The Prophet Balaam and the Angel by John Linnell

John Linnell

1792 - 1882

London, England

John Linnell was born on the 16th of June in 1792 in Bloomsbury, London, where his father worked as a carver and gilder. From an early age, he was exposed to the artistic world, selling portraits he drew in chalk and pencil by the age of ten. His initial art mentor was the American artist Benjamin West, and he spent a year residing in the household of the painter John Varley. It was there that he encountered fellow pupils like William Hunt and William Mulready, and formed connections with notable figures such as Shelley and Godwin. In 1805, he gained admission to the Royal Academy, where he ea...