The Self-Taught Artist of the Forge
James Sharples was an English blacksmith and a self-taught artist and engraver. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, he was part of a large family of thirteen. His father and grandfathers were all blacksmiths. Having little formal education, he began working as a smithy-boy in an iron foundry at age ten, later becoming a riveter in an engine shop. His artistic talent emerged while helping a foreman draw boiler designs on the workshop floor. He practiced by copying engravings and lithographs, and eventually attended a drawing class at the Bury Mechanics' Institution for three months. To pursue oil painting, he made his own easel and palette, walking 18 miles to Manchester to purchase paint.
Masterworks and Engravings
Sharples is best known for his work The Forge, a lively depiction of the Industrial Revolution in progress, showing the interior of a large workshop at an iron foundry. He completed this work around 1849 after three years of labor. He also painted a large work titled The Smithy. After attempting to make a living through portrait commissions, he returned to ironworking. He taught himself the process of steel engraving and completed an engraving of The Forge in 1859, alongside a mezzotint version. His determination to improve himself was cited in Samuel Smiles' 1859 book Self-Help. He died in Blackburn, Lancashire.
Vraag en antwoord
Waar kan ik statistieken vinden over de werken van James Sharples?
Er is een Statistieken-pagina voor James Sharples, met statistieken over de kunstwerken van de kunstenaar op deze website.
Is er een chronologisch overzicht van James Sharples?
De carrière van James Sharples ontvouwt zich periode voor periode op de Loopbaanoverzicht pagina van de kunstenaar: een horizontale tijdlijn van de kunstwerken, gegroepeerd in hoofdstukken per carrièreperiode.
Is er een volledige lijst met kunstwerken van James Sharples?
Alle werken van James Sharples op deze website zijn te bekijken op de Alle kunstwerken pagina van de kunstenaar.
In welke historische periode werkte James Sharples?
James Sharples werkte in de 19th Century-periode. Deze periode plaatst het oeuvre van de kunstenaar in een historisch kader.