Alexander Nasmyth

Alexander Nasmyth ( born September 9, 1758 in Edinburgh, † April 10, 1840 ) was a Scottish portrait and landscape painter, who is considered the founder of the traditional Scottish landscape painting.

Life

In early youth Nasmyth was engaged in a wheelwright and carriages decorated with heraldic motifs. There, the then 16 -year-old was discovered by the Scottish painter Allan Ramsay, who took him to London and trained him. After completion of the study itself was Nasmyth 1778 in Edinburgh as a portrait painter down. The support of his patron, Patrick Miller gave him in 1782 a study trip to Italy, where he stayed for two years.

In the years after his return Nasmith opened in Edinburgh a flourishing school of painting which employed several of his daughters as a teacher. Among the students included such well-known artists such as William Leighton Leitch and David Roberts. Among other Nasmith created at this time an excellent painting of the Scottish writer and poet Robert Burns, whose confidant he was. Difficulties made ​​him his obvious liberal political setting that caused his noble sponsors to send him any more orders. He saw himself in his later years, more or less forced to place the emphasis on landscape painting, and he was not afraid to take on the design of stage sets for theater performances.

Alexander Nasmyth's best works come from the first quarter of the 19th century. He was a member of many art associations and harbored a keen interest in the sciences and architecture; so he designed, for example, like a round stamp designed pump house for the St Bernard's Well, Stockbridge, Edinburgh. His youngest son, James Nasmyth was a successful engineer, entrepreneur and inventor of the steam hammer. His six daughters enjoyed as painters local reputation, but it was his eldest son Patrick Nasmyth (1787-1831), the painter had a similar reputation as his father.