PHILIP JAKOB II DE LOUTHERBOURG (Strasbourg, France, 1740 - Chiswick, United Kingdom, 1812).
"Country scene".
Oil on canvas. Re-coloured.
It presents very slight repainting and faults in the frame.
Measurements: 83 x 116 cm; 104 x 137 cm (frame).
In this canvas we see one of the typical landscapes of De Loutherbourg, captured through a totally scenographic country point of view, connected both with the artist's own work in the field of theatre and with the romantic aesthetics of the moment.
Also known as Philip James and Philippe-Jacques, De Loutherbourg was the son of a Swiss miniaturist painter, Philip Jakob de Loutherbourg I. He studied at the University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg. He studied at the University of Strasbourg and, contrary to his father's wish that he should pursue a career in the church, in 1755 he moved to Paris to develop his artistic training with the master Charles-André van Loo. He later continued his studies with Francesco Giuseppe Casanova, also in the French capital. His talent developed rapidly and he soon became a fashionable painter. Thus, in 1767 he was appointed a member of the Académie Française despite his youth, for which the rules of that institution regarding the age of its members had to be broken. Already at this time he specialised in landscapes, storms at sea and battles, all subjects in which he was acclaimed in Paris as the best of his time. On his debut, De Loutherbourg exhibited no less than twelve paintings, including "Storm and Dawn", "Night" and "Morning after the Rain", the titles of which tell us of his interest in light and atmospheric effects. Already widely recognised, he travelled around Switzerland, Germany and Italy, where he achieved fame both for his paintings and for the innovative mechanical devices he created as part of his work as a stage designer. In fact, De Loutherbourg was the inventor of the mechanical theatre "Eidophusikon", as well as other innovative special effects. In 1771 he settled in London, where he remained for the rest of his life. He arrived in the British capital, hired by the actor, playwright and theatrical impresario David Garrick to design scenery and costumes and also to overhaul the stage machinery at the Drury Lane Theatre. His stage effects attracted not only audiences, but also leading British artists of the time such as Sir Joshua Reynolds. De Loutherbourg worked at this theatre until 1785 and, in parallel, undertook other projects such as the aforementioned "Eidophusikon", which he presented to great public acclaim in 1781. Despite his successful career in the field of stage design, De Loutherbourg did not neglect his work as a painter, and in fact he achieved considerable success with his works and was appointed a member of the Royal Academy in London in 1781. Although he continued to paint mainly landscapes, turbulent seascapes and battles, he also showed an interest in the themes of the Industrial Revolution, as evidenced by works such as Coalbrookdale by Night (1801), in which he depicts iron foundries at work. He was also an outstanding draughtsman, and two series of his drawings, etched in aquatint, were published under the title "Picturesque English Scenery" in 1801 and 1805. He also contributed as an illustrator to the edition of a Bible by Thomas Macklin in 1800. De Loutherbourg is now represented in a number of British institutions, including Leicester, Farnham and the Derby Art Gallery, as well as the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Louvre, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Gallery, Ottawa, the Royal Academy, the Tate Gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal Collection, London, among other collections in Europe and America.