Henry William Burgess stands as a notable, if sometimes overlooked, figure in the rich tapestry of early nineteenth-century British art. Active during a period of profound artistic innovation and a burgeoning appreciation for the natural world, Burgess carved out a niche for himself as a dedicated landscape painter and a skilled draughtsman. His work, characterized by a sensitive observation of nature and a particular fondness for arboreal subjects, offers a valuable window into the artistic currents and aesthetic sensibilities of his time. While perhaps not achieving the towering fame of some of his contemporaries, his contributions, particularly his role as Landscape Painter to King William IV and his evocative depictions of the English countryside, merit closer examination.
Early Life and Artistic Lineage
Born in England around 1792, Henry William Burgess was immersed in an artistic environment from a young age. He hailed from the esteemed Burgess family, a lineage that had already made its mark on the British art scene. His grandfather, Thomas Burgess (fl. c. 1766-1786), was an artist of an earlier generation, and more significantly, his father was William Burgess (c. 1749–1812), a respected painter who held the distinction of being a landscape painter to King George III and drawing master to the Princesses. This familial connection to both art and royal patronage undoubtedly shaped young Henry's aspirations and provided him with an early education in the principles of art.
Growing up in London, the epicentre of British artistic life, Henry William Burgess would have been exposed to a dynamic and evolving art world. The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries saw a flourishing of artistic societies, public exhibitions, and a growing middle-class market for art. This environment provided fertile ground for an aspiring artist, and Burgess seems to have absorbed these influences, channelling them into his chosen specialism: landscape painting. His eventual death in London in 1844 marked the end of a career dedicated to capturing the nuanced beauty of the British Isles. The artistic tradition within the Burgess family would continue, notably through Henry William's own son, John Bagnold Burgess (1829–1897), who became a well-known painter of historical and Spanish genre scenes, achieving election as a Royal Academician.
A Career in Landscape: Exhibitions and Royal Appointment
Henry William Burgess actively participated in the London art scene, exhibiting his works regularly over a significant period, from approximately 1809 to 1844. His paintings and drawings graced the walls of several prestigious institutions, including the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Institution, the Suffolk Street Gallery (home to the Society of British Artists), and the New Water-Colour Society. Consistent exhibition at these venues indicates a sustained professional practice and a desire to engage with both fellow artists and the art-buying public.
A significant honour in his career was his appointment as Landscape Painter to King William IV. While the exact date of this appointment can sometimes vary in historical records, it solidified his standing and provided a degree of prestige. William IV reigned from 1830 to 1837, and royal patronage was highly sought after, offering not only financial benefits but also considerable social and professional cachet. This role suggests that Burgess's skill in depicting landscapes, particularly those with a distinctly British character, resonated with the tastes of the monarch and the court. His works, including a notable painting depicting horses, deer, and Windsor Castle, found a place within the Royal Collection, a testament to this royal favour.
The Artistic Vision of Henry William Burgess
Burgess's artistic output was primarily focused on the depiction of English rural scenery. He worked proficiently in both graphite and watercolour, mediums well-suited to capturing the subtleties of light, atmosphere, and texture inherent in landscape. His keen eye for detail and his ability to convey the specific character of natural forms were hallmarks of his style.
The Enduring Fascination with Trees
A recurring and dominant theme in Burgess's oeuvre is his meticulous and affectionate portrayal of trees. Works such as his celebrated hand-coloured lithograph, Beech Trees (1827), underscore this preoccupation. In this piece, the majestic forms of ancient beeches are rendered with a sensitivity that captures not only their physical structure – the gnarled bark, the spreading branches, the delicate tracery of leaves – but also their inherent grandeur and personality. Trees, for Burgess, were not mere background elements but central characters in the landscapes he depicted. This focus aligns with a broader Romantic sensibility that saw in nature, and particularly in ancient trees, symbols of endurance, history, and the sublime power of the natural world. Artists like John Constable also shared this deep reverence for trees, often making them focal points in their compositions.
Another significant work, An Old Cherry Tree at Wilton Park (1827), further illustrates this focus. This piece, a coloured lithograph created in collaboration with the master lithographer Charles Joseph Hullmandel, showcases Burgess's skill in capturing the unique character of a specific tree. Wilton Park, with its historic house and landscaped grounds, provided a rich source of inspiration for artists, and Burgess’s choice of an "old" cherry tree suggests an interest in the picturesque qualities of age and natural decay, a common theme in Romantic landscape art.
