early life and training
charles howard hodges, a british painter, was born in 1764 in portsmouth. he began his artistic journey as a pupil of
john raphael smith, a renowned artist of the time. in 1788, hodges visited amsterdam, which would later become his adopted home.
career and notable works
after a two-year stay in dublin, hodges moved to the hague in 1792, eventually settling in amsterdam in 1797. there, he worked under the guidance of
johann friedrich august tischbein at the prinsengracht n° 205. hodges specialized in mezzotint and pastel techniques, which he had learned in england and from tischbein, respectively. as a portrait painter, hodges gained fame for capturing the likenesses of over 700 prominent figures of his time. his subjects included leaders of the netherlands during the napoleonic period, such as
willem v,
rutger jan schimmelpenninck,
louis bonaparte, and
napoleon bonaparte. the only known portrait of
sebald justinus brugmans was also made by hodges.
legacy and influence
in 1815, hodges advised the dutch government on the return of thousands of artworks confiscated by the french in 1795. although not all the stolen art was returned from paris, many of hodges' portraits can be found in the rijksmuseum in amsterdam and other museums.
notable artworks by charles howard hodges: other notable artists with similar styles:
