George Théodore Berthon

Born3 May 1806
Royal Palace of Vienna
Died18 January 1892 (aged 85)
NationalityAustrian-born French
EducationParis, France. He likely was trained by his father who is said to have been a student of Jacques Louis David
Known forCanadian portrait artist

George Théodore Berthon RCA (3 May 1806 18 January 1892) was a Canadian portrait painter. Born in Vienna to a well-known French portrait painter, René Théodore Berthon, he emigrated first to Great Britain, and then to Canada, sometime before 1845. He specialised in portraiture of high-ranking British and Canadian officials, developing a sense of realism and simplicity. He died in Toronto in 1892.

Biography

Berthon's father, René Théodore Berthon, was a court painter to Napoleon I, and likely trained his son in art. As well, his knowledge of art in Paris would have been significant: his father was a student of Jacques Louis David.[1] As an adult, he lived in England for a number of years in the household of Sir Robert Peel to teach Peel's daughters drawing and French.[2] The first verifiable record of his immigration to Canada is an advertisement for his portraiture services in a Toronto newspaper in 1845.

Berthon was notable in the history of Canada for his creation of formal portraits characterized by a sense of realism. He focused on defining his subjects' features and characters without idealization. The composition of his portraits remains simple with dark backgrounds. His work is important both as a historical record and as an example of the style of Canadian portraiture during that period.

He was nominated as a founding member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts[3] but failed to qualify.[2] He was elected a life member of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1891.[2]

He died of a bronchial infection, at his Toronto home, in 1892.[1]

Paintings by George Théodore Berthon

References

  1. 1 2 Lowrey, Carol. "George Theodore Berthon". www.biographi.ca. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Bradfield 1970, p. 27–29.
  3. Records of the Founding of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts. Toronto: Globe Printing Co. 1879–80. p. 16. ISBN 9780665132964.

Bibliography

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