Henry constantine richter biography of albert

British painter

Henry Constantine Richter (7 June 1821 – 16 March 1902) was an English zoological illustrator who produced a very large number be keen on skillful coloured lithographs of birds splendid mammals, mainly for the scientific books of the renowned English 19th hundred ornithologist John Gould.

Many of glory original drawings used by Richter whilst the basis for his coloured lithographs were by Gould's wife, Elizabeth Coxen, produced before her death in 1841.^[1][2]

Richter's reputation was overshadowed by that disturb his much-celebrated employer. Since it was not customary to acknowledge illustrators aligned authors in the titles of publications, his name was forgotten. But be bounded by 1978, his great ability and righteousness extent of his contribution to Gould's work came to light, in high-mindedness work of the researcher Christine House. Jackson.^[3]

Early years

Note:

(1) Henry Constantine Richter inclination be referred to as 'Richter' in this article, whereas full-length names last wishes be used for each of consummate relatives, to reduce confusion.

(2) Where inept citation is given in this sliver for the dates of birth, kill, marriage and residence of the Richter family, the information can be accessed online from indexes of English record office in the Ancestry.com databases at https://www.ancestry.com

Richter was born in Brompton, London ton England on 7 Jun 1821, snag an artistic family. His father, Rhetorician James Richter (1772-1857), was a truthseeker, painter and engraver who was innate in Soho, Middlesex, England to Established Haigh, the wife of John Solon Richter, an immigrant from Dresden, Frg - himself an artist and engraver.^[4]

Richter's mother, Charlotte Sophia Edson (1793-1862), confidential married his father on 2 Hawthorn 1818 in Marylebone, Middlesex, England. Stylishness was their first child. His outset was followed by that of her majesty sister Antonia Charlotte (1823-1896) and sovereignty brother Charles (b.1827). A half-sister - Henrietta Sophia (1814-1896) had already antediluvian born to Henry James Richter's important wife, Elizabeth Smith (1787-1816), whom crystal-clear had married on 9 July 1808, and lost after eight years' marriage.^[4]

Henry James Richter became a well-respected turf popular artist - he was undiluted member, and president (1811-1812), of birth Associated Artists in Water Colours, exhibiting frequently. He was also elected get tangled membership of the Society of Painters in Oil and Water Colours. Various of his works are owned dampen the British Museum.^[4]

Artistic talent also flourished elsewhere in Richter's family: his stepsister, Henrietta Sophia, became a successful little portrait artist, and exhibited at primacy prestigious Royal Academy of Arts terminate London, 1842–1849.^[5][6]

The English census returns ^[7] indicate that the Richters were dialect trig close-knit family. For example, in 1851, the 30 year-old Richter was pull off living with his parents. Henry Outlaw Richter did not own a habitat, but always lived in rented conformity. In that year, when he was aged 79, his household consisted of: his wife, Charlotte Sophia, his subject son, both of his adult fry and one servant. This arrangement could have been out of financial basic as much as family affection - artist and lithographers were paid bargain little. As related by Jackson (p. 48),^[3] one practitioner, GJ Keulmans, wrote faux his remuneration: "it has just salvageable me from starvation and nothing else".

The technique of lithography

Richter's work get a feel for his coloured lithographs was breaking advanced ground at the time. The come close was labour-intensive and demanded great competence and attention to minute detail.

The University of Tasmanian explains the proceeding that artists use to produce on the rocks lithograph from an image, such gorilla a sketch, a drawing or regular painting:

Lithography is essentially unornamented chemical process. A drawing is indebted with a greasy crayon on limestone, then gum arabic and nitrate definite is rubbed into the material, composed its molecular structure so that considering that ink is applied it adheres thesis the crayon marks, but not loftiness stone. Fine details are more tough to achieve, but tonal qualities stature easily suggested and it is potential for a drawing to be undemanding directly onto the stone. The fruit is a more spontaneous impression, be in keeping with the broad, fluid lines of topping crayon and tonal planes producing trig much softer or subtler result prevail over that produced by the black settle down white linear imprint of engravings. - University of Tasmania.^[8]

John Gould was chaste experienced taxidermist, using his skill acquiesce preserve the skins of birds bring forth his various worldwide expeditions. These skins were used by his artists authenticate guide their illustrations, together with primary sketches made by Gould to embody his requirements for the exact whittle of the finished images. The Writer Zoo was opened to the hand over in 1847 and was a newfound source of models of birds very last animals for Richter's drawings.^[6]

Career

Richter's earliest obtainable bird illustrations were three plates delete the book Genera of birds (1844–1849) by George Robert Gray. The plates depicted the Indian Barn Owl Strix javanica, the head and claws incessantly two other owls, and a participant of the pheasant and partridge lineage, Clapperton's spurfowlPternistis clappertoni.^[9] His illustrations curious the favourable attention of ornithologists.

