John Opie was born on 16 May 1761 at Trevellas, St Agnes, near Truro, Cornwall. He was born in a tin-mining district, where his father was a mine carpenter. Although John’s artistic gifts were readily apparent at a young age, the economic circumstances in which he was raised precluded artistic training and he became an apprentice in his father’s carpentry business. At the age of twelve, John mastered Euclid and opened an evening school for arithmetic and writing. His talent was discovered by the physician Dr John Wolcot (1738-1819) from Truro, who tutored him in mathematics and science as well as drawing and painting. Opie moved with Wolcot to Helston, Cornwall, when life in Truro became too complicated as a result of the satirical productions of Wolcot. The move was useful for Opie, as it brought him to a new town where there were more potential customers for portraits. Wolcot disliked provincial life and longed for a chance to get to London. In 1780 the two set out for London, where Opie was introduced to polite society as The Cornish Wonder, a self-taught genius. Wolcot acted as ‘barker’ drumming up the customers and Opie painted them. In return, Opie shared his earnings with Wolcot, who introduced him to Sir Joshua Reynolds, who is reputed to have remarked that Opie was ‘like Caravaggio and Velasquez in one’. Opie’s presence in London caused a sensation and he was the talk of the town. The carriages of the wealthy blocked the street in which he resided, as they vied to sit for him. However, soon after their arrival, Opie married Mary Bunn – who made it a condition of the union that Wolcot would no longer live in the house, or take any share of Opie’s income. Unsurprisingly, Wolcot was angered by that development, but the two men remained friends. One condition of the split was that Opie promised he would always paint a portrait for Wolcot if requested. (Wolcot then went on to pursue a successful career as ‘Peter Pindar’, publishing outrageous verses lampooning prominent establishment figures up to and including King George III). Painting in a style similar to that of Rembrandt, Opie’s robust, painting style seemed fresh and new, with striking contrasts of light and dark. That technique gave his pictures a maturity that clearly startled contemporary audiences. For a time, his portraits were much sought after, but his popularity did not endure. At the same time, he sought to correct the shortcomings in his education by the study of Latin and French and of the best English classics, and to polish the rudeness of his provincial manners by mixing in cultivated and learned circles. In 1786 his first important historical subject The Assassination of James I was exhibited at the RA and in 1787, The Murder of Rizzio, which gained him election as ARA. He was elected RA in 1788. His rival James Northcote would praise him by saying: ‘Other artists paint to live; Opie lives to paint.’ Opie married the novelist and poet Amelia Alderson in 1798 and she outlived him by many years. Opie was engaged to produce five subjects for John Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery and his contributions hung alongside paintings by masters such as Reynolds, Romney and Kaufmann. Opie’s work is generally regarded as original and individualistic, but perhaps a little crude. Opie also wrote knowledgeably on art with his Life of Reynolds and his Letter on the Cultivation of the Fine Arts in England, in which he advocated the formation of a national gallery, and his Lectures as professor of painting to the Royal Academy, which were published in 1809. In 1805 Opie was appointed Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy and his lectures were delivered with such style and learning, that they swept away his reputation as being without learning. He became so obsessed with the lectures that he lost sleep, lost work and lost contact with his friends. He died after a brief illness on 9 April 1807 at Berners Street, at the age of 45. He was interred in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral, alongside Sir Joshua Reynolds. Nine of his portraits may be found in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. His Portrait of a Lady in the Character of Cressida (1800) may be found in the collection of the Tate. His Portrait of Miss Frances Vinicombe may be found in the collection of the Hermitage in St Petersburg, Russia. In 2005 the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro mounted the exhibition ‘John Opie: A Celebration of the Cornish Wonder’ to commemorate the bicentenary of his death.