The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (173 page)

(1825–99).
English painter and engraver. He was trained as a wood engraver and designed many book illustrations. After
c.
1858 he devoted himself primarily to watercolour painting of rustic subjects in a sweetly sentimental style that has made him a favourite artist for manufacturers of greetings cards.

 
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(1886–1968).
Japanese-French painter and graphic artist. He settled in Paris in 1913 and spent most of the rest of his life in the city (there was a long interlude, 1933–50, when he returned to Japan). In 1959 he became a convert to Roman Catholicism and changed his personal name to Léonard in memory of
Leonardo da Vinci
. He was a member of the circle of
émigré
Expressionists
in the School of
Paris
—
Soutine
,
Chagall
,
Modigliani
—and he developed from
c.
1925 a personal style of delicately-mannered Expressionism which combined Western and Japanese traits. He began by doing Parisian landscapes and then became known for his nudes and for his compositions in which still life and figures were combined.

 
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(
c.
1420–
c.
1481).
The outstanding French painter of the 15th cent. He was born at Tours and is known to have been in Rome between 1443, and 1447, when he painted a portrait, now lost, of Pope Eugenius IV. Much has been made of this Italian journey, the influence of which can be detected in the
perspective
effects and classical architecture of his subsequent works, but the strongly sculptural character of his painting, which was deeply rooted in his native tradition, did not succumb to Italian influence. On his return from Italy Fouquet entered the service of the French court. His first patron was Étienne Chevalier, the royal secretary and lord treasurer, for whom he produced a
Book of Hours
(1450–60), now dismembered but mainly in the Musée Condé at Chantilly, and who appears in the
Diptych of Melun
(
c.
1450), now divided between Antwerp (Musée Royal) and Berlin (Staatliche Museen). The Virgin in this work, at Antwerp, is rumoured to be a portrait of Agnes Sorel , Charles VII's mistress, whom Chevalier had also loved. It was not until 1475 that Fouquet became Royal Painter (to Louis XI), but in the previous year he was asked to prepare designs for the king's tomb, and he must have been the leading court artist for many years. Whether he worked on
miniatures
or on a larger scale in panel paintings, Fouquet's art had the same clarity and dignity, his figures being modelled in broad planes defined by lines of magnificent purity. His sculptural sense of form went with a cool and detached temperament, and in his finest works the combination creates a deeply impressive gravity.

 
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(1732–1806).
French painter whose scenes of frivolity and gallantry are among the most complete embodiments of the
Rococo
spirit. He was a pupil of
Chardin
for a short while and also of
Boucher
, before winning the
Prix de Rome
in 1752. From 1756 to 1761 he was in Italy, where he eschewed the work of the approved masters of the High
Renaissance
, but formed a particular admiration for
Tiepolo
. He travelled and drew landscapes with Hubert
Robert
and responded with especial sensitivity to the gardens of the Villa d'Este at Tivoli, memories of which occur in paintings throughout his career. In 1765 he became a member of the
Academy
with his historical picture in the
Grand Manner
Coroesus Sacrificing himself to Save Callirhoe
(Louvre, Paris). He soon abandoned this idiom, however, for the erotic canvases by which he is chiefly known (
The Swing
, Wallace Coll., London,
c.
1766). After his marriage in 1769 he also painted children and family scenes. He stopped exhibiting at the
Salon
in 1767 and almost all his work was done for private patrons. Among them was Mme du Barry , Louis XV's most beautiful mistress, for whom he painted the works that are often regarded as his masterpieces—the four canvases representing
The Progress of Love
(Frick Coll., New York, 1771–3). These, however, were returned by Mme du Barry and it seems that taste was already turning against Fragonard's lighthearted style. He tried unsuccessfully to adapt himself to the new
Neoclassical
vogue, but in spite of the admiration and support of
David
he was ruined by the Revolution and died in poverty. Fragonard was a prolific painter, but he rarely dated his works and it is not easy to chart his stylistic development. Alongside those of Boucher, his paintings seem to sum up an era. His delicate colouring, witty characterization, and spontaneous brushwork ensured that even his most erotic subjects are never vulgar, and his finest work has an irresistible verve and joyfulness.

 
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(1860–1928).
British sculptor. Early in his career he was one of the leading avant-garde British sculptors of his day, experimenting with unusual materials and
polychrome
and working in a style imbued with elements of
Art Nouveau
and
Symbolism
(
Mysteriarch
, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 1892). Later his work became more traditional and he had a successful career with accomplished but uninspired monuments, the best known of which are
Peter Pan
, erected in Kensington Gardens in 1911, and the Edith Cavell memorial (1920) in St Martin's Place, London. His son
Meredith
(1894–1984) was a painter, primarily of portraits. He gave up painting in 1945 because his sight was failing and was almost entirely forgotten until an exhibition of his work was held at the Tate Gallery in 1982, revealing him as an artist of great distinction. His work is beautifully finished, with an almost hypnotic clarity (the images seem almost palpable yet at the same time strangely remote), and he excelled in conveying the intellectual qualities of his sitters. He was a slow worker and his output was small.