Early Modern

Jonathan Richardson the Elder

Born 1667 Died 1745

A Legacy of Light and Logic: The Life of Jonathan Richardson the Elder In the grand tapestry of eighteenth-century British art, few threads are as intellectually profound or visually enduring as those woven by Jonathan Richardson the Elder. Born in London’s St. Botolph parish on January 12th, 1667, Richardson’s journey was one shaped by both personal hardship and an extraordinary intellectual curiosity. Following the untimely loss of his father, William Richardson, the young artist found himself under the guidance of a stepfather, yet it was through a formal apprenticeship as a scrivener tha…

works mapped

subjects

1745

active until

An Interactive Constellation

The Subject Atlas

A chart of Jonathan Richardson the Elder's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.

Focus a Subject

Trace a Context

Spokes — Subject

Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.

Rings — Career Period

Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.

Threads — Shared Context

Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.

Jonathan Richardson the Elder

1667 - 1745

The Subject Atlas

Spokes — Subject

Rings — Career Period

Threads — Shared Context

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