BIOGRAPHY
Thomas Eakins was born in Philadelphia, where he entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1862. In 1866 he studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, developing a somber realism influenced by his master, as well as by Thomas Couture, a history painter. Visiting Spain to study the work of Diego Velázquez and José de Ribera reinforced Eakins's natural inclination to closely observed, serious art. Returning to Philadelphia in 1870, he painted geometrically composed sculling and sailing scenes and unsentimental family portraits, like Baby at Play (1876). In 1875 he completed his influential and controversial Rembrandt-esque Gross Clinic, a frank portrayal of a medical operation which still has the power to shock. He began a successful career as a teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1876, becoming director in 1882. However, his use of a naked male model in mixed classes caused his dismissal in 1886. His interest in anatomy led to experiments with photography, used for paintings like The Swimming Hole (1882). Between 1900 and 1910, Eakins painted many small portraits of great psychological intensity, concentrating on the vulnerability and humanity of his subjects.
Thomas Eakins was born in Philadelphia, where he entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1862. In 1866 he studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, developing a somber realism influenced by his master, as well as by Thomas Couture, a history painter. Visiting Spain to study the work of Diego Velázquez and José de Ribera reinforced Eakins's natural inclination to closely observed, serious art. Returning to Philadelphia in 1870, he painted geometrically composed sculling and sailing scenes and unsentimental family portraits, like Baby at Play (1876). In 1875 he completed his influential and controversial Rembrandt-esque Gross Clinic, a frank portrayal of a medical operation which still has the power to shock. He began a successful career as a teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1876, becoming director in 1882. However, his use of a naked male model in mixed classes caused his dismissal in 1886. His interest in anatomy led to experiments with photography, used for paintings like The Swimming Hole (1882). Between 1900 and 1910, Eakins painted many small portraits of great psychological intensity, concentrating on the vulnerability and humanity of his subjects.
RESOURCES
1. Max Schmitt in a Single Scull
2. The Pair-Oared Shell
3. Works of art by Thomas Eakins in the Crystal Bridges Museum main collection:
Professor Benjamin Howard Rand ; Écorché: Relief of a Horse (Josephine) ; Archbishop James Frederick Wood ; The Model ; The Art Student (James Wright)
2. The Pair-Oared Shell
3. Works of art by Thomas Eakins in the Crystal Bridges Museum main collection:
Professor Benjamin Howard Rand ; Écorché: Relief of a Horse (Josephine) ; Archbishop James Frederick Wood ; The Model ; The Art Student (James Wright)
REFERENCES
Biography adapted from Rodgers, David. "Eakins, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web.<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t118/e801>.
Artwork behind title: Eakins's Professor Benjamin Howard Rand (detail), Crystal Bridges Museum
Biography adapted from Rodgers, David. "Eakins, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web.<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t118/e801>.
Artwork behind title: Eakins's Professor Benjamin Howard Rand (detail), Crystal Bridges Museum
