LOUTHERBOURG, PHILIP JAMES DE

born Oct. 31, 1740, Fulda, Abbacy of Fulda died March 11, 1812, Chiswick, Middlesex, Eng. Loutherbourg also spelled Lutherbourg, or Lauterbourg, also called Philipp Jakob Ii, or Jacques Philippe Ii early Romantic painter, illustrator, printmaker, and scenographer, especially known for his paintings of landscapes and battles and for his innovative scenery designs and special effects for the theatre. First trained under his father, a miniature painter from Strasbourg, about 1755 he worked in Paris under Charles Van Loo, the Tischbeins, and finally Francesco Casanova. He was received into the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1767, and at the official Salon exhibitions he won the praise of Denis Diderot. In 1771 he went to London with an introduction to the actor-manager David Garrick, who hired him in 1773 as his regular adviser on scenic effects at Drury Lane Theatre. Loutherbourg created elaborate Romantic settings that were designed to bathe the entire stage in an atmosphere of picturesque illusion. He worked as a theatrical designer until 1785, and his set designs decidedly influenced his English-period paintings, which came to look like arrangements of stage scenery. Loutherbourg had a marked talent for ingenious dramatic effects in his paintings of landscapes, seascapes, and naval battles. He was made a member of the British Royal Academy in 1780. The following year he turned his talents to the immediately successful Eidophusikon, a moving panorama combined with dramatic lighting effects and music. He illustrated Macklin's Bible and an edition of the works of Shakespeare. His Romantic landscapes influenced J.M.W. Turner and other English artists.