1769 in art

Events from the year 1769 in art.

Events

April 25–May 27 – First Royal Academy summer exhibition held at Pall Mall in London.

Awards

Joshua Reynolds is knighted.

Works

Pompeo Batoni – Emperor Joseph II and Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Tuscany
Charles Catton – Self-portrait
Joseph Ducreux – Marie Antoinette (portrait miniature)
Nathaniel Dance-Holland
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- Inspiration (Self-portrait, Louvre, Paris)
- Self-portrait with palette and brushes (approximate date; Fragonard Museum, Hélène & Jean-François Costa Collection, Grasse)
Christopher Hewetson – Busts of Charles Townley and Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn
Ozias Humphry – Charlotte, Princess Royal (portrait miniature, Windsor Castle)
Joshua Reynolds – Portrait of the Earl of Carlisle
Alexander Roslin – John Jennings Esq., his Brother and Sister-in-Law
Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert – Love Triumphant (L'Amour prêt à lancer un trait, marble, approximate date)
Benjamin West – The Departure of Regulus
Johann Zoffany
- The Bradshaw Family
- The Drummond Family

Births

January 8 – Pietro Benvenuti, Italian neoclassical painter (died 1844)
January 31 – Henry Howard, English portrait and history painter (died 1847)
March 4 – Ellen Sharples, English painter who specialized in portraits and watercolor miniatures (died 1849)
March 9 – Adélaïde Binart, French neoclassical painter (died 1832)
March 19 – Jacques François Joseph Swebach-Desfontaines, French painter and draughtsman (died 1823)
April 3 – Josiah Wedgwood II, English pottery owner, son of Josiah Wedgwood (died 1843)
April 13 – Sir Thomas Lawrence, English portrait painter (died 1830)
April 23 – Cornelia Scheffer, Dutch painter and portrait miniaturist (died 1839)
June 26 – Robert Hills, English painter and etcher (died 1844)
September 11 – Johann Erdmann Hummel, German painter (died 1852)
September 19 – George Raper, English naval officer and nature artist (died 1797)
October 18 – Jacques-Luc Barbier-Walbonne, French historical and portrait painter (died 1860)
October 23 – James Ward, English painter, primarily of animals, and engraver (died 1859)
December 9 – Adèle Romany, French painter (died 1846)
December 23 – Sir Martin Archer Shee, British portrait painter (died 1850)
December 29 – Robert Havell, Sr., English engraver and publisher (died 1832)
date unknown
- Thomas Barker, British painter of landscape and rural life (died 1847)
- Pierre Charles Cior, French painter of historical subjects, portraits and miniatures (died c. 1838)
- William Cuming, Irish portrait painter (died 1852)
- Bartolomé Montalvo, Spanish painter specializing in landscapes, hunted animals and still lifes (died 1846)
- François Mulard, French neoclassical painter (died 1850)
- Karl Postl, Austrian painter (died 1818)
- Sin Wi, Korean painter in the literary artist's style of the late Joseon period (died 1847)
- Toyokuni, Japanese master of ukiyo-e, especially Kabuki actor prints (died 1825)

Deaths

March 22 - Jean-Charles François, French engraver (born 1717)
May 11 - Francesco Carlo Rusca, Italian painter (born 1701)
May 31 - Francesco Fontebasso, Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period of Venice (born 1707)
June 24 – Jan Palthe, Dutch portrait painter (born 1717)
August 17 – Giuseppe Bazzani, Italian painter of the Rococo (born 1690)
October 13 – Vito D'Anna, Italian painter, one of the most important artists of Sicily (born 1718)
November 4 – Andreas Brünniche, Danish portrait painter (born 1704)
November 5 – Prince Hoare, English sculptor (born 1711)
December 15 – Pierre-Antoine Baudouin, French miniature painter and engraver (born 1723)
date unknown
- Jacques-François Amand, French historical painter (born 1730)
- Giuseppe Grisoni, painter and sculptor (born 1699)
- Alexis Peyrotte, French decorator painter (born 1699)
- Sim Sajeong, Korean genre works painter in the style of the Joseon period (born 1707)
probable – Hakuin Ekaku, Japanese Zen master, noted for his painting and calligraphy (born 1685)