John Vanderlyn

John Vanderlyn
Metropolitan Museum of Art Self portrait, John Vanderlyn, 1800
Born	(1775-10-18)October 18, 1775 Kingston,Province of New York,British America
Died	September 23, 1852(1852-09-23)(aged 76) Kingston,New York,United States
Nationality	American
Known for	Painting

John Vanderlyn(October 18, 1775 – September 23, 1852) was an Americanneoclassicistpainter.

Biography

AriadneAsleep on the Island of Naxos(1809–1814),Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,Philadelphia.

Vanderlyn was born atKingston, New York,and was the grandson of colonial portrait painterPieter Vanderlyn.He was employed by a print-seller in New York, and was first instructed in art by Archibald Robinson (1765–1835), a Scotsman who was afterwards one of the directors of theAmerican Academy of the Fine Arts.He went to Philadelphia, where he spent time in the studio ofGilbert Stuartand copied some of Stuart's portraits, including one ofAaron Burr,who placed him under Gilbert Stuart as a pupil.

He was a protégé ofAaron Burrwho in 1796 sent Vanderlyn toParis,where he studied for five years. He returned to the United States in 1801 and lived in the home of Burr, then the Vice President, where he painted the well-known portraits of Burr and his daughter.In 1802 he painted two views ofNiagara Falls,which were engraved and published in London in 1804.He returned toParisin 1803, also visitingEnglandin 1805, where he painted theDeath of Jane McCreaforJoel Barlow.Vanderlyn then went toRome,where he painted his picture ofMariusamid the Ruins ofCarthage,which was shown in Paris, and obtained the Napoleon gold medal there. This success caused him to remain in Paris for seven years, during which time he prospered greatly. In 1812 he showed a nudeAriadne(engraved byDurand,and now in thePennsylvania Academy), which increased his fame. When Aaron Burr fled to Paris, Vanderlyn was for a time his only support.

Vanderlyn returned to the United States in 1815, and painted portraits of various eminent men, includingJames Monroe,John C. Calhoun,GovernorJoseph C. Yates,GovernorGeorge Clinton,James Madison,Robert R Livingston(New York Historical Society),Andrew Jackson,andZachary Taylor.In 1834, he completed a posthumous full-length portrait ofGeorge Washingtonfor the U.S. House of Representatives, based on Gilbert Stuart's 1796Lansdowne portrait.

He also exhibited panoramas and builtThe Rotundain New York City, which displayed panoramas of Paris, Athens, Mexico, Versailles (by himself), and some battle-pieces; but neither his portraits nor the panoramas brought him financial success, partly because he worked very slowly.

Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles(1818–19),Metropolitan Museum of Art,New York City.

In 1825 Vanderlyn was one of the founders of theNational Academy of Design,and taught at its school.

Landing of Columbus(1842–1847),U.S. Capitol Rotunda,Washington, DC. Columbus is shown landing onSan Salvador IslandinThe Bahamas.

In 1842, through friendly influences, he was commissioned by Congress to paintThe Landing of Columbusfor theRotundaof theUnited States Capitol.Going to Paris, he hired a French artist, who, it is said, did most of the work.It was engraved for the United States five-dollar banknotes.This painting was later reproduced in an engraving used on the Columbian 2c Postage Issue of 1893.

Vanderlyn was the first American to study in Franceinstead of in England, and to acquire accurate draughtsmanship. He was more academic than his fellows; but, though faithfully and capably executed, it was thought that his work was rather devoid of charm, according to the 1911Encyclopædia Britannica.HisLanding of Columbushas been called byAppleton's Cyclopedia"hardly more than respectable." He died in poverty at Kingston, New York, on September 23, 1852.He is buried inWiltwyck Rural CemeteryinKingston, NY.

Gallery

• 
  ^{White House collection}
  James Madison(1791)
• 
  ^{New York Historical Society}
  Portrait of Aaron Burr(1802)
• 
  ^{New York Historical Society}
  Portrait of Theodosia Burr Alston(1802)
• 
  ^{Wadsworth Athenaeum}
  The Death of Jane McCrea(1804–05)
• 
  ^{Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco}
  Marius amid the Ruins of Carthage(1807)
• 
  ^{Worcester Art Museum}
  Sampson Vryling Stoddard Wilder (c. 1808–1812)
• 
  ^{U.S. House of Representatives}
  Portrait of George Washington(1834)
• 
  ^{Birmingham Museum of Art}
  Study forLanding of Columbus(c. 1840)
• 
  Columbian Issueof 1893. Postage stamp based on Vanderlyn'sLanding of Columbus.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Vanderlyn, John".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 886.

Further reading

• Avery, Kevin J., & Fodera, Peter L. (1988).John Vanderlyn's panoramic view of the palace and gardens of Versailles.New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• City of Kingston, New York webpage