Playwrights 18th century
Antoine Vincent Arnault was a French playwright, fable poet and statesman.
Arnault was one of the most popular playwrights of the French Revolution and the First Empire and, like many writers of the time, he was also politically active. He carried out commissions for Napoleon Bonaparte and served him faithfully throughout his life.
Arnault wrote many plays and poems, among which his poem "Listok" about the fate of the emigrant was especially popular, it was repeatedly translated into different languages, including Russian.
His son was the playwright Lucien Arnault (1787-1863).
Louis Carrogis, better known as Carmontelle was a French artist, garden designer, architect, playwright and inventor.
Carmontelle was of simple origins but versatilely gifted. He wrote several plays and three novels, and created portraits of historical figures. He became famous for his painting of little Mozart at the clavier. In the service of Louis-Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, he was responsible for the theatrical performances for the family as stage designer and stage director.
Carmontelle is the planner and designer of one of the earliest examples of a French landscape garden in Paris, now known as Parc Monceau. In designing the garden, Carmontel rejected many of the fashionable trends in landscape design at the time, drawing inspiration from Japanese pleasure gardens and insisting on incorporating illusion and fantasy.
Carmontelle is also credited as the inventor of animated images. Translucent tape with landscapes depicted on it was slowly rolled from one roll to another against a backdrop of daylight, thus creating the illusion of walking through a garden.
Charles-Antoine Coypel was a multifaceted French Rococo artist, known for his contributions as a painter, designer, playwright, and art critic. Born into a family with a significant artistic legacy, Coypel rose to prominence in the French court, eventually serving as the court painter and the director of the Académie Royale. His work, which often blended dramatic narrative with intricate detail, played a pivotal role in the development of Rococo art in France, reflecting the opulent and expressive tendencies of the period.
Coypel's artistic output includes a range of subjects, from religious themes, as seen in his etching "The Virgin and Child," to theatrical history paintings that convey operatic passions and high drama. His ability to infuse his compositions with emotional depth and narrative complexity, alongside his mastery of the Rococo style's playful and ornamental characteristics, distinguishes his work within the era. Notably, Coypel was also involved in the design of tapestries for the Gobelins Manufactory, illustrating scenes from Miguel de Cervantes's "Don Quixote," which remained influential through the end of the 18th century.
His artworks, such as "The Virgin and Child," showcase not only his technical skill but also his sensitivity to composition and form, contributing to his reputation as one of the leading painters in the French court during the 18th century. Coypel's legacy is preserved in his paintings, etchings, and tapestry designs, which continue to be celebrated for their artistic and historical significance.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Charles-Antoine Coypel's work represents an essential connection to the Rococo period's rich cultural and aesthetic traditions. His contributions to French art history, particularly through his role at the Académie Royale and his influence on the development of Rococo style, make his work a valuable study for those interested in the dynamics of French art and culture during the 18th century.
To stay informed about updates related to Charles-Antoine Coypel, including new discoveries, sales, and auction events of his works, consider signing up for updates. This service will provide tailored notifications to enthusiasts and collectors eager to explore and acquire pieces by Coypel, ensuring they remain at the forefront of developments in the field of Rococo art.
William Dunlap was an American playwright, theater director, artist, and historian.
William Dunlap was a pioneer of the young country's theater. He directed two of New York City's earliest and most famous theaters, the John Street Theater and the Theater in the Park. During his lifetime he directed over sixty plays, most of which were adaptations or translations of French and German works. But among them were some original ones based on American themes with American characters.
In 1832 Dunlap published A History of the American Theater in two volumes. In 1825, Dunlap co-founded the National Academy of Design and taught at its school. Even today, Dunlap is best known for his encyclopedic three-volume History of the Origin and Progress of the Art of Design in the United States. The book was published in 1834 and is now an invaluable source of information about artists, collecting, and artistic endeavors in the country of that historical period.
Henry Fielding was an 18th-century British judge, writer and playwright, and the founder of the English realist novel.
Fielding attended Eton College, where he studied classical writers, and wrote his first play in 1728. In all, he wrote about 25 rather witty and topical plays for the theater. But this activity led to the fact that in 1737, the Act of Theater Censorship was passed, and satire on political topics became virtually forbidden. To find a source of income, Fielding went to study law at Middle Temple and became a lawyer.
In 1741, Fielding wrote his first parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela: or Rewarded Virtue, he called it "An Apologia of the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews." Others followed, and in essence Fielding started a new genre in fiction. And in 1742, he wrote the novel "Joseph Andrews."
In the late 1740s, Fielding was appointed Justice of the Peace of Westminster and then Justice of the Peace of Middlesex. But he did not abandon his creativity and in 1749 he wrote the famous comic "The Story of Tom Jones, the Foundling," a work that is considered one of the greatest early English-language novels. The novel was so warmly received by its first readers that four editions totaling 10,000 copies were published in less than a year.
Thomas Godfrey, Jr. was an American poet and playwright.
Thomas Godfrey's father was the inventor of the quadrant and one of the first members of the American Philosophical Society, organized by Benjamin Franklin. Having been home educated and graduated from the Philadelphia Academy, the young Godfrey was first interested in painting, but soon switched to poetry.
