Lot Essay
Jonas Langford Brooke, was born in 1758, the second son of Peter Brooke of Mere and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Jonas Langford of Antigua. On 16 August 1783, he left London for the Grand Tour, accompanied by his tutor the Rev. John Parkinson, who kept a journal of their travels and who they met. He recorded them living in Naples in January and February 1784, and then moving to Rome, where they stayed throughout March and April. The correspondence referred to above between Brooke and his tutor suggests that a visit should be made to several artists living in Rome, one of them being Jacob More, as he would 'do any Subject One bespeaks'. This visit obviously took place, and commissions were given for two pictures, the present and the following lot, with the prospect of possibly another two. This second commission, however, is said to have been cancelled by the executors following Brooke's death in Milan on his way home in July 1784. In a letter written in 1785 to his patron Thomas Harvey, More wrote
'had a Commission to paint two Picturs of my 1st Size for one Mr Brook a Young Gentleman who latly died. I have received a letter from his relations Countermanding the Order one of these Picturs is begun, if it would Suit You I could have it finish'd by the time 12 months'. 20
More, the son of an Edinburgh merchant, was originally apprenticed to a goldsmith in the city before changing his trade and becoming an apprentice in the decorating firm of Norie. Both Robert and his father James Norie had been trained in the art of landscape painting, which formed the basis of their decorative schemes. More's training here led him into painting sets for the New Theatre in Edinburgh, which were successful, and ultimately decided him on another career change and move to London to become a landscape painter. He exhibited at the Society of Artists several works which were well received and brought him more success. In the early 1770s, following the direction of many of his fellow artists and former teacher, Alexander Runciman, and under the guidance of Robert Alexander, the Edinburgh banker and collector, he went to Rome. He settled in rooms in the former Palazzo del Portoghesino in the Strada Rosella, by the Piazza di Spagna, an area already populated by other artists from England and Scotland. His initial few years were spent in studying and sketching the countryside, and from 1775, assisting Allan Ramsay with his projected book on tracing the location of Horace's Sabine Villa. From these studies in situ he was able to work up full scale paintings, and quickly established a flourishing painting practice, attracting the patronage of many making the Grand Tour. Recommendations such as that made to Jonas Langford Brooke were taken up and commissions followed - from Lord Bristol, the Earl-Bishop of Derry, Lord Breadalbane, Lord Cowper and Lord Grey de Wilton, who noted in his Grand Tour diary that the artist 'is reckoned the best landscape painter in Rome and called the English Claude'. He tackled all types of landscapes, frequently on a large scale, bringing into use his former training as a theatrical painter in Edinburgh. He became a very influential figure in Roman society, acting also as a dealer in pictures, especially Old Masters, and works of art, for the Grand Tourists and collectors back in England as well. Such was his importance in artistic circles that Prince Marcantonio Borghese chose him to paint a large decorative scheme for his villa of a Landscape with the Metamorphosis of Daphne, and to design the Giardino Inglese in the grounds. This, with its landscaped garden, lake and temple, was very popular as a meeting place, not only for the British colony living in the city, but also with the Roman public. The painting, carried out in 1783-5, was taken down in 1891, and is now lost.
In 1783-4, More acted as Miss Mary Berry's cicerone in Rome, when she was travelling with her family in Italy; the journals of her travels provide an intriguing insight into the life of the Grand Tourist. It is she who mentions meeting Jonas Langford Brooke and Sir James Graham in Naples, Rome and Florence, and also records that Brooke was staying at the Auberge Imperiale in Milan on 11 June 1784, where he was struck down with a fatal illness.
More held a position of some power in Rome, acting as a dealer and agent for collectors and his fellow artists. At the same time, such was his reputation as a landscape artist that he was frequently compared with Dughet and Claude, both of whom he greatly admired. A rivalry existed between him and Jacob Philipp Hackert, also renowned for his landscapes, who had moved to Naples to avoid More's competition. They charged similar prices for their works - 100 gns for a 5'2" x 6'9" canvas, down to 30gns for 2'2" x 2'11½". In 1784 More was granted the accolade of being invited by the Uffizi in Florence to paint a self-protrait for their collection; three years previously he had been unanimously voted in as a member of the Accademia di San Luca, a distinction rarely bestowed on a foreign artist.
More died suddenly on 1 October 1793. One of his executors was Thomas Jenkins, who acted as agent to collectors both in London and Rome. Correspondence exists between him and the Rev. John Parkinson, Jonas Langford Brooke's tutor, about the state of Brooke's illness. Writing from on 3 July 1784 he enquired about news he had received from George Warren concerning the 'severe illness with which Mr Brooke had been afflicted' and asked for 'a further account of Mr Brooke's state'.
