Benjamin West

>Benjamin West 2005-05-17T11:58:58Z Berasategui +pl [[image:bwest.jpg|thumb|200px|Benjamin West]] '''Benjamin West''' ([[October 10]], [[1738]] – [[March 11]], [[1820]]) was an [[United Kingdom|Anglo]]-[[United States|American]] [[painter]] of historical scenes around and after the time of the [[American Revolution|Revolution]]. Born in [[Springfield, Pennsylvania]] (now [[Swarthmore, Pennsylvania|Swarthmore]]), Benjamin West was an [[autodidact]]. From [[1746]] to [[1759]], West worked in Pennsylvania painting portraits. In 1759, he moved to [[Italy]] where he expanded his repertoire by copying the works of Italian painters such as [[Titian]] and [[Raffaello Santi|Raphael]]. In [[1763]], West moved to [[England]], where he was commissioned by [[King George III]] to create portraits of members of the royal family. In [[1772]], King George appointed him historical painter to the court. West became friends with the English portraitist Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]] and founded the [[Royal Academy of Arts]] with Reynolds in [[1768]]. He was the second president of the Royal Academy from 1792 to 1805. He was re-elected in 1806 and was president until his death in 1820. West is known for his large scale [[history painting]]s, which use expressive figures, colours and compositional schemes to help the spectator to identify with the scene represented. West called this "[[epic representation]]". He died in [[London]]. [[image:death-wolfe.jpg|thumb|300px|left|West's "Death of General Wolfe" (1770)]] ==External link== *[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/19c/west.asp The Death of Nelson (1806)] in the [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/ Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool] [[Category:1738 births|West, Benjamin]] [[Category:1820 deaths|West, Benjamin]] [[Category:United States painters|West, Benjamin]] [[Category:Autodidacts|West, Benjamin]] [[Category:British artists|West, Benjamin]] [[bg:Бенджамин Уест]] [[de:Benjamin West]] [[fr:Benjamin West]] [[pl:Benjamin West]]