- Alexander Runciman
Alexander Runciman (15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785), was a Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of
John Runciman , also a painter.He was born in
Edinburgh . He studied atFoulis's Academy ,Glasgow , and from 1750 to 1762 he was apprenticed to the landscape painterRobert Norie , later becoming a partner in the Norie family firm. He also worked as a stage painter for theEdinburgh Theatre .In 1767, he went to
Rome , where he spent five years. His brother John accompanied him, but died inNaples in the winter of 1768-69. During Runciman's stay in Italy he became acquainted with other artists such asHenry Fuseli and the sculptorTobias Serghells . Runciman's earliest efforts had been in landscape; he now turned to historical and imaginative subjects, exhibiting his "Nausicaa at Play with her Maidens" in 1767 at the Free Society of British Artists, Edinburgh.On his return from
Italy , after a brief time inLondon , where in 1772 he exhibited in theRoyal Academy , he settled in Edinburgh, and was appointed master of the Trustees' Academy. He was patronized by SirJames Clerk , whose hall atPenicuik House he decorated with a series of subjects fromOssian . He also created various religious paintings and an altar-piece in the Cowgate Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, and easel pictures of "Cymon and Iphigenia", "Sigismunda Weeping over the Heart of Tancre", and "Agrippina with the Ashes of Germanicus".He enjoyed a strong reputation as a landscape painter is his lifetime. Some of his works, due to their spontaneity, vigour of style and colour, and unorthodox composition, place him as an early exponent of
modern art .Keith Ralph studied under Alexander Runciman.
Keith Ralph was later commissioned by James Boswell to produce a portrait of John Reid as “my first client in criminal business and as a very remarkable person in the annals of the Court of Justiciary”John Reid was accused of stealing nineteen or so sheep on 6 October 1773. When his portrait was painted he was awaiting execution in Edinburgh’s Tolbooth.
Source ‘Boswell’s Edinburgh Journals 1767 – 1786’ edited by Hugh M Milne – Mercat Press Edinburgh
References
*Duncan Macmillan, "Runciman, Alexander (1736–1785)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/24274 accessed 25 June 2007]
*1911
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