William Home Lizars
William Home Lizars (* 1788 in Edinburgh ; † March 30, 1859 in Jedburgh ) was a Scottish painter and engraver .
Lizars was the son of the well-known engraver and printer Daniel Lizars . After initial training by his father, he studied painting at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh from 1802 to 1805 . In 1805 he began to orientate himself in the direction of portrait painting and genre painting . After his father's death in 1812, however, he was forced to give up painting and take over the family's printing and engraving businesses.
Lizar's graphic works initially had a broad thematic spectrum and quickly earned him a great reputation. From 1820, however, he concentrated almost exclusively on depictions of natural history, for which he is best known. These engravings are among the best of the early 19th century, regardless of whether they are miniatures or large panels as in John James Audubon's publication The Birds of America .
Lizars constantly strived to improve the printing technique and in 1821 perfected the production of etchings in such a way that the surfaces of the copper plates had a relief similar to a woodcut . He was one of the founding members of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1826 and became an honorary member in 1834.
literature
- Dictionary of National Biography on the multimedia CD Infopedia UK, Softkey Multimedia Inc., 1996.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lizars, William Home |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish painter and engraver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1788 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Edinburgh |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 30, 1859 |
| Place of death | Jedburgh |