Dominic Serres
Dominic Serres | |
|---|---|
 Dominic Serres, in a portrait by Philip Jean, 1788 | |
| Born | c. 1722 |
| Died | November 4, 1793 |
| Nationality | French |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | English school of painting |
Dominic Serres RA (c. 1722 - 4 November 1793), also known as Dominic Serres the Elder, was a French-born painter, strongly associated with the English school of painting, and with paintings with a naval or marine theme. Such were his connections with the English art world, that he became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768, and was later briefly (from 1792 until his death) its librarian.[1][2]
Life and works
[edit]He was born in Auch, Gascony, in southwestern France, between 1719 and 1723. Some sources say he died at the age of 74, but this is not confirmed. He initially studied to become a priest at the Benedictine seminary in Douai, but then left and moved to Spain. He is said to have become a merchant sailor in the Mediterranean and to have lived in Italy. He also worked as a sailor in South America, became a merchant captain in Cuba, and lived for several years as a merchant in Havana. In 1748, he was captured by the British in the Caribbean, and was taken prisoner to England, in 1752. During his imprisonment in the Marshalsea prison he took up painting, and after his release he lived for a time in Northamptonshire, where he made his living by painting marine scenes. He copied the works of Willem van de Velde the Elder, a Dutch marine painter, very popular at the time in England. He then moved to London, where he is believed to have learned his techniques from the marine painter Charles Brooking (c. 1723–1759). If Serres did not settle in London until 1758, however, he could not have studied for long under Brooking, since he was buried on 25 March 1759.[3]
During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the exploits of the British fleet in battles such as the Siege of Havana, in 1762, where the British inflicted significant damage on the Spanish Navy, and the Battle of Chandernagar, led to an increase of popularity of naval paintings depicting these battles, and Serres' work on that matter met British popular tastes. Working for a publisher documenting the events of the Seven Years' War, he painted a series of depictions, including the capture of Havana. He also painted events in the American Revolutionary War, such as the disastrous Penobscot Expedition launched by the Americans in 1779.[4][5]
He participated at the exhibitions held by the Society of Artists of Great Britain, founded in the early 1760s, and became a member in 1765. The Royal Academy of Arts was founded in 1768, and he was elected as a founding member.
In 1780, he was appointed Marine Painter to King George III. He was appointed librarian at the Royal Academy, but died shortly after, in London, in 1793. Serres was buried at St. Marylebone Old Church.
Family
[edit]Serres married Mary Colldycutt, aged 18 years old, on 16 July 1749. They were married in what was known as a 'Fleet wedding', a less expensive and less formal form of marriage that was possible without affiliation to a particular parish and was common in the area around Fleet Prison at the time. The couple had four daughters, Catherine, Augusta Charlotte, Johanna and Sarah, and two sons, the elder of whom, John Thomas Serres, also became a prolific marine painter. Dominique Michael, the younger, was also a painter but specialised in depicting landscapes.[6]
Gallery
[edit]-
The Piazza at Havana (1762) -
-
British Attack on the Citadel of Martinique (1767) -
French Fire-Ships Attacking the English Fleet off Quebec, 1767 -
The Captured Spanish Fleet at Havana, 1768 -
The Storming of Morro Castle, 1770 -
The Royal Visit to the Fleet (1774) -
The Battle of Quiberon Bay, (1779) -
-
The Moonlight Battle (1781) -
Gibraltar Relieved By Sir George Rodney, (c.1782) -
Foudroyant and Pégase entering Portsmouth Harbour (1782) -
Halifax, Nova Scotia c. 1762 -
Halifax, Nova Scotia c. 1762 -
-
Halifax, Nova Scotia c. 1777 -
Saint Vincents, near West Malling, Kent -
The Lying Hove -
Painting of the Basilica of San Francisco de Asís, Havana in 1770 by Dominic Serres.
_-_British_Attack_on_the_Citadel_of_Martinique,_January_1762_-_515562_-_National_Trust.jpg)
_-_French_Fire-Ships_Attacking_the_English_Fleet_off_Quebec,_28_June_1759_-_BHC0392_-_Royal_Museums_Greenwich.jpg)
_-_The_Royal_Visit_to_the_Fleet_-_RCIN_404558_-_Royal_Collection.jpg)
References
[edit]- ^ Dominic Serres, in Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker (AKL), Band 103, de Gruyter, Berlin, 2019, p. 153 (German)
- ^ Alan Russett, Dominic Serres, War Artist to the Navy, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors' Club, 2001
- ^ Dominic Serres, in Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker (AKL), Band 103, de Gruyter, Berlin, 2019, p. 153 (German)
- ^ F. B. Crockett, Early Sea Painters, 1660–1730, The group who worked in England under the shadow of the Van de Veldes, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors Club, 1995
- ^ Alan Russett, Dominic Serres, War Artist to the Navy, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors' Club, 2001
- ^ Alan Russett, Dominic Serres, War Artist to the Navy, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors' Club, 2001
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Serres, Dominic". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Further reading
[edit]- Russett, Alan. Dominic Serres 1719 - 1793: War Artist to the Navy (Antiques Collectors Club, 2001).
External links
[edit]
- 91 artworks by or after Dominic Serres at the Art UK site
- Dominic Serres online (ArtCyclopedia)
- Dominic Serres (Biography and works at the Royal Academy of Arts, London).
- Serres biography and works (National Maritime Museum, London)
- Serres ancestry ("rootsweb")
- An English man-o'war shortening sail entering Portsmouth harbour (painting – exhibited in 1778)