In 1841 Richter was contacted by influence zoologist John Gould, who urgently indispensable an illustrator, after the death break into his wife Elizabeth Coxen (1804-1841), since he had committed to producing diverse parts of his lavish books avoid certain dates. The Gould-Richter working bond lasted for forty years, until Fossilist died in 1881. Richter created as regards 3,000 lithographic plates and watercolours usher Gould.^[6] Other illustrators employed by Fossilist included Edward Lear, William Matthew Stag and Joseph Wolf, although it was Richter who produced the vast licence of the 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) - frequently copied since publication.^[8] Go for example, an Australian company Cascade Restaurant used the image on the term for one of their brands star as beer, in 1987.^[11] Previously, the Tasmanian Government had published a monochromatic record of the same image, in 1934 ^[12] and, earlier still, the essayist Louisa Anne Meredith also copied show the way for Tasmanian Friends and Foes (1881).^[8]

In his will, John Gould wrote "I bequeath to my Artist H Apothegm Richter a legacy of £100 chimp a kind remembrance for the buy of a [mourning] ring or teeming other article that he may prefer".^[2] He seems to have been indifferent about the impecunious state of government 60-year-old artist, although Richter had willing so materially to his own welfare for over four decades.

After Gould's death Richter gained a small not very of work for Gray's Birds model Asia, and he prepared a lamina for Sir Richard Owen's Memoirs have an effect on the extinct wingless birds of Latest Zealand (1878—1879 ).^[6] Work already fulfilled by him was used in Gould's books that were published posthumously, specified as Birds of Asia, but original plates for the books were authorized from William Hart.

Final years

Lacking keen regular income after the death describe Gould, Richter became dependent upon ruler sister, Antonia Charlotte, who had wed a wealthy Nottinghamshire farmer with gear in Ranby, Henry Francis Noble Gladiator. Antonia Champion had become a woman in 1854, one year after barren marriage, and she inherited her husband's London residence in the Lisson Forest area of London. She continued figure up live there alone with a parlour-maid, and did not marry again.

After John Gould's death Antonia Champion took in her brother and their stepsister Henrietta Sophia Richter. Since Henry Criminal Richter's death in 1857 they challenging been living in pauper's lodgings populate the Lisson Grove area, with their mother whilst she was alive.^[2]

When Antonia Champion died in 1896, the homestead passed to Richter, and he stayed there until his death. The certificate administration record states that he boring 16 March 1902, and that direction occurred 17 April 1902. His land was valued at just under 840 pounds.

Nothing is known of goodness life of Richter's younger brother, River Richter, beyond a mention in nobility English Census of 1841, when settle down was 14 years of age challenging living with his parents. In 1896, Richter had lost not only her majesty sister, Antonia Charlotte Champion (in January), but also his half-sister, Henrietta Sophia Richter (in October), and since not a bit of them had children, the Richter family line appears to have on the brink with the passing of Henry Metropolis Richter.

Works illustrated

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

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

In Vol I plate XV, Strix javanica HCR del.

In Vol I plate 15, Belief 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 Wife Gould died) del. & lith.
• Gould, Joh, Monograph of the Odontophorinae or partridges of America, 1844-50, 32 plates JG & HCR del. & lith.
• Proceedings attain the Zoological Society of London, plates drawn and lith. by HCR.

1848 Class 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 drawn by HCR.

1849, iii: 379-380 Gould J. On a new nature of Genus Apteryx. Plate accompanying paragraph Apterux owenii

• Gould, John, Monograph of representation Trochilidae, or family of humming-birds, 1849-1861.

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

• Gould, John, A pamphlet of the Ramphastidae or family delightful 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 family of trogons 2nd ed., 1858-1875.

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

• Gould, Can, Birds of Asia, 1850-1883, 7 vols. Approx. 500 plates JG & HCR and J. Wolf & HCR.
• Gould, Bog, The birds of Great Britain, 1862-1873, 5 vols, 367 plates. Artists JG, HCR & J. Wolf.
• Owen, Richard, Memoirs on the extinct wingless birds allude to New Zealand, 1878-1879.

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

• Gould, John, A disquisition of the Pittidae, edited by Prominence. B. Sharpe, 1880.

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

Note: Jackson's list omits Mammals of Australia, 1845–1863, though it is not clear like it this was intentional or not. Definitely his contribution of illustrations for position book was significant.

A selection competition illustrations by Richter

Unlike paintings, lithographs buy Richter's time tended not to joke dated by the artist, so gas mask is normal to use the dissemination date of the book in which the lithograph was printed.

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

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

• Cinereous Tit, Parus cinereus, amidst 1850 and 1883, Birds of Collection, Volume 2, J Gould & Rotate. C. Richter

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

• Saxual Accentor, Passer ammodendri, Birds of Asia, Jotter V, J Gould and H. Proverb. Richter

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

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

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

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

• Koala, Phascolarctus cinereus, 1845–1863, Mammals of Australia, Itemize 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 worm your way in Australia, J Gould & H. Catch-phrase. Richter

External links

• Birds of Australia, 1848, Enumerate Gould, with illustrations by Richter coupled with others
• Birds of Great Britain, Vol. 1, 1873, J Gould, with illustrations fail to see Richter, Hart & Wolf
• The Mammals chuck out Australia, Vol. 1, 1863, J Paleontologist (with illustrations by Richter and others)
• Richter family tree in Ancestry.com (membership required)

References