John Vanderlyn
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John Vanderlyn (October 18, 1776 - September 23, 1852) was a U.S. neoclassicist painter, was born at Kingston, New York.
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 the American Academy. He copied some of Gilbert Stuart's portraits, including one of Aaron Burr, who placed him under Gilbert Stuart as a pupil.
He was a protegé of Aaron Burr who in 1796 sent Vanderlyn to Paris, where he studied for five years. He returned to the United States in 1801 and lived in the home of then Vice-President Aaron Burr where he painted the well-known likeness of Burr and his daughter. In 1803 he returned to Paris, also visiting England in 1805, and then went to Rome, where he painted his picture of "Marius amid the Ruins of Carthage," which was shown in Paris, and obtained a 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 nude "Ariadne" (engraved by Durand, and now in the Pennsylvania Academy), which increased his fame. When Aaron Burr fled to Paris, Vanderlyn was for a time his only support.
Vanderlyn returned to America in 1815, but did not meet with success; he worked very slowly, and neither his portraits nor various panorama which he exhibited brought him any considerable financial return. In 1842, through friendly influences, he was commissioned by Congress to paint "The Landing of Columbus" for one of the panels in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. Going to Paris, he employed to assist him a French artist, who, it is said, did most of the work. He died in absolute want at Kingston, New York, on 23 September 1852.
Vanderlyn was the first American to study in France instead of in England, and to acquire accurate draughtsmanship. He was more academic than his fellows; but, though faithfully and capably executed, his work was rather devoid of charm. He painted portraits of Presidents Washington (a copy of Stuart's portrait, for the National House of Representatives), Monroe, Madison, Jackson and Taylor, and of the statesmen Robert R Livingston (New York Historical Society), John Caldwell Calhoun and George Clinton.
- This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.
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