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John Michael Wright was one of the star portraitists of English high society in the 17th century. Charles II, Thomas Hobbes and other prominent personalities of his time sat for him. His paintings are characterized by a restrained, elegant realism. With a fine sense of color, Wright staged his models extremely clearly and confidently. As a representative of the Baroque period, his paintings also feature lush drapery and references to classical themes. Wright managed, however, to maintain a certain naturalness and authenticity to his motifs, which give his paintings a magical depth.
Wright's exact origin is not exactly documented, he described himself sometimes as a Scot and sometimes as an Englishman. The signatures of his works and his travel documents also reflect this. As a "Pictor Scotus" and at the same time a "Pictor Anglus", he was regarded as an exceptionally cosmopolitan contemporary, which earned him great sympathy in the circles of high society. In fact, he spent a lot of time in different places of Europe. Already as a boy he moved to Scotland for unexplained reasons. There he studied under the already highly respected Scottish painter George Jameson. He then moved to Rome, where in just 10 years he established a reputation as a remarkable artist and connoisseur of art. He was given the honor of membership in the Academia di San Luca and socialized with some of the leading artists of his time. These relationships enabled him to amass an art collection. Among them were works by Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian.
After his time in Rome, Wright traveled to Brussels, where Leopold Wilhelm, Archduke of Austria and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, took notice of the personable man and his abilities. The Archduke hired Wright as an expert for his antiquities collection. He was to purchase works of art in England on his behalf and add to his considerable collection. However, political developments did not allow this employment to last long. Wright, who now lived permanently in London, managed to be hired as a court painter despite his religious denomination. That he, as a Roman Catholic Christian, was allowed to paint a portrait of Elizabeth Claypole, the daughter of the Protestant Oliver Cromwell, was not a matter of course at that time. The servant Nathaniel Waterhouse even condemned this circumstance as the result of Wright's "deliberate and shameless ass-kissing."
After the Restoration and the reinstatement of the Stuarts, Wright had better cards regarding his denomination. He portrayed the king in full robes, posing on the throne with the royal regalia. But Charles II, apparently a lover of the pompous, preferred Wright's colleague, Peter Lely. Although the king granted Wright the right to add the title "Pictor Regis" to his works, he awarded the coveted office of royal court painter to Lely. The Dane's style of painting was more ostentatious, smoother, and sweeter than Wright's. In this way, he met the taste of the times. In this way, he met the taste of the times. Wright's painterly qualities, however, are by no means inferior to Lely's. Today, because of his characteristic realism, he is considered one of the pioneering British painters of his time.
John Michael Wright was one of the star portraitists of English high society in the 17th century. Charles II, Thomas Hobbes and other prominent personalities of his time sat for him. His paintings are characterized by a restrained, elegant realism. With a fine sense of color, Wright staged his models extremely clearly and confidently. As a representative of the Baroque period, his paintings also feature lush drapery and references to classical themes. Wright managed, however, to maintain a certain naturalness and authenticity to his motifs, which give his paintings a magical depth.
Wright's exact origin is not exactly documented, he described himself sometimes as a Scot and sometimes as an Englishman. The signatures of his works and his travel documents also reflect this. As a "Pictor Scotus" and at the same time a "Pictor Anglus", he was regarded as an exceptionally cosmopolitan contemporary, which earned him great sympathy in the circles of high society. In fact, he spent a lot of time in different places of Europe. Already as a boy he moved to Scotland for unexplained reasons. There he studied under the already highly respected Scottish painter George Jameson. He then moved to Rome, where in just 10 years he established a reputation as a remarkable artist and connoisseur of art. He was given the honor of membership in the Academia di San Luca and socialized with some of the leading artists of his time. These relationships enabled him to amass an art collection. Among them were works by Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian.
After his time in Rome, Wright traveled to Brussels, where Leopold Wilhelm, Archduke of Austria and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, took notice of the personable man and his abilities. The Archduke hired Wright as an expert for his antiquities collection. He was to purchase works of art in England on his behalf and add to his considerable collection. However, political developments did not allow this employment to last long. Wright, who now lived permanently in London, managed to be hired as a court painter despite his religious denomination. That he, as a Roman Catholic Christian, was allowed to paint a portrait of Elizabeth Claypole, the daughter of the Protestant Oliver Cromwell, was not a matter of course at that time. The servant Nathaniel Waterhouse even condemned this circumstance as the result of Wright's "deliberate and shameless ass-kissing."
After the Restoration and the reinstatement of the Stuarts, Wright had better cards regarding his denomination. He portrayed the king in full robes, posing on the throne with the royal regalia. But Charles II, apparently a lover of the pompous, preferred Wright's colleague, Peter Lely. Although the king granted Wright the right to add the title "Pictor Regis" to his works, he awarded the coveted office of royal court painter to Lely. The Dane's style of painting was more ostentatious, smoother, and sweeter than Wright's. In this way, he met the taste of the times. In this way, he met the taste of the times. Wright's painterly qualities, however, are by no means inferior to Lely's. Today, because of his characteristic realism, he is considered one of the pioneering British painters of his time.