Alexander Cozens. Alexander Cozens was a British landscape painter in watercolours, born in Russia.
He taught drawing and wrote treatises on the subject, evolving a method in which imaginative drawings of landscapes could be worked up from abstract blots on paper. His son was the artist John Robert Cozens.
Alexander Cozens was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Widely mistaken to be a natural son of Emperor Peter I of Russia and a British woman, Mary Davenport, from Deptford, he was, in fact, the son of Richard Cozens, who worked for Peter I as a shipbuilder.
The emperor was the godfather of Alexander. He was educated in England from 1727, but later returned to Russia.
In 1746 he sailed from St Petersburg to Italy, where he spent two years before travelling onward to England. While in Rome, he worked in the studio of the French landscape painter, Claude-Joseph Vernet.Between 1750 and 1754, Cozens was drawing-master at Christ's Hospital, and in the same decade also began to take private pupils. From 1763 to 1768 he was drawing-master at Eton College. He gave lessons to the Prince of Wales, Sir George Beaumont, and William Beckford, arguably, the three most important British art patrons and collectors of their generation. Beckford continued to correspond with him for some years. He also practised at Bath. In 1760 he was among the contributors to the first public exhibition in London of works by livin
He taught drawing and wrote treatises on the subject, evolving a method in which imaginative drawings of landscapes could be worked up from abstract blots on paper. His son was the artist John Robert Cozens.
Alexander Cozens was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Widely mistaken to be a natural son of Emperor Peter I of Russia and a British woman, Mary Davenport, from Deptford, he was, in fact, the son of Richard Cozens, who worked for Peter I as a shipbuilder.
The emperor was the godfather of Alexander. He was educated in England from 1727, but later returned to Russia.
In 1746 he sailed from St Petersburg to Italy, where he spent two years before travelling onward to England. While in Rome, he worked in the studio of the French landscape painter, Claude-Joseph Vernet.Between 1750 and 1754, Cozens was drawing-master at Christ's Hospital, and in the same decade also began to take private pupils. From 1763 to 1768 he was drawing-master at Eton College. He gave lessons to the Prince of Wales, Sir George Beaumont, and William Beckford, arguably, the three most important British art patrons and collectors of their generation. Beckford continued to correspond with him for some years. He also practised at Bath. In 1760 he was among the contributors to the first public exhibition in London of works by livin
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