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Samuel Finley Breeze
Morse

United States • 1791−1872

Breeze Morse was born April 27, 1791 in the family of a local preacher Jadid American Morse in Charlestown (mA). In 1805, He entered Yale University. In 1811 Samuel went to Europe studying painting in Washington Alston. 1815 - returned home. In 1835, he was appointed Professor of painting at the newly opened new York University. And in September, 1837, Morse was finally shown their inventions. The signal was sent by wire length of 1700 feet.

April 27, 1791 in the town of Charlestown, near Boston (Massachusetts) in the family known in New England Christian preacher and author of the first American geography was born – Samuel Finley Breese Morse. Already in early childhood, Samuel has a knack for drawing. At school he got it from old teacher for damage to classroom furniture, which he adorned with images of people and animals, but in the fifteen years younger Morse wrote oil painting, which then hung in the town hall.

After school, 16-year-old Samuel attended Yale University, where he enthusiastically continued to paint. His teacher and mentor was Washington Allston, the famous American artist and poet. In 1811 Samuel went with Alston in the Old world, to study painting and sculpture in the studios of major European masters. The classes ran successfully two years later for the painting "the Dying Hercules" exhibited at the London Academy of arts, Samuel Finley Breese Morse was awarded a gold medal.

Morse lived in London for two years, he met many famous artists, poets and public figures. However, the Bohemian life is quite quickly exhausted the finances of Samuel, and in 1815 he was forced to return to his native Boston.

Yes, his historical paintings were admired – but bad sold out: contemporaries of the young artist was more interested in the opportunity to immortalize themselves in the portraits. Well – in 1817 Morse received sixty dollars per portrait and was able to write on four paintings a week. Taking a trip to the South, in 1818, he returned with three thousand dollars, which allowed him to get married Lucretia Walker in Concord.

With this capital, Morse moved to Charleston (South Carolina), delivered the portraits and the next year and a half has been working on a huge historical canvas for the house of representatives in Washington. The picture, however, failed to sell, the money ran out, and Morse went to new York.There he ordered a large portrait of Lafayette, which made the time trip to America. It should be noted that in all the works of Morse felt the talent, but his "Lafayette" was the creation of a Mature and serious master. Active by nature, Morse was the acknowledged leader of young American artists. He founded the "National Academy of painting" (National Academy of Design) and was her first and permanent President from 1826 to 1845.

In 1829 Morse is heading back to Europe. He wanted to create a painting that would be interested in America, who had never seen neither the copy nor the original of the Mona Lisa, the last supper and other works of art. He wrote the painting "Gallery of the Louvre", extremely interesting from the point of view of the composition – in the background of this picture Morse managed to place a number of masterpieces, so the viewer was looking at one picture and saw several paintings.

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