William Hodges (1744-1797) : un peintre académique découvre de nouveaux horizons

Abstract

A pupil of Richard Wilson trained in the academic tradition, William Hodges (1744-1797) seemed destined to specialize in the genre of classical landscape then popular in Britain. However, his voyages in the Southern Seas with Captain Cook and later his travels in India in the early 1780s were to introduce him to new horizons. How did he react to these discoveries? Now confronted to intense light, strange fauna and flora, unknown human types and strange architecture, was he to seek refuge in tried and tested formulae or break new ground? New and familiar horizons blended together. Studying the works produced as a result of Cook’s exploratory voyages, then the illustrations of Travels in India, this article purports to show how innovative Hodges could be. Yet this open-minded artist proved unable and/or unwilling to shed his classical heritage.