Early Modern

Thomas Buttersworth

Born 1768 Died 1842

Thomas Buttersworth: A Sailor Painter of Napoleonic Splendor Thomas Buttersworth (5 May 1768 – November 1842) stands as a testament to the intersection of seafaring adventure and artistic talent during Britain’s Napoleonic era. Though largely overlooked by art historians of his time, Buttersworth produced a remarkable body of marine paintings that offer invaluable glimpses into naval life and artistic sensibilities of the period—a legacy now being rediscovered thanks to recent scholarship. Early Life & Naval Service Notable Paintings: Capturing Battle Scenes & Ship Portraits Influence &…

works mapped

subjects

1842

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An Interactive Constellation

The Subject Atlas

A chart of Thomas Buttersworth'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.

Thomas Buttersworth

1768 - 1842

The Subject Atlas

Spokes — Subject

Rings — Career Period

Threads — Shared Context

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