A balmy morning at the London Zoo. A young man studies the physiology of lions by meticulously applying the muscular forms to paper and canvas with pen or brush. This is how Briton Rivière was more frequently encountered, as painting animals was his passion.
Born the son of a painter and a musician, Briton was born into the cradle of art. In fact, painting had much deeper roots in his family tree, as his grandfather was also a painter. In total, the Royal Academy in London lists nine artists of the Rivière family that exhibited their works in the Academy. Briton began his first painterly education at Cheltenham College in London, where his father was a teacher. From the very beginning he devoted himself to animal motifs and drew dogs with particular enthusiasm. He succeeded in capturing the essence of animals by painting them, often in emotional interaction with each other or with people. Dogs mourning their deceased owners, or standing broad-legged in a protective position in front of children, are examples of how Briton portrayed the character of animals in a romantic way. Briton's art appealed and was regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy. When he moved to Oxford with his family, Briton had the opportunity to study at the renowned University of Oxford. Later he married Mary Alice Rivière (née Dobell), who was also a successful painter. With her he then moved back to London, where he often studied the animals in the zoo. He only encountered the lions and bears in zoological keeping, but he mostly drew them in wild nature. Briton himself had a pleasant character and quickly found friends in the art scene. In London, he made friends with the Scottish landscape painters Peter Graham and John MacWhirter, among others, whose collaboration and exchange have shaped his work.
Briton was already a respected artist during his lifetime. His works were exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Dudley Gallery and the Grosvenor Gallery. Because he placed particular emphasis on depicting the behaviour of animals by detailing their body language, individual drawings by Charles Darwin were reproduced in his scientific books. The New York Tribune, one of the most effective newspapers in the USA, called Briton the prince of English animal painting. Other sources named him the successor of the exceptional talent Sir Edwin Landseer.
A balmy morning at the London Zoo. A young man studies the physiology of lions by meticulously applying the muscular forms to paper and canvas with pen or brush. This is how Briton Rivière was more frequently encountered, as painting animals was his passion.
Born the son of a painter and a musician, Briton was born into the cradle of art. In fact, painting had much deeper roots in his family tree, as his grandfather was also a painter. In total, the Royal Academy in London lists nine artists of the Rivière family that exhibited their works in the Academy. Briton began his first painterly education at Cheltenham College in London, where his father was a teacher. From the very beginning he devoted himself to animal motifs and drew dogs with particular enthusiasm. He succeeded in capturing the essence of animals by painting them, often in emotional interaction with each other or with people. Dogs mourning their deceased owners, or standing broad-legged in a protective position in front of children, are examples of how Briton portrayed the character of animals in a romantic way. Briton's art appealed and was regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy. When he moved to Oxford with his family, Briton had the opportunity to study at the renowned University of Oxford. Later he married Mary Alice Rivière (née Dobell), who was also a successful painter. With her he then moved back to London, where he often studied the animals in the zoo. He only encountered the lions and bears in zoological keeping, but he mostly drew them in wild nature. Briton himself had a pleasant character and quickly found friends in the art scene. In London, he made friends with the Scottish landscape painters Peter Graham and John MacWhirter, among others, whose collaboration and exchange have shaped his work.
Briton was already a respected artist during his lifetime. His works were exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Dudley Gallery and the Grosvenor Gallery. Because he placed particular emphasis on depicting the behaviour of animals by detailing their body language, individual drawings by Charles Darwin were reproduced in his scientific books. The New York Tribune, one of the most effective newspapers in the USA, called Briton the prince of English animal painting. Other sources named him the successor of the exceptional talent Sir Edwin Landseer.
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