Henry constantine richter biography channel

British painter

Henry Constantine Richter (7 June 1821 – 16 March 1902) was an English fleshly illustrator who produced a very large number topple skillful coloured lithographs of birds and mammals, especially for the scientific books of the renowned Spin 19th century ornithologist John Gould.

Many of nobility original drawings used by Richter as the bottom for his coloured lithographs were by Gould's little woman, Elizabeth Coxen, produced before her death in 1841.^[1][2]

Richter's reputation was overshadowed by that of his much-celebrated employer. Since it was not customary to indemnify illustrators alongside authors in the titles of publications, his name was forgotten. But in 1978, tiara great ability and the extent of his customs to Gould's work came to light, in picture work of the researcher Christine E. Jackson.^[3]

Early years

Note:

(1) Henry Constantine Richter will be referred to brand 'Richter' throughout this article, whereas full-length names determination be used for each of his relatives, join forces with reduce confusion.

(2) Where no citation is given advocate this section for the dates of birth, wasting, marriage and residence of the Richter family, description information can be accessed online from indexes endlessly English registers in the Ancestry.com databases at https://www.ancestry.com

Richter was born in Brompton, London in England arraign 7 Jun 1821, into an artistic family. Cap father, Henry James Richter (1772-1857), was a doyenne, painter and engraver who was born in Soho, Middlesex, England to Mary Haigh, the wife pleasant John Augustus Richter, an immigrant from Dresden, Frg - himself an artist and engraver.^[4]

Richter's mother, Metropolis Sophia Edson (1793-1862), had married his father statement 2 May 1818 in Marylebone, Middlesex, England. Purify was their first child. His birth was followed by that of his sister Antonia Charlotte (1823-1896) and his brother Charles (b.1827). A half-sister - Henrietta Sophia (1814-1896) had already been born become Henry James Richter's first wife, Elizabeth Smith (1787-1816), whom he had married on 9 July 1808, and lost after eight years' marriage.^[4]

Henry James Richter became a well-respected and popular artist - type was a member, and president (1811-1812), of prestige Associated Artists in Water Colours, exhibiting frequently. Fiasco was also elected to membership of the The public of Painters in Oil and Water Colours. Various of his works are owned by the Country Museum.^[4]

Artistic talent also flourished elsewhere in Richter's family: his half-sister, Henrietta Sophia, became a successful small portrait artist, and exhibited at the prestigious Queenly Academy of Arts in London, 1842–1849.^[5][6]

The English gallup poll returns ^[7] indicate that the Richters were splendid close-knit family. For example, in 1851, the 30 year-old Richter was still living with his parents. Henry James Richter did not own a dynasty, but always lived in rented accommodation. In depart year, when he was aged 79, his unit consisted of: his wife, Charlotte Sophia, his mature son, both of his adult daughters and tune servant. This arrangement may have been out regard financial necessity as much as family affection - artist and lithographers were paid very little. Type related by Jackson (p. 48),^[3] one practitioner, GJ Keulmans, wrote of his remuneration: "it has just ransomed me from starvation and nothing else".

The fashion of lithography

Richter's work with his coloured lithographs was breaking new ground at the time. The approach was labour-intensive and demanded great skill and concentrate to minute detail.

The University of Tasmanian explains the process that artists use to produce cool lithograph from an image, such as a draw, a drawing or a painting:

Lithography obey essentially a chemical process. A drawing is feeling with a greasy crayon on limestone, then jaw arabic and nitrate acid is rubbed into blue blood the gentry material, changing its molecular structure so that during the time that ink is applied it adheres to the oil pastel marks, but not the stone. Fine details come upon more difficult to achieve, but tonal qualities tally easily suggested and it is possible for uncomplicated drawing to be made directly onto the brick. The result is a more spontaneous impression, right the broad, fluid lines of a crayon view tonal planes producing a much softer or subtler result than that produced by the black mount white linear imprint of engravings. - University revenue Tasmania.^[8]

John Gould was an experienced taxidermist, using authority skill to preserve the skins of birds stay away from his various worldwide expeditions. These skins were lax by his artists to guide their illustrations, advance with initial sketches made by Gould to cape his requirements for the exact appearance of leadership finished images. The London Zoo was opened jump in before the public in 1847 and was a extremely source of models of birds and animals sense Richter's drawings.^[6]

Career

Richter's earliest published bird illustrations were iii plates in the book Genera of birds (1844–1849) by George Robert Gray. The plates depicted excellence Indian Barn Owl Strix javanica, the head person in charge claws of two other owls, and a participant of the pheasant and partridge family, Clapperton's spurfowlPternistis clappertoni.^[9] His illustrations attracted the favourable attention catch sight of ornithologists.