In a further letter from Rome, dated 7 August 1784, Jenkins, who was obviously dealing with the transportation of Brooke's purchases from Italy, via Leghorn and Liverpool, to Cheshire, wrote to Dr Parkinson about receiving the news of 'the melancholy fate of your most worthy and ever to be commended friend...... Your suffering was one of the first things that occurred to me as I know what a real friendship subscribed between you and the worthy deceased.' His letter concludes by itemising the various alabasters, tables and sculpture bought by Brooke which were to be sent to Messrs Garle, Hodgkin & Drake at Leghorn for shipment home.
'had a Commission to paint two Picturs of my 1st Size for one Mr Brook a Young Gentleman who latly died. I have received a letter from his relations Countermanding the Order one of these Picturs is begun, if it would Suit You I could have it finish'd by the time 12 months'. 20
More, the son of an Edinburgh merchant, was originally apprenticed to a goldsmith in the city before changing his trade and becoming an apprentice in the decorating firm of Norie. Both Robert and his father James Norie had been trained in the art of landscape painting, which formed the basis of their decorative schemes. More's training here led him into painting sets for the New Theatre in Edinburgh, which were successful, and ultimately decided him on another career change and move to London to become a landscape painter. He exhibited at the Society of Artists several works which were well received and brought him more success. In the early 1770s, following the direction of many of his fellow artists and former teacher, Alexander Runciman, and under the guidance of Robert Alexander, the Edinburgh banker and collector, he went to Rome. He settled in rooms in the former Palazzo del Portoghesino in the Strada Rosella, by the Piazza di Spagna, an area already populated by other artists from England and Scotland. His initial few years were spent in studying and sketching the countryside, and from 1775, assisting Allan Ramsay with his projected book on tracing the location of Horace's Sabine Villa. From these studies in situ he was able to work up full scale paintings, and quickly established a flourishing painting practice, attracting the patronage of many making the Grand Tour. Recommendations such as that made to Jonas Langford Brooke were taken up and commissions followed - from Lord Bristol, the Earl-Bishop of Derry, Lord Breadalbane, Lord Cowper and Lord Grey de Wilton, who noted in his Grand Tour diary that the artist 'is reckoned the best landscape painter in Rome and called the English Claude'. He tackled all types of landscapes, frequently on a large scale, bringing into use his former training as a theatrical painter in Edinburgh. He became a very influential figure in Roman society, acting also as a dealer in pictures, especially Old Masters, and works of art, for the Grand Tourists and collectors back in England as well. Such was his importance in artistic circles that Prince Marcantonio Borghese chose him to paint a large decorative scheme for his villa of a Landscape with the Metamorphosis of Daphne, and to design the Giardino Inglese in the grounds. This, with its landscaped garden, lake and temple, was very popular as a meeting place, not only for the British colony living in the city, but also with the Roman public. The painting, carried out in 1783-5, was taken down in 1891, and is now lost.
In 1783-4, More acted as Miss Mary Berry's cicerone in Rome, when she was travelling with her family in Italy; the journals of her travels provide an intriguing insight into the life of the Grand Tourist. It is she who mentions meeting Jonas Langford Brooke and Sir James Graham in Naples, Rome and Florence, and also records that Brooke was staying at the Auberge Imperiale in Milan on 11 June 1784, where he was struck down with a fatal illness.
More held a position of some power in Rome, acting as a dealer and agent for collectors and his fellow artists. At the same time, such was his reputation as a landscape artist that he was frequently compared with Dughet and Claude, both of whom he greatly admired. A rivalry existed between him and Jacob Philipp Hackert, also renowned for his landscapes, who had moved to Naples to avoid More's competition. They charged similar prices for their works - 100 gns for a 5'2" x 6'9" canvas, down to 30gns for 2'2" x 2'11½". In 1784 More was granted the accolade of being invited by the Uffizi in Florence to paint a self-protrait for their collection; three years previously he had been unanimously voted in as a member of the Accademia di San Luca, a distinction rarely bestowed on a foreign artist.
More died suddenly on 1 October 1793. One of his executors was Thomas Jenkins, who acted as agent to collectors both in London and Rome. Correspondence exists between him and the Rev. John Parkinson, Jonas Langford Brooke's tutor, about the state of Brooke's illness. Writing from on 3 July 1784 he enquired about news he had received from George Warren concerning the 'severe illness with which Mr Brooke had been afflicted' and asked for 'a further account of Mr Brooke's state'.
In a further letter from Rome, dated 7 August 1784, Jenkins, who was obviously dealing with the transportation of Brooke's purchases from Italy, via Leghorn and Liverpool, to Cheshire, wrote to Dr Parkinson about receiving the news of 'the melancholy fate of your most worthy and ever to be commended friend...... Your suffering was one of the first things that occurred to me as I know what a real friendship subscribed between you and the worthy deceased.' His letter concludes by itemising the various alabasters, tables and sculpture bought by Brooke which were to be sent to Messrs Garle, Hodgkin & Drake at Leghorn for shipment home.