Skiddaw in Cumberland; a summer evening with a stage coach

Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740 - 1812)

Oil on canvas

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Image of Skiddaw in Cumberland; a summer evening with a stage coach
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: France
    City: Strasbourg
    Place: UK Delegation to Council of Europe

    ‘Skiddaw in Cumberland’ was painted by de Loutherbourg as a pendant or companion painting to ‘A Cottage in Patterdale, Westmoreland’ (GAC 2524). Both works were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1784.

    A drawing by painter, illustrator and printmaker Edward Francis Burney, now in the British Museum, shows the Great Room at Somerset House during the Royal Academy exhibition of 1784. In it, these two landscapes can be seen, displayed to either side of a larger painting by de Loutherbourg, titled ‘Brother Bridge, which divides Westmorland from Cumberland’. The larger painting physically divides the two smaller views, acting as a literal ‘bridge’ between de Loutherbourg’s representations of each county.

  • About the artist
    Philip James de Loutherbourg, was born in Germany, the son of a miniaturist and engraver. The family moved to Paris in 1755 where he studied with Carle Van Loo and Jean-Georges Wille, before entering the studio of François Joseph Casanova. He left Paris in 1768 to travel through France, Switzerland and the Rhineland. In 1771 he arrived in London, where David Garrick gave him control of the scenery at Drury Lane Theatre. He remained at the theatre when Sheridan took over. In 1781, he became a member of the Royal Academy. He travelled throughout the UK on sketching tours and began painting naval victories in the 1790s. In 1807 he was made Historical Painter to the Duke of Gloucester. He died in Hammersmith, aged 71.
  • Explore
    Places
    England, Lake District, Cumbria, Skiddaw
    Subjects
    horseback, stage coach, landscape C18th, genre, tree, evening, dog, horse, summer, fire, lake, hill, man, road, hut
    Materials & Techniques
    canvas, oil, oil painting
  • Details
    Artist
    Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740 - 1812)
    Title
    Skiddaw in Cumberland; a summer evening with a stage coach
    Date
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    height: 41.00 cm, width: 59.70 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Mary Bellis, Hungerford, January 1954
    Inscription
    sbr
    Provenance
    Collection of Richard Price Jones between 1787 and 1789; possibly collection of Joshua Smith; with Leger Galleries, London; collection of Mary Bellis, Hungerford; from whom purchased by the Ministry of works in January 1954
    GAC number
    2524