Royal Academy Exhibition of 1876

On the Thames by James Tissot

The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1876 was the hundred and eighth annual Summer Exhibition hosted by the British Royal Academy of Arts. It ran between 1 May and 7 August 1876 at Burlington House in London's Piccadilly. It showcased works from leading artists and architects of the Victorian era, and attracted over 320,000 visitors during its run.[1]

Charles West Cope displayed The Council of the Royal Academy Selecting Pictures for the Exhibition, 1875 which showed leading members of the Royal Academy judging which paintings should be shown at the previous year's exhibition, which was one of the most widely discussed works. The large number of portrait paintings on display were commented on, while The Art Journal praised Over the Hills and Far Away by John Everett Millais as "the grandest piece of landscape in this year's exhibition".[2]

The French artist James Tissot displayed On the Thames, which drew near unanimous criticism due to its portrayal of a man accompanied by potential female conquests on a boat in the Pool of London.[3] He also exhibited The Convalescent, painted in his own London garden. Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux showed The Charge of the Heavy Brigade depicting the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.

References

Bibliography

  • Cusack, Tricia (ed.) Art and Identity at the Water's Edge. Taylor & Francis, 2017.
  • Marshall, Nancy Rose & Warner, Malcolm. James Tissot: Victorian Life, Modern Love. Yale University Press, 1999.