Sketchbook of Rural Scenery
One of Henry William Burgess's most revealing and comprehensive works is his Sketchbook of Rural Scenery, created between approximately 1827 and 1830. This collection comprises twenty-one graphite drawings and offers an intimate glimpse into his working methods and his preferred subjects. The sketchbook is a veritable catalogue of English pastoral motifs: venerable trees, rustic stone bridges spanning gentle rivers, tranquil lakes reflecting an overcast sky, cascading waterfalls, small sailing boats navigating inland waterways, ancient churches with their spires pointing heavenward, crumbling castles and evocative ruins, and examples of vernacular architecture, such as those found in Totteridge.
Sketchbooks like these were essential tools for landscape painters of the period. They served as visual diaries, allowing artists to record observations directly from nature, to experiment with compositions, and to gather material that could later be developed into more finished studio works in watercolour or oil. The drawings in Burgess's sketchbook likely demonstrate a directness and spontaneity that capture the immediate impression of the scene. The emphasis on graphite, a medium capable of both delicate lines and rich tonal variations, allowed him to explore form and light with precision. The variety of subjects indicates a broad appreciation for the diverse elements that constituted the English picturesque landscape.
Pioneering Lithography
Beyond his work in watercolour and graphite, Henry William Burgess was also involved in the relatively new medium of lithography. His collaboration with Charles Joseph Hullmandel (1789–1850) is particularly noteworthy. Hullmandel was a pivotal figure in the development and popularisation of lithography in Britain, and his workshop attracted many leading artists. The aforementioned Beech Trees and An Old Cherry Tree at Wilton Park are prime examples of Burgess's engagement with this printmaking technique.
Lithography, invented in the late 1790s by Alois Senefelder, offered artists a new means of reproducing their drawings with remarkable fidelity. Unlike engraving or etching, which required incising lines into a metal plate, lithography was a planographic process, based on the chemical principle that grease and water repel each other. Artists could draw directly onto a specially prepared limestone slab (or later, zinc plates) with a greasy crayon or ink. The resulting prints could capture the subtle tonal gradations and textural qualities of a drawing, making it an ideal medium for landscape artists seeking to convey atmospheric effects. Burgess's adoption of lithography, particularly for subjects like trees where texture and form were paramount, places him among the early adopters who recognized the artistic potential of this innovative medium. His work in this area contributed to the growing appreciation for lithography as a fine art form, not merely a reproductive one.
Burgess in the Context of His Contemporaries
To fully appreciate Henry William Burgess's contribution, it is essential to view him within the vibrant artistic landscape of early nineteenth-century Britain. This era is often referred to as a golden age for British landscape painting, dominated by towering figures yet also populated by a multitude of talented artists who collectively shaped the nation's artistic identity.
The Giants: Constable and Turner
No discussion of early nineteenth-century British landscape painting can ignore John Constable (1776–1837) and J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851). These two artists, though vastly different in their approaches, revolutionised the genre. Constable, with his deep attachment to his native Suffolk countryside, championed a naturalistic approach, famously stating that "painting is but another word for feeling." His meticulous studies of clouds, his fresh, vibrant palette, and his commitment to capturing the transient effects of light and weather set a new standard for landscape art. Works like The Hay Wain (1821) and his numerous studies of Salisbury Cathedral exemplify his dedication to the specific and the local.
Turner, on the other hand, was an artist of immense ambition and imaginative power. While also rooted in observation, his work increasingly moved towards the sublime and the atmospheric, exploring the dramatic interplay of light, colour, and elemental forces. From his early topographical watercolours to his late, almost abstract, depictions of storms, fires, and seascapes, Turner pushed the boundaries of representation. His use of colour and his ability to evoke powerful emotional responses were unparalleled.
While Burgess may not have reached the revolutionary heights of Constable or Turner, his work shares certain affinities with the prevailing artistic concerns of the time. Like Constable, he was deeply engaged with the specific character of the English countryside, and his focus on trees echoes Constable's own arboreal studies. His interest in capturing the particularities of place aligns with the broader trend towards naturalism. However, Burgess's style appears to have been generally more restrained and descriptive than the expressive dynamism of Turner or the deeply personal naturalism of Constable.
