the Royal Academy Schools. His 1891 painting
St Elizabeth of Hungary's great act of renunciation was secured by the Chantrey bequest for the national collection, and is now located in Tate Britain, but caused considerable controversy because of its perceived anti-Catholic message. It depicted the saint bending nude over an altar watched by monks.
Works
- By the waters of Babylon (1852; Tate, London)
- 'Lord, Thy Will Be Done' (1855; Yale Center for British Art, New Haven)
- Broken vows ('More hearts are breaking in this world of ours, than one would say — Longfellow) (1856; Tate, London)
- French peasants finding their stolen child (1859; Private collection)
- The massacre of St. Bartholomew (1863; Private collection)
- Margaret (1876; Manchester Art Gallery)
- Morning (1884)
- Juliet (1888)
- St. Elizabeth of Hungary's great act of renunciation (1891; Tate, London)
Gallery
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon - "Lord, Thy Will Be Done" - Google Art Project.jpg| 'Lord, Thy Will Be Done' (1855)
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon - Ave Maria.jpg|Ave Maria (1858)
File:Flora MacDonald's Farewell to Charles Edward.jpeg|Flora MacDonald's Farewell to Charles Edward (1858)
Image:Calderon Philip Hermogenes French Peasants Finding Their Stolen Child.jpg|French Peasants Finding Their Stolen Child (1859)
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon - Letter from Daddy.jpg|Letter From Daddy (1873)
File:Juliet - Philip H. Calderon.jpg|Juliet (1888)
File:Calderon Philip Hermogenes St Elizabeth of Hungary.jpg|St. Elizabeth of Hungary's Great Act of Renunciation (1891)
File:Philip Hermogenes Calderon - Mariana.jpg|Mariana (scene depicts Act IV, Scene I, from‚ "Measure for Measure" by William Shakespeare.)
Further reading
- Wilfrid Meynell, [https://archive.org/details/modernschoolofar02meynuoft Volume 2 The modern school of art, volume 2] (London: W. R. Howell & Co., c. 1887), pp. 212–20.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
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- {{Art UK bio}}
- [http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/calderon_philip_hermogenes.html P. H. Calderon online] (ArtCyclopedia)
- [http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=550 Biography and paintings] (Art Renewal Center Museum)
- [https://www.allartclassic.com/pictures_zoom.php?p_number=726&p=&number=CAP100 Calderon's work analysis]
- [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speel/paint/calderon.htm Calderon biography]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110609215720/http://www.artmagick.com/pictures/artist.aspx?artist=philip-hermogenes-calderon Biography and paintings] (Artmagick)
- s:Calderon, Philip Hermogenes (DNB01)
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Category:French emigrants to England
Category:English people of Spanish descent
Category:19th-century English painters
Category:English male painters
Category:Keepers of the Royal Academy
Category:19th-century painters of historical subjects
Category:French people of Spanish descent
Category:Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery