charles jervas, an irish portrait painter, translator, and art collector, was born in clonlisk, county offaly, ireland around 1675. he was the son of john jervas and elizabeth, daughter of captain john baldwin of shinrone castle & corolanty, high sheriff of county offaly. jervas studied in london, england as an assistant under sir godfrey kneller between 1694 and 1695.
rise to prominence
after selling a series of small copies of the raphael cartoons circa 1698 to dr. george clarke of all souls college, oxford, jervas travelled to paris and rome (financially supported by clarke and others) remaining there for most of the decade before returning to london in 1709. there, he found success as a portrait painter, capturing the likenesses of the city's intellectuals, including personal friends jonathan swift and alexander pope (now in the national portrait gallery, london).
notable works and legacy
* portrait of jonathan swift (1710s) - a testament to jervas' skill in capturing the essence of his subjects. * portrait of alexander pope (1710s) - a notable example of jervas' ability to convey the character of his sitters. * translation of don quixote (published posthumously in 1742) - jervas' translation, known as "the jarvis translation," was praised for its accuracy but criticized for being stiff and humourless. key dates:
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