Luke Clennell was considered one of the best English woodcarvers and painters. Among other things, he made a name for himself with his illustrations for poems by William Falconer. Growing up as the son of a farmer, he began an apprenticeship as a tanner with his uncle as a teenager. During this phase his talent for drawing also showed and his love for art solidified. It was a coincidence that a nobleman got to see his drawings. So he came to his new teacher, Thomas Bewick, the inventor of wood engraving. For seven years he stayed with Bewick and learned wood engraving from scratch.
After his apprenticeship the young Clennell returned to the English capital. He married the daughter of a well-known engraver and devoted himself for a while to artistic book illustrations. And other art movements also began to interest him. Thus Luke Clennell occupied himself after 1810 with watercolour painting. Soon painting almost completely replaced wood engraving. His drawings and paintings gave an insight into early 19th century England. In his works, he succeeded in depicting scenes, some of them everyday, in a realistic and at the same time romantically transfigured manner. Especially his very own depiction of the Battle of Waterloo earned him a lot of attention. Many of his contemporaries were impressed by the furious turmoil of the battle, which Clennell had captured in pictures.
Clennell was subsequently commissioned by the Earl of Bridgewater for a painting that marked the beginning of the end. The painting itself was to capture the guests at a festive banquet on canvas. Thus Clennell created portraits of the individual participants, for example of the King of Prussia. Legend has it that the preparatory work greatly weakened him. Through the physical and emotional exertion he slowly lost his mind. So he spent the next few years of his life in an insane asylum. There he continued to devote himself to art and a large number of wood engravings and drawings were created during this time. He never recovered from his mental illness until his death. Until today he is considered one of the best students of Bewick. Also as a watercolour painter his great potential was visible, which came to a standstill due to his illness. His pictures are characterized by a great attention to detail. Luke Clennell managed to bring landscapes and scenes of everyday life to life.
Luke Clennell was considered one of the best English woodcarvers and painters. Among other things, he made a name for himself with his illustrations for poems by William Falconer. Growing up as the son of a farmer, he began an apprenticeship as a tanner with his uncle as a teenager. During this phase his talent for drawing also showed and his love for art solidified. It was a coincidence that a nobleman got to see his drawings. So he came to his new teacher, Thomas Bewick, the inventor of wood engraving. For seven years he stayed with Bewick and learned wood engraving from scratch.
After his apprenticeship the young Clennell returned to the English capital. He married the daughter of a well-known engraver and devoted himself for a while to artistic book illustrations. And other art movements also began to interest him. Thus Luke Clennell occupied himself after 1810 with watercolour painting. Soon painting almost completely replaced wood engraving. His drawings and paintings gave an insight into early 19th century England. In his works, he succeeded in depicting scenes, some of them everyday, in a realistic and at the same time romantically transfigured manner. Especially his very own depiction of the Battle of Waterloo earned him a lot of attention. Many of his contemporaries were impressed by the furious turmoil of the battle, which Clennell had captured in pictures.
Clennell was subsequently commissioned by the Earl of Bridgewater for a painting that marked the beginning of the end. The painting itself was to capture the guests at a festive banquet on canvas. Thus Clennell created portraits of the individual participants, for example of the King of Prussia. Legend has it that the preparatory work greatly weakened him. Through the physical and emotional exertion he slowly lost his mind. So he spent the next few years of his life in an insane asylum. There he continued to devote himself to art and a large number of wood engravings and drawings were created during this time. He never recovered from his mental illness until his death. Until today he is considered one of the best students of Bewick. Also as a watercolour painter his great potential was visible, which came to a standstill due to his illness. His pictures are characterized by a great attention to detail. Luke Clennell managed to bring landscapes and scenes of everyday life to life.
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