John Hesselius (1728-1778)

Aliases: Johan Hesselius

Professions: Porträtmaler

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  Attributed to JOHN HESSELIUS (American, 1728-1778)

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  Circle of JOHN HESSELIUS (American, 1728-1778),

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  POSSIBLY JOHN HESSELIUS (1728-1778)

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John Hesselius Biography

(b ?Philadelphia, PA, 1728; d Anne Arundel Co., MD, 9 April 1778). Son of (1) Gustavus Hesselius. Records suggest that he was trained by his father, but there is little evidence of Gustavus’s influence in his work. He was one of the leading portrait painters in the Middle Colonies in the third quarter of the 18th century. His lack of European training was possibly responsible for his unaffected attitude towards painting, which allowed him, unlike his contemporaries, to carry his interpretation of the Rococo portrait style to a middle-class, rather than powerful and wealthy, clientele. More eclectic than creative throughout most of his career, Hesselius is important for his reflection and improvement on the imported styles of others. He relied on the European mezzotint prints then popular in the Colonies for the composition and fashion detail in his works; his earliest known works are virtually coloured copies of these prints. He expressed himself primarily through line and colour, but in this too he was often influenced by others.

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• Colonial American Portrait Painters (11)

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  • John Singleton Copley
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  • Robert Feke
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  • Charles Willson Peale
  • Matthew Pratt
  • John Smibert
  • Gilbert Stuart
  • John Trumbull
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