The commercial maecenas : a study of the life and principal business concerns of John Boydell
With the passage of time John Roydell has been all but forgotten. An independent, patriotic, highly acclaimed and. successful businessman for most of the latter half of the eighteenth century, he rose from a moderate background to become a prominent man of commerce, a Lord Mayor of the City of London, a benefactor and the founder of an art gallery which alerted the public to the wealth of British artistic talent. He also promoted native artists and engravers to the extent that the market for the endeavours of their foreign counterparts was nearly annihilated, to the distinct advantage of Britain's own balance of trade. This study, in tracing Boydell's life and importance, reveals the impact he made on British art and British cultural society, principally through his utilisation of the literature and history of the country for major book, publications and the issuing of individual prints of significant, generally contemporaneous, subject matter. Initially, success was assured and the legacy Boydell could have left to Britain would have been inestimable. Unfortunately, circumstances, not least the French Wars, dictated that his name fell into near-obscurity when, more fairly, he ought to have retained a reputation
Painting, Vivienne
History
The commercial maecenas : a study of the life and principal business concerns of John Boydell. With the passage of time John Roydell has been all but forgotten. An independent, patriotic, highly acclaimed and. successful businessman for most of the latter half of the eighteenth century, he rose from a moderate background to become a prominent man of commerce, a Lord Mayor of the City of London, a benefactor and the founder of an art gallery which alerted the public to the wealth of British artistic talent. He also promoted native artists and engravers to the extent that the market for the endeavours of their foreign counterparts was nearly annihilated, to the distinct advantage of Britain's own balance of trade. This study, in tracing Boydell's life and importance, reveals the impact he made on British art and British cultural society, principally through his utilisation of the literature and history of the country for major book, publications and the issuing of individual prints of significant, generally contemporaneous, subject matter. Initially, success was assured and the legacy Boydell could have left to Britain would have been inestimable. Unfortunately, circumstances, not least the French Wars, dictated that his name fell into near-obscurity when, more fairly, he ought to have retained a reputation
commercial study life principal business concern john passage time john forgotten independent patriotic highly acclaim and successful latter rise moderate background become_prominent man commerce lord city_london benefactor founder art_gallery public wealth british artistic talent also promote native artist extent market foreign counterpart nearly distinct advantage britain balance trade study trace life importance reveals impact make british art british cultural society principally utilisation literature history country major book publication issue individual print significant generally contemporaneous subject_matter initially success assure legacy could leave britain would unfortunately circumstance least french wars dictate name fell near obscurity fairly ought retain reputation