Page:Dictionary of Artists of the English School (1878).djvu/380

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He was the pupil of Soest and Fuller, and practised his art in London ; little noticed till the death of Lely, he then rose into public estimation. He painted the portrait of Charles II., who is said to have dis- couraged the modest painter when looking at his portrait, by exclaiming, * Is this like me I Then, odd's fish, I'm an ugly fellow! ' James II. and his Queen sat to him, and he was appointed their state painter ; and William and Mary were painted by him several times. His art was original, founded on his own observation of nature, nis draw- ing careful, expression natural and pleas- ing, and his heads and hands well painted. There are several of his portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, a good example of his work at Hampton Court, and nis portraits find a place in many old mansions. He died of gout in 1691, aged 45, and was buried in St. Botolph's Church, London. Richardson married a niece of Riley, and inherited many of his pictures and other effects.

RIPLEY, Thomas, architect. Was born in Yorkshire, and came early in life to London. He worked as a carpenter, and also kept a coffee-shop in Wood Street, Cheapside. Improving his means by his industry, he married a servant of Sir Robert Walpole, and by his patronage obtained employment under the Crown, and a seat at the Board of Works, of which department he became the comptroller. He built Houghton Hall for Sir Robert, but chiefly after the plans of Campbell, and afterwards Wolterton ; and in 1718 he rebuilt the Custom House, which had been destroyed by fire in 1 7 14. He built also the Admiralty, Whitehall, except the facade, 1726. He died in 1758, and was buried at Hampton, Middlesex. His work was with- out invention, or taste in design ; but was convenient in arrangement, and well con- structed. His success was not without remark. He was said to have been raised from a house carpenter to an architect by the patronage of Walpole, and he fell under the ridicule of Pope.

RIPPINGILLE, Edward Villtebs, subject painter. Was born at King's Lynn, the son of a farmer, in 1798, and was, as an artist, entirely self-taught. He exhibited his first picture, * Enlisting/ at the Royal Academy in 1813, a ' Scene in a Gaming House' in 1815. and in 1819 gained public notice by his ' Country Post'Office.' Stimu- lated by his success, he devoted himself to the representation of rural scenes, illustrat- ing English manners and customs. The in- ventor of his own subject and story, of his works of this class may be distinguished his 1 Recruiting Party,' * Stage Coach Break- fast.' now a recollection of the past. 'Going to the Fair,' and, about 1834, ' The Pro- gress of Drunkenness/ a series of six pic-

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tures. In 1837 he went to Italy, and the following year sent from Rome to the Academy exhibition, 'Father and Son, Calabrian Shepherds.' He appears soon after to have returned to London, and to have been a^ain in Rome, where he made a short stay m 1841. From his first visit his subjects and inspirations were Italian, and it was not till 1846, that, returning to home subjects, he commenced and con- tinued to exhibit English scenes up to 1857.

In 1843 he was a successful competitor in the Cartoon Exhibition, Westminster Hall, gaining one of the prizes. He was also a writer and lecturer on art. In 1824 he commenced a series of lectures on the necessity of art to manufactures, which he delivered at several of the large provincial towns, and at the Royal Institution, Lon- don. In 1843 he commenced a monthly periodical, 'The Artists' and Amateurs* Magazine/ but it was not supported, and only existed 12 months. He was also the author of several brigand tales in * Bent- ley's Magazine/ 'The Wanderings of & Painter in Italy ; J and in the 4 Art Journal ' 'Personal Recollections of Great Artists.' He sometimes quoted from a poem of his own, 'The Consolation of Hope/ but it does not appear that it was ever printed. He died suddenly April 22, 1859, at the rail- way station, Swan Village, Staffordshire.

RISING, John, portrait and subject painter. Practised in London, and was a contemporary of Reynolds. His portraits are vigorously painted, and his colour good. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1785 to 1814, when his name disappears. His works were chiefly portrait, but he occasionally exhibited a domestic subject — ' Ballad Singers,' * Infant Piety/ ' A Match Girl/ ' Girl with Grapes.' W. Ward mezzo- tinted two plates — ' Juvenile Amusement ' and 'Juvenile Employments/ painted by J. Rising and J. Reynolds.

RITCHIE, John, sculptor. Was born at Musselburgh, near Edinburgh. His father was a Drick and tile$ maker, and amused himself in modelling. In this art the son soon became a proficient, and struggled hard to distinguish himself in his native city. Among the works by him may be mentioned, as one of his best, his statue at Glasgow of Sir Walter Scott He was a dreamer, and fond of telling his dreams, and he embodied one of them in his fine group in day, ' The Deluge/ ex- hibited in Edinburgh. 1822, and at the Royal Academy, London, his only contri- bution there, in 1840. He for many years assisted his more talented brother, Alex- ander, and while so employed he received a commission to execute his model of ' The Deluge ' in marble. This induced him to make a journey to Rome. He had hardly

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