Gavin Hamilton (1723-98): A Scots Artist And Art Dealer In Eighteenth-Century Rome

The painter Gavin Hamilton spent most of his life in Italy where he became one of the most prominent figures in the cultural melting pot that was eighteenth-century Rome. A pioneer of Neoclassical painting his large canvases, such as the series based on Homer’s Iliad had a profound impact on other European artists, including Angelica Kauffman and Jacques-Louis David.

Besides being an innovative painter he was also active as a dealer in ancient sculpture and Old Master paintings, providing British Grand Tourists with masterpieces such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks (National Gallery, London) and Tintoretto’s Adoration of the Shepherds (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge). He was equally successful in excavating ancient sites around Rome and in uncovering extraordinary Roman sculptures which he sold to the likes of Lords Palmerston and Shelburne.

A true ‘man of parts’ Hamilton is yet another Scotsman who played a distinctive role in Europe in the Age of Enlightenment. A talk by Professor Brendan Cassidy, Head of School of Art at the University of St Andrews, and author of the new book on the subject.