Bonington, Richard Parkes 1801-28
English painter

Born near Nottingham, he moved to Calais around 1817, and there and at Paris he studied art and began a friendship with Eug�ne Delacroix, who introduced him to oriental art. His first works were exhibited in the Salon in 1822. He also began to work in lithography, illustrating Baron Taylor's Voyages. From 1824 he experimented increasingly in romantic subjects taken from history and studied armour. His best-known works followed: Francis I and Marguerite of Navarre, Henry IV receiving the Spanish Ambassador, Entrance to the Grand Canal, and Ducal Palace. His work forms an important link between French and English art. He excelled in light effects achieved by the use of a large expanse of sky, broad areas of pure colour and the silhouetting of dark and light masses, as well as his rich colouring of heavy draperies and brocades.