John Opie


Interesting exhibition at Tate Britain looking at the life and work of John Opie, one of the most celebrated artists of 18th century London who is little known now.

Opie was the son of a Cornish mine carpenter and didn’t go to school but was discovered by Sir John Wolcot, the satirist, who has been a doctor in Truro. In London he was hailed as “The Cornish Wonder” but faced snobbish treatment from contemporaries who called him “a rude and clownish boy”. However he became the professor of painting at the Royal Academy shortly before he died.

Opie was known for his realism and the show included beautiful portraits and scenes of rural life. “The School Mistress”, which was shown here, established his reputation in London and included a lovely portrait of his mother. There were also beautiful portraits of Mary Wollstonecraft, who he knew as he socialised in radical circles, and his wife the novelist Amelia Alderson, who became part of the campaign to abolish slavery.

I loved the picture shown here which was of an unknown actress playing Cressida in a striking white dress which was shown at the Royal Academy in 1800.

Closing Autumn 2019

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