There are many question marks in the life of the famous marine painter Thomas Whitcombe. For example, neither the exact date of birth nor the exact date of death are known. Also about the place of birth and death one knows nothing, his origin is also completely in the dark, just as and where he received his education. He probably was born between 1752 and 1763 and died between 1824 and 1834. It is certain that in the 1780s he lived in or near the cities of Bristol, Cardiff or Swansea. This is concluded from the fact that he painted a great many pictures during this period which are connected with the ports there. Sometime between 1783 and 1824, Thomas Whitcombe also lived in London in the Covent Garden district for a long time. He exhibited his paintings several times both in the Royal Academy London and in the Royal Society of British Artists in London and must have also made many journeys. This is recognizable by his pictures and the places that are illustrated in them. In the year 1798, he was verifiably in Wales and in the year 1813 in Devon. Thus, there are several very famous paintings of the artist with scenes from the harbour city Plymouth. But he also painted in far away exotic places as the Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope, Madeira and Cuba.
Even if one does not have many facts about Thomas Whitcombe, it is clear that he was a very talented English painter. He specialized in seascapes, in paintings showing coastal landscapes and especially war and naval ships and the various battles of the Napoleonic Wars. More than 150 pictures of his hand alone show scenes from battles of the English Royal Navy and 50 of them have been included in the encyclopaedia "The Naval Achivements of Great Britain". Thomas Whitcombe's name is mentioned in the same breath as great naval painters such as Robert Dott, Nicholas Pocock and Thomas Luny. His paintings are characterized among other things by the great attention to detail of the ships depicted, which suggests that he may have been at various shipyards for study purposes. However, they are also very well composed and their effect is dramatic and technically very perfectly executed.
There are many question marks in the life of the famous marine painter Thomas Whitcombe. For example, neither the exact date of birth nor the exact date of death are known. Also about the place of birth and death one knows nothing, his origin is also completely in the dark, just as and where he received his education. He probably was born between 1752 and 1763 and died between 1824 and 1834. It is certain that in the 1780s he lived in or near the cities of Bristol, Cardiff or Swansea. This is concluded from the fact that he painted a great many pictures during this period which are connected with the ports there. Sometime between 1783 and 1824, Thomas Whitcombe also lived in London in the Covent Garden district for a long time. He exhibited his paintings several times both in the Royal Academy London and in the Royal Society of British Artists in London and must have also made many journeys. This is recognizable by his pictures and the places that are illustrated in them. In the year 1798, he was verifiably in Wales and in the year 1813 in Devon. Thus, there are several very famous paintings of the artist with scenes from the harbour city Plymouth. But he also painted in far away exotic places as the Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope, Madeira and Cuba.
Even if one does not have many facts about Thomas Whitcombe, it is clear that he was a very talented English painter. He specialized in seascapes, in paintings showing coastal landscapes and especially war and naval ships and the various battles of the Napoleonic Wars. More than 150 pictures of his hand alone show scenes from battles of the English Royal Navy and 50 of them have been included in the encyclopaedia "The Naval Achivements of Great Britain". Thomas Whitcombe's name is mentioned in the same breath as great naval painters such as Robert Dott, Nicholas Pocock and Thomas Luny. His paintings are characterized among other things by the great attention to detail of the ships depicted, which suggests that he may have been at various shipyards for study purposes. However, they are also very well composed and their effect is dramatic and technically very perfectly executed.
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