Thomas Godfrey lived only 26 years, but left a bright mark in the history of the young country. He managed to write a play-tragedy about ancient times, "The Parthian Prince", which was published in the United States after his death, in 1765. It was staged by an American troupe in Philadelphia on April 24, 1767. This play was significant in that it was the first play written by a native-born American and staged by professionals.
John Hawkesworth was a British writer, playwright and book editor.
In collaboration with Samuel Johnson, Hawkesworth founded the periodical The Adventurer. He wrote poems and articles for this publication and for the Gentleman's Magazine, and edited the works of Swift (1754-1755). Hawksworth adapted several literary works for the theater and also composed various original dramatic works himself.
John Hawksworth was commissioned by the British Admiralty to compile An Account of Voyages made in the Southern Hemisphere (1773), devoted mainly to the exploratory voyages of Captain James Cook.
Mercy Otis Warren was an American poet, satirist, playwright, historian, and essayist of the American Revolution.
Mercy Otis was born into a prosperous Cape Cod Island family and was immersed early in the tumultuous political events taking place in the country at the time. One of her brothers was political activist James Otis, who was involved in the American Revolution from the beginning. In 1754, Mercy Otis married farmer James Warren, who later served in the Massachusetts legislature (1766-78). Through her husband's political connections, Warren was personally acquainted with most of the leaders of the Revolution and was constantly at the center of events for more than two decades.
Combining her own convictions with her writing talent, Warren became a poet and historian of the revolutionary era. Her first incisive and polemical pieces in verse were published in a Boston newspaper. This was followed by the prophetic novel Defeat and other works. In 1790 she published a collection of her works, Poems, Dramatic and Miscellaneous, which included two new plays, The Sack of Rome and The Ladies of Castille. For a woman of the time, such publications were very daring, as female writers usually hid under pseudonyms.
Warren also corresponded extensively with politicians, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In 1805, she completed a three-volume work entitled A History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution. This book was the earliest work on historical events in the country. Its proximity to political leaders and major national events makes Mercy Warren's writings on the American Revolutionary period especially valuable.
James Kirke Paulding was an American novelist, playwright, and statesman.
At the age of 18 in New York, he became friends with his brothers William and Washington Irving, and together with them began to write in the periodical satirical publication created by them "Salmagundi"). Paulding wrote several novels and plays, as well as many poems.
Elihu Hubbard Smith is an American author, writer, and physician.
Smith graduated from Yale College as early as age 11 with a liberal arts education, followed by a medical degree. He worked at New York Hospital and published historical articles on plague and plague fevers.
Elihu Smith was a very active writer: he was a member of the Hartford Witters, wrote the first American comic opera "Edwin and Angelina" (1796), was the editor of the first book anthology of American poetry ("American Poems, Selected and Original," 1793) and the first national American medical journal ("Medical Repository"), and corresponded extensively with many writers and writers of his time.
Smith died at age 27 of yellow fever, which he contracted while treating patients during an outbreak in New York City.
Charles Stearns was an American clergyman and doctor of philosophy.
Rev. Charles Stearns graduated from Harvard College and served the Congregational Church in Lincoln from late 1781 until his death. Several of his sermons were printed in the early 19th century.
In addition, Stearns was principal of the Liberal School, which opened in early 1793, a relatively progressive coeducational institution. While working at the school, Stearns wrote and published a number of works related to education, including Dramatic Dialogues for the Use of Schools (1798), a collection of thirty original plays that were performed by students.
Royall Tyler, real name William Clark Tyler, was an American politician, lawyer and judge, playwright, essayist and educator.
He graduated from Harvard University, was admitted to the bar, and in 1801 was appointed a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. In 1811, Tyler was appointed professor of jurisprudence at the University of Vermont.
Royall Tyler is best known today as the author of the first American comedy, Contrast, which premiered in 1787 at the John Street Theater. This play is the first to feature a Yankee character, a character native and familiar to local audiences, and the forerunner of many such in later years.
Voltaire, born François Marie Arouet, was a French philosopher-enlightener of the French Enlightenment, poet and writer, satirist, tragedian, historian and essayist.
Voltaire's long life fell on the last years of classicism and the eve of the revolutionary era, and in this transitional period his works and activities had a significant impact on the direction of European civilization. Through his critical freethinking and wit, Voltaire won the minds of many 18th century European rulers. To this day, he continues to enjoy worldwide fame as a courageous fighter against tyranny, bigotry, and cruelty.
Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and separation of church and state. He was a versatile and prolific writer in all literary forms, including plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, and scholarly expositions. In total, he wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire's most famous works are the tragic play Zaire, the historical study The Age of Louis XIV, and the satirical novella Candide.
Samuel Woodworth was an American writer and poet, playwright and journalist.
After completing his apprenticeship as a printer, Woodworth traveled to New Haven, Connecticut, and worked for the Connecticut Herald newspaper. During the War of 1812, he edited a weekly newspaper called The War and others. He also wrote several successful operettas.
Samuel Woodworth was a popular poet in the 19th century and is remembered today as the author of the sentimental poem "The Old Oak Bucket".