About the artist
Sir James Thornhill (1675 or 1676-1734). Born in Melcombe Regis, Dorset, James Thornhill was the offspring of Walter Thornhill of Wareham and Mary, the eldest progeny of Colonel William Sydenham, the governor of Weymouth. This English painter mastered his art in the Italian baroque tradition, primarily painting historical subjects. His apprenticeship under Thomas Highmore, a non-figurative decorative painting expert, began in 1689. He also absorbed substantial knowledge from Antonio Verrio and Louis Laguerre, well known foreign decorative painters in England. In 1696, he concluded his apprenticeship and became a Freeman of the Painter-Stainers' Company of London on March 1, 1704. Notably, he designed grand mural projects, such as the "Painted Hall" at the Royal Hospital in Greenwich, the interior dome of St Paul's Cathedral, and works at Chatsworth House and Wimpole Hall. Thornhill's art, often characterised by grand compositions and idealised figures in rhetorical postures, can be found in the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Ashmoleum, and Leeds City Art Gallery.
