
George Stubbs And The Wide Creation
Animals, People and Places in the Life of George Stubbs 1724-1806
Robin Blake(Author)
Pimlico (Publisher)
Published on 25. August 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-84595-239-6 (ISBN)
Description
Far more than a fine horse portraitist, George Stubbs was a painter and a printmaker of the highest importance, on a par with his great contemporaries, Hogarth, Reynolds and Gainsborough. An artist-scientist who emulated Leonardo da Vinci, Stubbs tirelessly explored the natural world, and new ways of representing it.
Born the son of a Liverpool tradesman, Stubbs was self-taught and at first struggled in obscurity as a northern provincial painter. Robin Blake's book uncovers Stubbs's origins and some of the secrets of his youth: sympathy with the Jacobite rebels and Catholicism; and a previously undocumented wife and family in York.
A 'niece', Mary, became his mistress and lifelong companion, working alongside him as he dissected the carcasses of horses. In 1776 he published these investigations as The Anatomy of the Horse, which was his breakthrough, leading to commissions from the most powerful men in Georgian Britain. By tracing the network of patronage and friendship through which George Stubbs operated, Robin Blake reveals the remarkable succession of animals, people and ideas which inspired him.
Stubbs emerges as a man of huge energy and complex sensibility whose artistry was informed by science, politics, literature, classical art and - above all - nature itself.
Born the son of a Liverpool tradesman, Stubbs was self-taught and at first struggled in obscurity as a northern provincial painter. Robin Blake's book uncovers Stubbs's origins and some of the secrets of his youth: sympathy with the Jacobite rebels and Catholicism; and a previously undocumented wife and family in York.
A 'niece', Mary, became his mistress and lifelong companion, working alongside him as he dissected the carcasses of horses. In 1776 he published these investigations as The Anatomy of the Horse, which was his breakthrough, leading to commissions from the most powerful men in Georgian Britain. By tracing the network of patronage and friendship through which George Stubbs operated, Robin Blake reveals the remarkable succession of animals, people and ideas which inspired him.
Stubbs emerges as a man of huge energy and complex sensibility whose artistry was informed by science, politics, literature, classical art and - above all - nature itself.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Illustrations
8pp colour plates; 2x8pp b/w plates; app 50 integrated b/w drawings
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
717 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84595-239-6 (9781845952396)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Robin Blake
George Stubbs And The Wide Creation
Animals, People and Places in the Life of George Stubbs 1724-1806
E-Book
09/2016
Vintage Digital
€12.99
Available for download
Person
Robin Blake is a full-time writer whose publications include Anthony van Dyck: A Life, 1599-1641 (1999) and Essential Modern Art (2001).