Raphaelle Peale
Raphaelle Peale
1774 - 1825
Painter, son of (1) Charles Willson Peale. His mother was Rachel Brewer Peale. He studied painting with his father and assisted him in the museum. Raphaelle began to paint portraits professionally in 1794, but poor patronage in Philadelphia forced him to travel in the South and New England, taking silhouettes with the physiognotrace and painting portraits in oil and miniature. From about 1815 onwards, bouts of alcoholism and gout inhibited his progress. He turned to painting still-lifes, but these sold for small amounts. The need to travel weakened an already debilitated constitution and contributed to his early death.
Despite tragedy, failure and physical pain, Raphaelle Peale painted exquisite still-lifes (see fig.), such as Blackberries (c. 1813; San Francisco, CA, de Young Mem. Mus.); some fine miniatures, such as the Unknown Young Man (1803; Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Mus. A.); and a masterpiece of trompe l’oeil, Venus Rising from the Sea (originally titled After the Bath, 1823; Kansas City, MO, Nelson–Atkins Mus. A.). His work, together with that of his uncle (2) James Peale, encouraged a Philadelphia school of still-life that continued through the 19th century. [Lillian B. Miller. "Peale." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 10, 2014, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T065922pg3.]
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