The English Watercolour School
Henry William Burgess was also part of the flourishing English watercolour school. Artists like Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), John Sell Cotman (1782–1842), David Cox (1783–1859), and Peter De Wint (1784–1849) elevated watercolour from a medium primarily used for preparatory sketches or topographical records to a respected art form in its own right. Girtin, in his short life, pioneered a broader, more atmospheric style. Cotman was renowned for his strong sense of pattern and design, particularly in his architectural subjects. Cox and De Wint were masters of capturing the breezy, open landscapes of England and Wales, often working with a wet, fluid technique.
Burgess's use of watercolour for landscape subjects places him firmly within this tradition. The portability of watercolours made them ideal for outdoor sketching, allowing artists to capture the fleeting effects of light and weather with immediacy. The New Water-Colour Society (later the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours), where Burgess exhibited, was one of several societies founded to promote and showcase the medium.
Other Notable Contemporaries
The artistic milieu of Burgess's time was rich with talent. John Linnell (1792–1882), an exact contemporary, was a versatile artist known for his landscapes, portraits, and biblical scenes, and was closely associated with William Blake and later Samuel Palmer. Samuel Palmer (1805–1881), though younger, developed a unique visionary style of landscape painting, particularly during his Shoreham period, imbuing his depictions of the Kent countryside with an intense, mystical quality. Richard Parkes Bonington (1802–1828), another short-lived genius, was celebrated for his luminous watercolours and oil paintings of coastal and historical scenes, influencing artists in both Britain and France. These artists, among many others, contributed to the diverse and dynamic character of British art in the early nineteenth century. Burgess's work, with its focus on careful observation and the picturesque qualities of the English landscape, represents a significant, if less radical, strand within this broader artistic movement.
Influence and Legacy
While Henry William Burgess may not be a household name in the same vein as Constable or Turner, his contributions to British art are multifaceted. His dedication to landscape painting, his skill in depicting the natural world, and his engagement with new artistic technologies like lithography mark him as an artist of his time.
As an Educator
Beyond his own artistic practice, Burgess also played a role as an educator. He is recorded as having taught John Leech (1817–1864) and William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863). Leech would go on to become one of the most prominent illustrators and caricaturists for Punch magazine, his witty and observant drawings defining Victorian social satire. Thackeray, though primarily remembered as a novelist, author of Vanity Fair, was also a skilled draughtsman and illustrator, often providing illustrations for his own works. The fact that these two significant figures in Victorian visual and literary culture received instruction from Burgess suggests that his skills as a drawing master were respected. His guidance likely provided them with a foundational understanding of draughtsmanship and observation, which they would later adapt to their own distinct artistic and literary pursuits.
The Enduring Appeal of the English Landscape
The type of scenery that Henry William Burgess depicted – the gentle, cultivated landscapes of England, with its ancient trees, historic buildings, and pastoral charm – has an enduring appeal. His work taps into a deep-seated appreciation for the national landscape, a theme that has resonated through British art for centuries. His detailed and affectionate renderings of trees, in particular, continue to find an audience among those who appreciate botanical accuracy and the quiet beauty of the natural world.
His Sketchbook of Rural Scenery remains a valuable document, not only for understanding his artistic process but also as a historical record of the English countryside in the early nineteenth century. Such sketchbooks provide insights into what artists of the period considered worthy of depiction and how they approached the task of translating three-dimensional reality onto a two-dimensional surface.
Conclusion
Henry William Burgess was a dedicated and skilled artist who made a notable contribution to the tradition of British landscape painting in the first half of the nineteenth century. Born into an artistic family and rising to become Landscape Painter to King William IV, he navigated the vibrant London art world, exhibiting regularly and engaging with the artistic innovations of his time, including the burgeoning field of lithography.
His particular strength lay in the sensitive and detailed portrayal of trees and the broader English rural scene, as evidenced in works like Beech Trees, An Old Cherry Tree at Wilton Park, and his comprehensive Sketchbook of Rural Scenery. While working in the shadow of giants like Constable and Turner, Burgess, alongside other contemporaries such as John Linnell and members of the English watercolour school like David Cox and Peter De Wint, helped to solidify landscape as a preeminent genre in British art. His role as an educator to figures like John Leech and William Makepeace Thackeray further extended his influence. Henry William Burgess's legacy is that of a fine observer and a skilled craftsman, an artist who lovingly chronicled the enduring beauty of the English landscape for posterity.
