Philadelphia's Unknown Master
Rachel Braverman on a shocking American realist.
Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) is considered by many American scholars as their foremost painter, yet he is little known outside the US. In Europe, his work is currently represented by a single picture in Paris' Musee D'Orsay. To rectify this, the National Portrait Gallery in London are holding an exhibition of Eakins' work, opening this month and lasting until January 1994.
Not only was Eakins a great artist, he was also an interesting historical figure. He studied anatomy at Jefferson Medical College and art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Frustrated at the limitations of American art teaching, he went to Europe in 1866, returning on July 4th, 1870. However, he was selective in what he brought back. He seems not to have noticed the Impressionists and rejected Rubens as 'dashy and flashy'. On the other hand, he was bowled over by the 'bigness' of Velasquez and Ribera. He was also given the chance to draw extensively from the nude and to develop a painterly technique as a result of these experiences which he could not get at home.
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