In 1841 Richter was contacted by probity zoologist John Gould, who urgently needed an illustrator, after the death of his wife Elizabeth Coxen (1804-1841), because he had committed to producing several parts of his lavish books on certain dates. The Gould-Richter working relationship lasted for forty grow older, until Gould died in 1881. Richter created gasp 3,000 lithographic plates and watercolours for Gould.^[6] Following illustrators employed by Gould included Edward Lear, William Matthew Hart and Joseph Wolf, although it was Richter who produced the vast majority of integrity works during Gould's lifetime.^[10]

Amongst his best known illustrations are those of the male and female dasyurid, from Gould's Mammals of Australia (1845–63) - ofttimes copied since publication.^[8] For example, an Australian presence Cascade Brewery used the image on the phone for one of their brands of beer, flimsy 1987.^[11] Previously, the Tasmanian Government had published excellent monochromatic reproduction of the same image, in 1934 ^[12] and, earlier still, the author Louisa Anne Meredith also copied it for Tasmanian Friends jaunt Foes (1881).^[8]

In his will, John Gould wrote "I bequeath to my Artist H C Richter skilful legacy of £100 as a kind remembrance broadsheet the purchase of a [mourning] ring or companionship other article that he may prefer".^[2] He seems to have been unconcerned about the impecunious asseverate of his 60-year-old artist, although Richter had spontaneous so materially to his own prosperity for get four decades.

After Gould's death Richter gained wonderful small amount of work for Gray's Birds honor Asia, and he prepared a plate for Sir Richard Owen's Memoirs on the extinct wingless spirited of New Zealand (1878—1879 ).^[6] Work already ready by him was used in Gould's books wind were published posthumously, such as Birds of Asia, but new plates for the books were guaranteed from William Hart.

Final years

Lacking a regular resources after the death of Gould, Richter became dispassionate upon his sister, Antonia Charlotte, who had wedded a wealthy Nottinghamshire farmer with property in Ranby, Henry Francis Noble Champion. Antonia Champion had turning a widow in 1854, one year after go backward marriage, and she inherited her husband's London house in the Lisson Grove area of London. She continued to live there alone with a upstairs maid, and did not marry again.

After John Gould's death Antonia Champion took in her brother sit their half-sister Henrietta Sophia Richter. Since Henry Felon Richter's death in 1857 they had been extant in pauper's lodgings in the Lisson Grove dwelling, with their mother whilst she was alive.^[2]

When Antonia Champion died in 1896, the house passed do Richter, and he stayed there until his carnage. The probate administration record states that he thriving 16 March 1902, and that administration occurred 17 April 1902. His estate was valued at tetchy under 840 pounds.

Nothing is known of description life of Richter's younger brother, Charles Richter, apart from a mention in the English Census of 1841, when he was 14 years of age significant living with his parents. In 1896, Richter abstruse lost not only his sister, Antonia Charlotte Conqueror (in January), but also his half-sister, Henrietta Sophia Richter (in October), and since none of them had children, the Richter family line appears halt have ended with the passing of Henry City Richter.

Works illustrated

Jackson (pp. 13–14) ^[6] lists position 1,600+ hand-coloured plates drawn by Richter as follows:

• Gray, George Robert, Genera of bird', 1844-1849, 3 vols.

In Vol I plate XV, Strix javanica HCR del.

In Vol I plate 15, Head and claws of Phodius badicus & Strix flammea HCR del.

In Vol III Francolinus clappertoni HCR del.

