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Artists›James Thornhill

James Thornhill

James Thornhill

British, 1675–1734

WA-00023388

DrawingBaroque

Representation

None documented

0

Institutional Exhibitions

23

Works in Collection

25

Assets Indexed

2

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

WikidataQ1681192

Field Verification (2 fields)

2 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Is PublishedManual· 100%✓
BiographyWikidata· 92%✓

Source Registry (1)

Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1681192
Tier 1 · Institutional40%

About

Why this artist matters now

James Thornhill was a British history painter and muralist active in the early 18th century, best known for large-scale decorative schemes executed in oil and fresco. His monumental commissions, including work at the Painted Hall in Greenwich and the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, established him as a leading figure in English Baroque painting. Thornhill's compositions combined classical narrative with architectural grandeur, anchoring his figures within elaborate perspectival frameworks that demanded years of sustained execution.

Source: Wikidata · Trust score: 40% · Updated 9d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Baroque

Medium

Drawing

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum Cleveland Museum of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (23)

Study for King Josiah Rending his Garments

Study for King Josiah Rending his Garments

1725 · pen and brown ink over black chalk

Sheet: 19.5 x 28.5 cm (7 11/16 x 11 1/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Securitas Publica

Securitas Publica

1718 · Pen and brown ink with brush and green wash, heightened with white gouache, over graphite, on tan wove paper, laid down on board

25 × 11.7 cm (9 7/8 × 4 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Flora Design for Closet Ceiling (left) and Statue of Apollo Design for Blank Niche (right), for Bateman House, London

Flora Design for Closet Ceiling (left) and Statue of Apollo Design for Blank Niche (right), for Bateman House, London

1716 · Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper

23.5 × 34 cm (9 5/16 × 13 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Study

1714 · Pen and brown ink with brush and tan and gray wash on ivory laid paper

32.3 × 20.2 cm (12 3/4 × 8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Saint Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

Saint Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

1709 · Black chalk with brush and brown wash, on cream laid paper, tipped onto card

20 × 14.3 cm (7 7/8 × 5 11/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Company of Painters

Company of Painters

1709 · Brush and brown wash, over graphite, on ivory laid paper

24 × 23.5 cm (9 1/2 × 9 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Lupercalia (recto), and Sketches of Figures (verso)

Lupercalia (recto), and Sketches of Figures (verso)

1702 · Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, over graphite (recto), and black chalk (verso), on ivory wove paper

12.7 × 25.1 cm (5 × 9 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Inner Portico with Statues

Inner Portico with Statues

1700 · Graphite and brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper

11.9 × 15 cm (4 11/16 × 5 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Design for the Overmantel of a Chimneypiece with Bust of Pompilius Numa

Design for the Overmantel of a Chimneypiece with Bust of Pompilius Numa

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and green wash, over graphite, on ivory laid paper, tipped onto ivory wove paper

14.7 × 8.2 cm (5 13/16 × 3 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Four Classic Scenes for Overdoors

Four Classic Scenes for Overdoors

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and gray-brown wash, over graphite, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory wove paper

18.1 × 30.1 cm (7 3/16 × 11 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Design for Ceiling Fresco: Apollo and the Muses with Minerva Destroying Ignorance

Design for Ceiling Fresco: Apollo and the Muses with Minerva Destroying Ignorance

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash, over black chalk and graphite, on tan laid paper, partially laid down

27.1 × 33.2 cm (10 11/16 × 13 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Five Sketches for the Triumph of Silenus

Five Sketches for the Triumph of Silenus

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and green wash, over traces of graphite, on cream laid paper, tipped onto ivory laid paper

18 × 21.4 cm (7 1/8 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Wall Decoration with Story of Egeria & Numa Pompilius

Wall Decoration with Story of Egeria & Numa Pompilius

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash, on cream laid paper, laid down on ivory wove paper

21.2 × 19.3 cm (8 3/8 × 7 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Bacchus and Ariadne

Bacchus and Ariadne

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper

20.7 × 16.3 cm (8 3/16 × 6 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Design for Stage Scenery (Hampton Court) with Mythological Figures

Design for Stage Scenery (Hampton Court) with Mythological Figures

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash, over graphite, on tan laid paper

27.6 × 22.8 cm (10 7/8 × 9 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Neptune and Amphitrite Flanked by Jupiter and Juno: Design for Painted Hall or Garden Bench

Neptune and Amphitrite Flanked by Jupiter and Juno: Design for Painted Hall or Garden Bench

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash, over graphite, on ivory laid paper

22.8 × 30.3 cm (9 × 11 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Edmond Nicholas

Edmond Nicholas

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper

15.3 × 10.5 cm (6 1/16 × 4 3/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Grinling Gibbons

Grinling Gibbons

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper

15.3 × 9.8 cm (6 1/16 × 3 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Sir J. Thorndale

Sir J. Thorndale

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper

15.4 × 9.8 cm (6 1/8 × 3 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Deifying of Horofilia

Deifying of Horofilia

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper

20.7 × 15.1 cm (8 3/16 × 6 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of a Geographer, Wife, and Child

Portrait of a Geographer, Wife, and Child

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash, over traces of graphite, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper

14.3 × 11.6 cm (5 11/16 × 4 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Moses and the Tables of Law

Moses and the Tables of Law

1695 · Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over graphite, on ivory laid paper, laid down on card

21.1 × 13.4 cm (8 5/16 × 5 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Ontwerp voor een wanddecoratie met twee allegorische figuren

Ontwerp voor een wanddecoratie met twee allegorische figuren

1685 · brush on ink, paper, graphite (mineral)

width: 299 cm, height: 204 cm

View all 23 artworks →

Artwork sources (3)

23 published of 23 catalogued · 23 with image

Art Institute Chicago
21 published21 img
Rijksmuseum
1 published1 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
1 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 2)

2 entries · 1 sources

Ontwerp voor een wanddecoratie met twee allegorische figuren
1685 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Study for King Josiah Rending his Garments
1725 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Design for a Ceiling with an Allegorical Subject (Met Museum)

Met Museum

Design for Stage Scenery (Hampton Court) with Mythological Figures (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

4

Movements1

Collections3

Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum Cleveland Museum of Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Rijksmuseum

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet