Philip James De Loutherbourg

More about Philip James de Loutherbourg

Philip James de Loutherbourg, was born in Strasbourg in 1740, the son of a Lutheran miniaturist and engraver. The family moved to Paris in 1755 where, rejecting a religious calling, he studied with Carle Van Loo and Jean-Georges Wille, before entering the studio of François Joseph Casanova. He left Paris in 1768 to travel through France, Switzerland and the Rhineland. In 1771 he arrived in London, where David Garrick gave him control of the scenery at Drury Lane Theatre. In 1781, he became a member of the Royal Academy. He travelled throughout the UK on sketching tours and became renowned for painting naval victories in the 1790s. In 1807 he was made Historical Painter to the Duke of Gloucester. He died in Hammersmith, aged 71.