greathistorybiographies
Great History Biographies
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William Blake
William Blake (1757–1827) was the husband of painter and engraver Catherine Blake (née Boucher). Following their marriage on 18 August 1782 in St Mary’s Church, Battersea, he taught Catherine to etch who became very skilled in her own right. She assisted greatly in the production of his engravings and illuminations. During his early career, the couple produced illustrations for a book by Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the pioneers of feminist philosophy and notable radical intellectual. Blake admired her writings and was in her circle of “free love” proponents, advocating for some of the same ideals in his own work. In his later career, Blake for a time worked with writer William Hayley before losing the position to famed engraver Caroline Watson. Blake had no children, though he had a reportedly happy marriage. Catherine continued to contribute to his work up until his death. In his devotion, he drew a final portrait of her upon his deathbed.
Submitted by Rebecca Holloway
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Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) was the husband of artist and model Lizzie Siddal. He was also the elder brother of the poet Christina Rossetti, younger brother to the author and nun Maria Rossetti, and brother-in-law to the author, model, and artist Lucy Madox Brown. Further, he was the lover of prominent models Fanny Cornforth and Jane Morris. Like his wife, Rossetti was an artist, producing numerous portraits not only of the aforementioned Siddal, Cornforth, and Morris, but also of model Alexa Wilding and artist Marie Spartali Stillman. Rossetti was one of the three founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an artistic movement, whose subjects were frequently women, and often based on tales and figures from mythology, literature, history, religion, and fairytales. The other two original founders of the Brotherhood were Annie Miller’s lover William Holman Hunt, and model Effie Gray’s future husband John Everett Millais. Like his younger sister, Rossetti also wrote poetry, although Christina’s work remains better known today.
Submitted by Chloe Esslemont
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Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning (1904–1997) was an artist and the husband of Elaine de Kooning (née Fried), a talented artist and art writer of the Abstract Expressionist movement. De Kooning’s contemporaries included Lee Krasner (and husband Jackson Pollock), Barbara Hepworth and Sophie Taeuber-Arp. His best-known set of paintings, the Woman series, was not based on a particular woman, incorporating instead elements of collage. He later moved on to less figurative, more abstract works, though did go back to figures of women later in his career. The De Koonings had one child, Lisa, who went on to become an honorary member of the New York Hell’s Angels. Willem also had a daughter as a result of an affair with the illustrator Joan Ward, but was reconciled with Elaine at the end of his life.
Submitted by Molly Tresadern
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Robert Delaunay
Robert Delaunay (1885–1941) was a French painter and husband to Sonia Delaunay, a pioneering artist of the Orphism movement. The term was coined by a popular art critic of the time and the movement combines geometric elements from Cubism with the colourful explorations of Fauvism. After completing art school, Delaunay exhibited in a gallery run by Berthe Weill, which garnered his first major notice by a critic. Weill was a influential figure in the avant-garde art scene, facilitating sales for artists including Suzanne Valadon and Émilie Charmy. Robert became Sonia's lover in 1909, at which point she decided to leave her husband to be with him. Prior to this, he'd frequented the gallery she owned with her husband. The couple worked in tandem to shape the direction of the Orphism, travelling throughout Europe and gathering influences from German Expressionist movements, writers and others. As the First World War broke out, they fled to Spain and Portugal where they were able to continue their practice with support from Sonia's family in Russia. The couple returned to Paris after the war and Robert continued to experiment with other styles until he passed away from cancer at 56.
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Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) was the teacher and lover of modern French sculptor Camille Claudel. He began tutoring her when she was 18 after she'd previously studied under another artist. At the time, Rodin was already in a relationship with his lifelong partner Rose Beuret and for this reason, Rodin never lived with Claudel. Nevertheless, Claudel allowed him to use her likeness as inspiration for some of his sculptures and collaborated with him to execute ideas that were otherwise restricted to her due to her gender. While he is known for larger sculptures, Rodin achieved commercial success through his portrait busts. As his career developed, he lived on commissions to depict important figures like Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick. This success was mainly contained to France until he met the American art curator Sarah Tyson Hallowell. With Hallowell's guidance, he was able to show three works at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. She then orchestrated his first sale to a wealthy American buyer. Other American collectors soon followed, including the influential arts patron Isabella Stewart Gardner. In 1919, the Musée Rodin opened in Paris, where there is a room dedicated to the works of Claudel.
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Max Ernst
Dadaist and Surrealist Max Ernst (1891–1976) was a multimedia artist and husband of Dorothea Tanning. Ernst studied art history and psychology – amongst other topics – which would later inform his stylistic influences. After completing his studies, he had a short marriage that ended when he moved to Paris to live in a ménage à trois with Surrealist painter Gala and her husband. He was able to travel with the couple by selling large quantities of work to Johanna Ey, an influential German art dealer. Eventually, Ernst settled for a period in France, where he was in a relationship with feminist and Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Ernst was arrested several times as a 'degenerate artist', leading him to flee to America with the help of Peggy Guggenheim in 1941. A devastated Carrington cleared their debts and left for Spain, and Ernst and Guggenheim were married within a year. Again the union was short-lived. Finally, Ernst and Tanning were married and settled in Arizona where they were part of developing an artist community. Among the people they entertained there were the artist and poet Kay Sage and her husband Yves Tanguy.
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Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera (1886–1957) was the husband of Mexican Surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, who he met through their membership in the Mexican Communist Party. He'd previously been married to Russian painter Angelina Beloff and novelist Guadalupe Marín. He's depicted in Kahlo's 1931 painting Frieda and Diego Rivera, based on a photograph from their wedding. He was part of a circle of influential artists that included painters like Jeanne Hébuterne and her common-law husband Amedeo Modigliani. His primary medium was political murals inspired by a combination of traditional Mexican and modern painting styles. In his 1928 mural En el Arsenal, Kahlo can be seen handing out munitions. Rivera was the father of four children including architect Ruth Rivera Marín and actress Marika Rivera.
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Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) was an American artist influenced by the work of Abstract Expressionist Janet Sobel. She is the first artist credited with exploring the drip paintings for which he became known. He first encountered her work in Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery in 1945 and began making drip paintings in 1947. He was represented by Guggenheim and received one of his first major commissions from her to paint a large piece titled Mural for her townhouse. In 1945, he and abstract painter Lee Krasner were married and bought a cottage with the help of Guggenheim. Pollock improved his technical skill with the aid of Krasner, who was trained in more modern techniques. He came to value her opinion above others, but the pair's relationship began to fall apart due to the strain of his alcoholism and affair with fellow artist Ruth Kligman. His stylistic contributions to art would be carried forward by artists like Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler.
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Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet (1832–1883) was a painter married to the accomplished Dutch pianist Suzanne Leenhoff (married name, Manet). Leenhoff was a frequent model for his paintings, though his most famous works feature the artist Victorine Meurent, who would later exhibit at the 1876 Salon. She modelled for Manet's Le Déjuener sur l'Herbe and Olympia – the latter of which also features a black model named Laure playing the role of Olympia's maid. Manet's work is considered a precursor to Impressionism and he became friends with key members of the Impressionists through introductions from Berthe Morisot. Through her efforts, he also experimented with plein air painting (painting outdoors). He only tutored one student during his life, Eva Gonzalès. He also painted a portrait of Gonzalès that consequently overshadowed her own submission to the 1870 Salon.
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