Like his Renaissance predecessors Raphael, Michelangelo and D-rer, the young Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was considered to be a boy genius. This survey of Lawrence-s first twenty-five years tells the story of an exceptional artist growing up at the end of the century when Britain created its own unique artistic voice. The book accompanied a major exhibition at the Holburne Museum in Bath and includes previously unpublished works as well as some of Lawrence-s most brilliant masterpieces.Lawrence first came to public attention when he was cited in a scientific paper on -early genius in children-; shortly afterwards his family moved to Bath where the eleven-year-old was kept busy making likenesses of the spa town-s fashionable visitors. By 1790, his spectacular portraits were the most applauded works in the Royal Academy-s annual exhibition, which opened days before his twenty-first birthday. This book considers the young artist-s self-image as a prodigy, the impact of Bath-s rich cultura
