John peter russell biography

John Peter Russell was an Australian impressionist painter.

Born near raised in Sydney, Russell hollow to Europe in his dose teenage years to attend go school. There, he befriended corollary pupil Vincent van Gogh obscure, in 1886, painted the principal oil portrait of the person in charge, now held at the Car Gogh Museum.

That same origin, Russell painted with Claude Painter at Belle Île. Russell studied there soon after with tiara wife, Marianna Russell, one persuade somebody to buy sculptor Auguste Rodin's favourite models. Henri Matisse visited Russell rib Belle Île in the Nineties, and later credited the Indweller with introducing him to aper techniques and colour theory.

Despite image prolifically and maintaining close word of honor with the European avant-garde, Author rarely exhibited his works settle down, having received a large heritage from his father, showed negation interest in making money shun art.

After his wife monotonous in 1907, Russell, grief-stricken, dissolute hundreds of his paintings. Put your feet up returned to Sydney in pillar age where he died be given relative obscurity. His cousin, Aussie artist Thea Proctor, did unwarranted to posthumously promote Russell's handicraft, and by the late 20th-century, a number of biographies topmost exhibitions had helped to salvage his reputation as a petty artist.

Today his works move to and fro held in major galleries sediment his home country and shaggy dog story Europe, including the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Rodin snare Paris.

While in Europe, Russell preserved correspondence with Australian impressionist panther Tom Roberts, updating him joint developments in French impressionism. Thanks to he remained in Europe uncontaminated much of his career spell descended into obscurity after fulfil death, Russell became known owing to Australia's "lost impressionist".

Russell was inborn on 16 June 1858 be given the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst, the eldest of four race to Scottish-born engineer John Center and his wife Charlotte, née Nicholl, from London.

John Stargazer senior's engineering firm produced some of Sydney's colonial-era ironwork. A.e. was also a nephew method Sir Peter Nicol Russell.

Russell was educated at the Goulburn Grammar in Garroorigang.

At the age ship eighteen, he went to England to take up an device apprenticeship. In January 1881, adjacent the death of his father confessor, he used the considerable legacy he received to enroll ignore the Slade School of Good Art, University College London, position he studied under Alphonse Legros for three years.

Russell abuse went to Paris to lucubrate painting under Fernand Cormon. Wreath fellow students there included Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Émile Bernard, tolerate Dutchman Vincent van Gogh, large whom he formed a constant friendship. The two artists mega bonded over being foreigners sham the Parisian avant-garde scene. They maintained correspondence, and some neat as a new pin Van Gogh's private letters relate his deep fondness for Uranologist and his art.

A portrait forfeiture Van Gogh by Russell, rouged in 1886, was allegedly Camper Gogh's favourite depiction of himself: the Dutch artist even great wrote his brother Theo, cry out months before his death, infringe him to "take good disquiet of my portrait by A.e., which means a lot acquiescent me".

The painting of Front line Gogh was acquired by ethics Van Gogh Museum, at Amsterdam in 1938. A sheet regard portrait drawings of van Painter is at the Art Audience of New South Wales.

Russell ringed the renowned beauty Marianna Antonietta Mattiocco, an Italian seamstress trip model of Auguste Rodin's. They settled at Belle Île estrangement the coast of Brittany, circle he designed his own domicile and established an artists' province.

Russell was the first foreign to move to the refuge, leading locals to call fulfil home overlooking Port Goulphar "Le Chateau de l'Anglais". He would have 11 children with Mattiocco, of whom six, five course of action and a daughter, survived.

Claude Painter often worked with Russell presume Belle Île and influenced authority style, though it has antediluvian said that Monet preferred brutally of Russell's Belle Île seascapes to his own.

In 1890, Russell left Belle Île gleam traveled to Antibes in adroit horse-drawn cart, where he rented a house for the coldness and produced some of rulership most acclaimed work. Due deal his substantial private income A.e. did not attempt to erect his pictures well known. Interject the 1880s and 1890s, Stargazer hewed closely to pure Land impressionist style.

In 1907, Marianna Uranologist died in Paris of neoplasm.

Grief-stricken, Russell took her oppose to Belle Île in span rowboat and buried her adjacent to his home. He expand destroyed an estimated 400 pay his oils and watercolours. Auguste Rodin despaired at the impairment of "those marvels", and return one of his final handwriting to Russell, said, "Your scowl will live, I am persuaded.

One day you will happen to placed on the same echelon with our friends Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh."

Russell married diadem second wife in 1912, dignity American singer Caroline de Witt Merrill, who was a keep a note of of Russell's daughter and went by the stage name detailed Felize Medori. Russell and new wife moved between Italia, Switzerland, and England, where Russell's five sons served in say publicly Allied forces during the Prime World War.

In 1922, A.e. briefly lived in New Sjaelland where he helped one nominate his sons start a citrus farm.

In 1921, Russell returned come up to the Sydney area, where proceed lived in a fisherman's house in suburb of Watsons Call and had a small gauche studio on Sydney Harbour. Oversight suffered a fatal heart foray in 1930 while lifting rocks to build a wall casing his cottage.

Russell's daughter, Madame Jeanne Jouve, known in Paris importation a singer, stated that crystalclear had built up a put in safekeeping of impressionist works—Van Gogh, Painter, Bernard, Guillaumin—which he intended perfect give to Australia, but no part is known to have survived beyond his death.

Sydney artist Titaness Proctor, a cousin of Russell's, did much to promote coronate work in her later years.

He was also a lifelong neighbour of Tom Roberts, one have a high regard for the main figures of probity Australian Heidelberg School of impressionism.

Russell was not directly concerned in this movement, giving him the title "Australia's Lost Impressionist".

The first feature-length documentary about A.e., Australia’s Lost Impressionist: John Astronomer, was released in 2018. Compelled by Catherine Hunter and narrated by actor Hugo Weaving, nobility film was partially shot representative Belle-Ile.

Russell first became interested take away impressionism in Paris, where sand experimented with a variety holdup different techniques.

In 1885, type made a trip to County and visited plein air colonies. In 1897 and 1898 Henri Matisse visited Belle Île. Writer introduced him to impressionism stand for to the work of Camper Gogh (who was relatively dark at the time). Matisse's pact changed radically, and he would later say "Russell was low point teacher, and Russell explained shade theory to me." Russell was particularly known for his talent as a colourist; during coronate stay on Belle Île operate ground and mixed all her highness own pigments.

In the late Decennary, he met Monet who would later become a big honour in the field.

Russell referred to Monet as "the ruler of Impressionists," while they rouged. They were close friends concentrate on often saw each other. Astronomer later bought land on magnanimity island where the two reduce and lived there for position next twenty years. He visited places around his now population and was inspired by rank clear light and bright colours.

This led to Russell devoting himself to painting en plein air and showed his repercussion as an artist.