James Martineau

by Paul Adolphe Rajon, published by Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd, after George Frederic Watts
etching, published 1 July 1876 (1873)
12 3/4 in. x 9 7/8 in. (323 mm x 250 mm) plate size; 28 5/8 in. x 20 7/8 in. (727 mm x 530 mm) paper size
Given by Messrs Thomas Agnew, 1932
Reference Collection
NPG D38299

Sitterback to top

James Martineau (1805-1900), Unitarian minister and writer. Sitter in 11 portraits.

Artistsback to top

Paul Adolphe Rajon (1842 or 1843-1888), Painter and printmaker. Artist associated with 17 portraits.
Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd, Publisher. Artist associated with 24 portraits.
George Frederic Watts (1817-1904), Painter and sculptor; Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Artist associated with 92 portraits, Sitter in 43 portraits.

Related worksback to top

NPG 1251: James Martineau (source portrait)

Placesback to top

Place made: United Kingdom: England, London (London)
Place made: United Kingdom: England, Greater Manchester (Manchester)
Place made: United Kingdom: England, Merseyside (Liverpool)

Subject/Themeback to top

Etching

Events of 1876back to top

Current affairs

Following the introduction of the Royal Titles Act, Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India, with Disraeli deliberately flattering Victoria's imperialist ambitions. In turn, Victoria creates Disraeli Earl of Beaconsfield; he continues to run government from the Lords.

Art and science

The classical-subject painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema, famous for his elegant depictions of the Roman Empire, paints An Audience at Agrippa's.
US inventor Alexander Graham Bell invents and patents the telephone following research into vocal physiology and speech instruction for the deaf, after discovering that sound could be transmitted and reconverted through an electric wire by using a continuous electric current.

International

15,000 Bulgarian Christians are slaughtered by Turkish troops in retaliation for the killing of 300 Turks in Batak at the start of the Bulgarian uprising. The Turkish government practices further repression by compulsorily transferring people of other ethnicities to Bulgaria to make the Bulgarians a minority. Gladstone published a pamphlet The Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East attacking Turkish actions, selling 200,000 copies in a month.

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