Page:Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, volume 1.djvu/53

 ALLEN, Joseph W., the son of a schoolmaster at Hammersmith, was bom in Lambeth in 1803. He was educated at St. Paul's Scliool, and was afterwards for a short time usher in an academy at Taunton. Discovering a talent for drawing, lie carae back to London, resolved to adopt the brush as his means of living. In the first instance ho became an assistant to a picture dealer, under whom lie acquired a considerable knowledge of the old masters, and the pecuniary value of their works. He afterwards took to scene painting, in associa- tion with Charles Tomkins and Clarkson Stanfield : and during Madame Vestris's first lesseeship of the Olympic Theatre, he painted most of the scenery for her. The natural bent of his genius, however, was for pastoral landscape, and the varied pictur- esque features of English scenery ; and his little fresh, green, and true bits of nature soon at- tracted admirers and purchasers. As time went on, his talent became manifestly more matured, and he was noted, amongst other things, as an ex- cellent painter of distances. ' The Vale of Clwyd,' exhibited in 1847, created a considerable sensa- tion, and was purchased by an Art Union prize- holder for three hundred guineas ; and Allen repeated it twice in smaller dimensions, for other purchasers. ' Leith Hill,' in the following year, was almost equally successful. His subjects were usually well chosen, and consisted chiefly of views in North Wales, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and the mid- land counties. Allen took an active part in the establishment of the ' Society of British Artists,' of which he became the secretary, and attached himself to its interests with such devotion that he latterly refused to exliibit anywhere else in London than at its Gallery in Suffolk Street. There is little doubt that his influence tended much to heighten the repute for landscape painting which the ex- hibitions of this Society have generally enjoyed. He was also professor of drawing at the City of London School, from its foundation. He died in 1852.

ALLEN, Thomas, was an English marine painter, who flourished in the middle of the 18th century. He painted scenes from Queen Charlotte's voyage and arrival in England. Allen's works were en- graved by P. C. Ciinot.

ALLET, Jean Charles, a draughtsman and en- graver, was born at Paris about the year 1668. He resided a long time in Italy, and is supposed to have died at Rome in 1732. Owing to his having marked his plates sometimes Jean Charles Allet, and sometimes Carolus Alet, collectors were for some time inclined to believe that they were two distinct artists ; but from the evident similarity of style, it is no longer doubted that all those plates are by the same hand. Allet engraved portraits and subjects from sacred history, and appears to have wished to imitate the manner of F. Spierre and Comelis Bloemaert, but his imitation has not been very successful. His principal plates are the following :

Andrea Pozzo, Jesuit and architect ; dated 1712. Cardinal Aloisio Amadei ; after J. Mornndi^ 1690. Ferdinand Cliarles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua ; after Ant. Lesma.

Voy.e Alexander VIII. ; after E. CalenJracct. 1695. St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Jesuit ; oval. St. Ignatius ; after P. Lticatelli ; oval.

SDBJECTS FROM SACRED HISTORY.

Fhe Conception of the Virgin ; after And. Pozio ; oval. The Adoration of the Shepherds ; after S. Cnntarim The Virgin Mary and St. Joseph adoring the Infant Jesus ; after the same.

The Savioiir brought before Pilate ; after P. de Pietri. Ananias restoring sight to St. Paul ; after Pieiro da Cortona.

The Vision of St. Paul ; after the same painter. The last two plates are considered his best his- torical works. The Death of a Saint, in presence of the Virgin, St. JoBep.1, and St. Francis Xavier. The Death of St. Stanislaus Kostka; after P. Ze Grus, sculptor. St. Gat'tau, accompanied with a figure of Religion, and Christ holding His Cross ; afUr Laz. Baldt. St. Andronicus, and St. Athanasia after F. B. Zuc- chezzi. St. Augustine with a child, getting water from the sea ; after J. B. Leonardi. St. Rosa, crowned by angels ; Carolus Allet, del. S; sculp. Twelve plates of the Life of Christ; after Patseri, engraved in conjunction with A. v. Westerhoitt.

ALLOil, Thomas, architect and landscape painter, was boni in March, 1804. He was articled to Francis Goodwin, the architect, in 1819; and, while his pupil, was engaged upon the Manchester Town Hall, Derby Gaol, West Bromwich Church, and many other public build- ings. He also assisted in making designs (1834) for the then-existing Parliament Houses, which were lithographed by him by order of the House of Commons. Wishing to travel, with the object of gaining a more enlarged knowledge of his pro- fession, he turned his attention to painting views for the purpose of publication. The first illustrated work which made its appearance under these cir- cumstances was ' The Scenery of Devonshire and Cornwall.' This was followed by a similar work on the ' Lake District, and Northern Counties,' ' Scotland Illustrated,' the historical portion of which was written by Dr. Beattie. In producing these illustrations he endeavoured to give the scenes additional interest by depicting the cele- brated historical incidents connected with them — thus, in the ' View of Lochiel,' is represented the gathering of the clans of Prince Charlie ; in that of the ' Cast le of Doon ' we see prisoners taken at the battle of Falkirk ; 'LinlithgowPalace' is represented as being burnt by Hawley's dragoons. His more strictly professional engagements, however, inter- fered with the completion of these works, and he was obliged to give up a portion to other hands. Soon after this a proposal was made to him to go to the East, and this, being more in accordance with his legitimate profession, was too tempting to be refused. His work on ' Constantinople and Asia Minor' was the result of this journey, in which he again introduces historical events, such as the unfolding of the standard of the Prophet in the mosque of Sultan Aclimet previous to the massacre of the Janissaries by Mahmoud. His subsequent work on France is, perhaps, his best work, and in this his intimate knowledge of arcliitecture proved of the greatest advantage. In 1846 he had an audience of Louis-Philippe at Paris, when the king expressed his great appro- bation of the work, and invited him to visit St, Cloud the following season, and requested him to make drawings of the king's own estate at Dreux, with monuments to the royal family. In 1846-8 his designs of proposed improvements on the banks of the Thames were exhibited by him in London,