R.A.'s of Genius Reflecting on the True Line of Beauty, at the Life Academy Somerset House

June 1, 1824

Not on view

This print was published to illustrate Charles Molloy Westmacott's "English Spy" (1832), which describes London's art world. Here, a nude female model reclines on a draped chair sketched by Royal Academicians. Each artist's easel is initialed, allowing us to identify Benjamin Robert Haydon, Martin Archer Shee, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Benjamin West, Richard Westmacott, John Jackson, Joseph Farington, and Francis Chantrey. The "Line of Beauty," which the title evokes, was an aesthetic concept promoted by William Hogarth.

Artwork Details

Title: R.A.'s of Genius Reflecting on the True Line of Beauty, at the Life Academy Somerset House
Series/Portfolio: "English Spy"
Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
Author: Related author Charles Molloy Westmacott (British, 1786/87–1868 Paris)
Publisher: Sherwood, Neely and Jones (London)
Subject: Benjamin Robert Haydon (British, Plymouth 1786–1846 London)
Subject: Sir Martin Archer Shee (Irish, Dublin 1769–1850 Brighton)
Subject: Sir Thomas Lawrence (British, Bristol 1769–1830 London)
Subject: Benjamin West (American, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 1738–1820 London)
Subject: Sir Richard Westmacott (British, 1775–1856)
Subject: John Jackson (British, Lastingham, Yorkshire 1778–1831 London)
Subject: Joseph Farington (British, Leith, Lancashire 1747–1821 Didsbury, Lancashire)
Subject: Sir Francis Chantrey (British, 1781–1841)
Date: June 1, 1824
Medium: Hand-colored etching and aquatint
Dimensions: Sheet: 5 13/16 × 9 1/8 in. (14.7 × 23.2 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Object Number: 17.3.888-18
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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