CHARLES HAMILTON SMITH (1776-1859)
Newtontoppen (1,713 m - 5,620ft)
Norway (Svalbard- Spitzbergen)
In Spitzbergen, Bearing South, watercolor and graphite from Views of Polar region, Yale Center for British arts, USA
The mountain
Newtontoppen
(1,713 m - 5,620ft) or Newton Peak, named in 1898 after Isaac Newton,
is the largest and highest mountain in Svalbard. Its peak is the highest
point on Svalbard. It is located at the north east corner on the island
of Spitsbergen in the Chydeniusfjella range. The nearest settlement is
the formerly Soviet coal mining settlement, Pyramiden. The mountain is
mostly made of Silurian granite. The mountain was first ascended by
Helge Backlund on 4 August 1900. Spitsbergen, (sharp mountains)
is an island belonging to Norway and located in Svalbard, an archipelago
forming a territory of this country. The island bears the name of
Spitsbergen since1920, date of the signing of the treaty which regulates
in particular fishing rights (whaling among others). The treaty signed
by the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan,
Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden, leads all the contracting states to
recognize the sovereignty of Norway over this territory. France has two
scientific research stations at Spitzbergen: the Charles Rabot base and the Jean
Corbel base, the latter (created in 1964) being the oldest of the
archipelago's scientific stations.
Spitsbergen was discovered by
chance by Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz in 1596 while en route to China
via the Northeast Passage. He then named the island Spitsbergen in
reference to the craggy peaks he saw. Nevertheless, the archipelago
seems to have been known by Russian Pomor hunters as early as the 12th
and 14th centuries. Tourism is nowadays one of Spitsbergen's main
sources of income with cruise ships, including those of the Hurtigruten
company. The island is also served by the airports of Longyearbyen and
Ny-Ålesund.
The artist
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hamilton Smith, was an English artist, naturalist, antiquary, illustrator, soldier, and... spy as well !. His military career began in 1787, when he studied at the Austrian academy for artillery and engineers at Mechelen and Leuven in Belgium (his native country). Although his military service, which ended in 1820 and included the Napoleonic Wars, saw him travel extensively (including the West Indies, Canada, United States, Southern and Northern Europe and ...Antarctica).
As a prolific self-taught illustrator (over 38,000 drawings!) He left quite an important number of books of beautifully watercolored landscapes taken all around the world. those nooks of watercolors are nowadays in the collections of the Yale Center From British Art. Among them :
- Views of France, Volume I (81 watercolors), Views of France, Volume II (93 watercolors),
- Views of England and Wales, Volume I (82 watercolors), Views of England and Wales, Volume II (74 watercolors),
- Views of Northern Europe, Volume I (68 watercolors), Views of Northern Europe, Volume II (78) watercolors),
- Views of Polar Regions (75 watercolors) (see above)
- Views of Spain, Volume I (69 watercolors), Views of Spain, Volume II (72 watercolors), But one of his noteworthy achievements was an 1800 experiment to determine which color should be used for military uniforms. He is also known in military history circles for Costume of the Army of the British Empire, produced towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars and an accurate depiction of contemporary British uniform.
As an antiquarian, he also produced, in collaboration with Samuel Rush Meyrick, Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Islands, 1815, and The Ancient Costume of England, with historical illustrations of medieval knights, ladies, shipsm and battles.
He also wrote on the history of the Seven Years' War and The Natural history of dogs.
Quite a productive fellow !
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2021 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau
