Philip James de Loutherbourg

'' (1799) , Warsaw ''. Engraving based on Loutherbourg's painting. Loutherbourg was born in Strasbourg in 1740, the son of a Swiss miniature painter. Intended for the Lutheran ministry, he was educated at the University of Strasbourg. Paris Rejecting a religious calling, Loutherbourg decided to become a painter, and in 1755 placed himself under Charles-André van Loo in Paris, and later under Francesco Giuseppe Casanova. His talent developed rapidly, and he became a figure in the fashionable society of the day. He first exhibited at the Salon of 1763 where his Landscape with Figures and Animals attracted praise from Denis Diderot. He followed this up with further success at the Salon of 1765 with two paintings including Morning After the Rain. In 1767 he was elected to the French Academy, although below the age required by the rules of the institution, and painted landscapes, sea storms, and battles, all of which work had a celebrity above those of the specialists then working in Paris. He made his debut with the exhibition of twelve pictures, including Storm at Sunset, Night, and Morning after Rain.'', 1796. One of Loutherbourg's large battle scenes depicting the English victory against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Today it is in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Travels Loutherbourg then travelled through Switzerland, Germany and Italy, distinguishing himself as much by his mechanical inventions as by his painting. One of these, showing new effects produced in a model theatre, was the wonder of the day, with its use of lights behind canvas representing the moon and stars, and the illusory appearance of running water produced by clear blue sheets of metal and gauze, with loose threads of silver. ==London==

Theatre In 1771 he settled in London, where David Garrick paid him £500 a year to design scenery and costumes and oversee the stage machinery at the Drury Lane Theatre. He continued to work at the theatre until 1785. He was made a member of the Royal Academy in 1781. ==Publications==

Two sets of drawings by de Loutherbourg were published, reproduced in aquatint, under the title Picturesque English Scenery in 1801 and 1805. He also contributed illustrations to a Bible published by Thomas Macklin in 1800. After his death Cadell and Davies published a volume of the Apocrypha. All 110 of his drawings for the vignettes (but not the Apocrypha) are pasted in the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum in Greater Manchester. ==Esoteric interests==

In 1789 Loutherbourg temporarily gave up painting, in order to pursue an interest in alchemy and the supernatural. ==Death==

Loutherbourg died in Chiswick in west London in 1812. There are paintings by him in the collections of many British institutions including Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy of Art, Leicester, Farnham and Derby Art Gallery. Loutherbourg was buried in Chiswick Old Cemetery, adjoining the graveyard of St Nicholas Church, Chiswick. Buried nearby are the artists William Hogarth and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. ==Further reading==

File:Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg - Landscape with Figures and Animals - Google Art Project.jpg|Landscape with Figures and Animals, 1763 File:Loutherbourg-Un navire maltais attaqué par des pirates algériens.jpg|Maltese Ship Attacked by Algerian Pirates, 1765 File:Morning After the Rain.png|Morning After the Rain, 1765 File:Philippe-Jacques Loutherbourg - Musée des Bx-Arts Strasbourg-Troupeau.jpg|Landscape with Animals, 1767 File:Loutherbourg-La Mangeuse de cerises.jpg|The Cherry Eater, 1771 File:Loutherbourg-La Petite Laitière.jpg|The Little Milkmaid, 1771 File:Loutherbourg paysage clair lune mba mb.jpg|Moonlight, 1777 File:Philipp Jakob de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - Warley Camp, The Review - RCIN 406349 - Royal Collection.jpg|Warley Camp, 1780 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - A Cottage in Patterdale, Westmoreland - 2525 - Government Art Collection.jpg|A Cottage in Patterdale, Westmoreland, 1783 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - Dovedale in Derbyshire - YORAG , 995 - York Art Gallery.jpg|Dovedale in Derbyshire, 1784 File:Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg - A View near Matlock, Derbyshire with Figures Working beneath a Wooden Conveyor - Google Art Project.jpg|A View near Matlock, Derbyshire, 1785 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - A River Scene with a Ferry - L.F4.1882.0.0 - Leicester Museum ^ Art Gallery.jpg|A River Scene with a Ferry, 1786 File:Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg - Snowdon from Capel Curig - Google Art Project.jpg|Snowdon from Capel Curig, 1787 File:Philippe J De Loutherbourg - Hampstead Heath, Summer - 1885P2589 - Birmingham Museums Trust.jpg|Hampstead Heath, Summer, 1787 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg - The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen.jpg|The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, 1788 File:Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg - Visitor to a Moonlit Churchyard - Google Art Project.jpg|Visitor to a Moonlit Churchyard, 1790 File:Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, II - The Destruction of Pharaoh's Army - 1991.5 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg|''The Destruction of Pharaoh's Army'', 1792 File:The Shipwreck (Loutherbourg).png|The Shipwreck, 1793 File:The Grand Attack on Valenciennes.png|The Grand Attack on Valenciennes, 1794 File:Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg - The Great Fire of London - Google Art Project.jpg|The Great Fire of London, 1797 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - A Distant Hail-Storm Coming On, and the March of Soldiers with their Baggage - N05389 - National Gallery.jpg|A Distant Hail-Storm Coming On, 1799 File:Phillip James De Loutherbourg - The Battle of Camperdown - Google Art Project.jpg|The Battle of Camperdown, 1799 File:Phillip James De Loutherbourg - The Battle of the Nile - Google Art Project.jpg|The Battle of the Nile, 1800 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - A Fishing Boat Brought Ashore near Conway Castle - BHC2496 - Royal Museums Greenwich.jpg|A Fishing Boat Brought Ashore near Conway Castle, 1800 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg - The Battle of Alexandria, 21 March 1801 - Google Art Project.jpg|The Battle of Alexandria, 1802 File:The landing of British troops at Aboukir, 8 March 1801 (1802).jpg|The Landing of British Troops at Aboukir, 1802 File:Philip James de (1740 1812) Loutherbourg - The Cutting-Out of the French Corvette La Chevrette.jpg|The Cutting-Out of the French corvette La Chevrette, 1802 Image:Philipp Jakob Loutherbourg d. J. 003.jpg|An Avalanche in the Alps, 1803 File:Philipp Jakob de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - Banditti in a Landscape - RCIN 400217 - Royal Collection.jpg|Banditti in a Landscape, 1804 File:Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) - Storm and Avalanche near the Scheidegg in the Valley of Lauterbrunnen - 486258 - National Trust.jpg|Storm and Avalanche near the Scheidegg in the Valley of Lauterbrunnen, 1804 File:Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg - The Evening Coach, London in the Distance - Google Art Project.jpg|The Evening Coach, 1805 File:Loutherbourg-L'Abbaye de Tintern, sur la rivière Wye.jpg|The River Wye at Tintern Abbey, 1805 File:Loutherbourg-Richard Coeur de Lion à la bataille de Saint-Jean d'Acre.jpg|''Richard the Lionheart at Saint-Jean d'Acre'', 1807 Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg by Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg.jpg|Self portrait, 1805–10 ==References==