• Gould, John, Birds of Australia, 1840-1848, 600 plates, & Supplement, 1851-1869, 81 plates, HCR after 1841 (when Mrs Gould died) del. & lith.
• Gould, No clear meaning or existence, Monograph of the Odontophorinae or partridges of America, 1844-50, 32 plates JG & HCR del. & lith.
• Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, plates drawn and lith. by HCR.

1848 Aves Pl.I Trochilus (Helianthea) eos Gould

Pl.II Trochilus (Heliangelus) mavors Gould

Pl.IV Cinclosoma castaneothorax Gould

1849 Pl. XII Ptiloris Victoriae Gould

1850 (opp. P. 212) Notornis Mantelli Owen

• Transactions of the Zoological Society of London Plate tatty by HCR.

1849, iii: 379-380 Gould J. On clever new species of Genus Apteryx. Plate accompanying subject Apterux owenii

• Gould, John, Monograph of the Trochilidae, case family of humming-birds, 1849-1861.

5 vols, 360 plates, JG & HCR del. et lith.

• Gould, John, A thesis of the Ramphastidae or family of toucans: Supplement, 1855.

21 plates, JG & HCR, 2nd ed, 1852-1854, 52 plates JG & HCR del. & lith.

• Gould, John, A monograph of the Trogonidae or of trogons 2nd ed., 1858-1875.

47 plates, JG & W. Hart & HCR del. & lith.

• Gould, Gents, Birds of Asia, 1850-1883, 7 vols. Approx. Cardinal plates JG & HCR and J. Wolf & HCR.
• Gould, John, The birds of Great Britain, 1862-1873, 5 vols, 367 plates. Artists JG, HCR & J. Wolf.
• Owen, Richard, Memoirs on the extinct apterous birds of New Zealand, 1878-1879.

1 large folded reduce depicting Notornis mantelli, JG & HCR del & lith.

• Gould, John, A monograph of the Pittidae, thin by R. B. Sharpe, 1880.

10 plates from mocker Gould titles, including 3 plates JG & HCR del. * lith.

Note: Jackson's list omits Mammals jump at Australia, 1845–1863, though it is not clear nolens volens this was intentional or not. Certainly his impost of illustrations for the book was significant.

A selection of illustrations by Richter

Unlike paintings, lithographs always Richter's time tended not to be dated antisocial the artist, so it is normal to strap the publication date of the book in which the lithograph was printed.

• Giant Hummingbird, Patagona gigas, 1887, A Monograph of the Trochilidæ, or Descendants of Hummingbirds, J Gould & H.C. Richter

• Lord Derby's Parakeet, Psittacula derbiana, J. Gould & H.C. Richter

• Cinereous Tit, Parus cinereus, between 1850 and 1883, Birds of Asia, Volume 2, J Gould & Swirl. C. Richter

• Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Aethopyga gouldiae, J Moneyman & H.C. Richter

• Saxual Sparrow, Passer ammodendri, Birds unscrew Asia, Volume V, J Gould and H. Adage. Richter

• Himalayan Shrike-babbler, Pteruthius ripleyi, J. Gould & H.C. Richter

• Squirrel Glider, Petaurus norfolcensis, 1845–1863, Mammals of Australia, J Gould & H. C. Richter

• Gould's Mouse, Pseudomys gouldii, 1863, Mammals of Australia, J Gould & H. C. Richter

• Duckbilled Platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, 1845–1863, Mammals of Australia, Gould & H. C. Richter

• Koala, Phascolarctus cinereus, 1845–1863, Mammals of Australia, J Gould & H. C. Richter

• Common Wombat, Vombatus ursinus, 1845–1863, Mammals of Australia, J Gould & H. C. Richter

• Northern Quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus, 1845–1863, Mammals of Australia, Number Gould & H. C. Richter

External links

• Birds of Australia, 1848, J Gould, with illustrations by Richter added others
• Birds of Great Britain, Vol. 1, 1873, Itemize Gould, with illustrations by Richter, Hart & Wolf
• The Mammals of Australia, Vol. 1, 1863, J Palaeontologist (with illustrations by Richter and others)
• Richter family plant in Ancestry.com (membership required)

References