Benjamin West: an American in Rome

This title is strange for one essay because we expected to find very much model for a

painter, but we have to think that a painter finds and translated every model that is

 in his mind and he use again when subject and client allowed it. Then for

Benjamin West(1738-1820), and American painter that has visited Rome and Paris,

 after he worked to London, but the first model is for The death of Socrates(fig.1),

certainly lines and style is very young, but we have to consider that it is very youth

painting then we can excuse inaccurate style may to 1756, important in conformity of

my opinion, it is because west documents his visits to Athens school(Fig.2); we can

list some suggest form Raphael to Benjamin: architecture has arches, same

architecture, with differences for space and subject, Heraclitus is translated to figure

to right that crying, group to left next Socrates is group in same position in painting

of West, the figure to left whose we can see back is suggested from figure of young

going up staircase on right of Athens school, Phythagoras on lest of School has

suggested Socrates. The light very intense (Figg.3-7) is took from Mengs, and he

used also the light of 18^th century, but in Rome he certainly seen Mengs and he has

copied this method this hypothesis is supported by a monography about life and

works of West, this book is published at 1989(Benjamin West American painter at

English court, p.20) and he has copied Tizian, Guido Reni and Carracci, but he not 

forgotten Mengs because he has capied also him, then he has took style,  and author said 

that Mengs suggested to West worth monuments in Rome, and after Mengs advised 

make some drawings of ancient sculptures, then he certainly influenced West, and 

portrait of Mengs certainly West has studied. The portraits no escape the influence of 

Mengs, West took same light and the analytical precision of Dutch colleague, he 

followed same method very meticulous and Flemish, in critical jargon, and growth is 

evident, from the death of Socrates he has improved, now style is very better; but I think 

that West has kept in mind also some sculpture, in fact for his Apollo and Daphne(Fig.7) 

he has very studied same subject of  Bernini(Figg.8-9). Then West has took from Rome 

some ideas necessary to his painter, and he has translated it to USA and to Great British.

Alessandro Lusana    

Fig.1

Fig.2

Fig.3

Fig.4

Fig.5

Fig.5a

Fig.5b

Fig.6

Fig.7

Fig.8

Fig.9

Fig.10