Basic Biographical Details Name: | James Byres | Designation: | | Born: | 1734 | Died: | September 1817 | Bio Notes: | James Byres was born in 1734, the eldest son of Patrick Byres of Tonley, Aberdeenshire who was a Jacobite supporter and a Catholic who fled with his young son James to France after the ’45. James was brought up in France and may have served in the French army. He returned to Britain for a brief spell in 1756 and then went to Italy to study to become a painter. In 1758 Robert Mylne reported that ‘Mr Byres’ who was a student of painting was on his way from Aberdeen to Rome.
In Rome he became a pupil of Raphael Mengs. He was not sufficiently talented to be a successful oil painter. After trying his hand as a miniaturist he turned to architecture. In 1763 he won a prize in the Concorso Clementino at the Academy of St Luke, thus becoming an honorary member. However he failed to establish a practice in Rome. He had a penchant for big extravagant schemes in the late Roman Baroque style but taste was turning to the more restrained neo-classicism of Robert Mylne and William Chambers.
Byres instead became one of the most successful cicerones who guided English gentlemen on the Grand tour around Rome. He escorted around a number of distinguished patrons including Edward Gibbon and the Dukes of Hamilton, Northumberland and Grafton. He also dealt in antiquities. He visited other parts of Italy – for example in 1766 he toured south Italy with the Wilbrahams and visited Pompeii, Paestum and other Greek sites. However he was particularly interested in Etruscan antiquities. A scheme to publish a work on this subject came to nothing at the time although the plates were published after his death.
Although he visited England from time to time he remained in Italy for thirty years. The French Revolution prevented many from making the Grand Tour and his work as as cicerone came to an end. He moved back to the family seat at Tonley in Aberdeenshire.
Byres died in September 1817 at the age of 83.
There are protraits of Byres in the Academia di S Luca, a Tassie medallion and a group family protrait in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. There is also an engraved portrait by J Bogle dating from 1782 and a portrait by Raeburn (illustrated in J Greig, 'Sir Henry Raeburn'). | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Tonley, Aberdeenshire, Scotland | Private | | | |
Buildings and DesignsThis was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | | Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | | 1768 | House, St Andrew's Square | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1768 | Royal College of Physicians | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | Scheme for circular domed library | | 1768 | Sleat Parish Church | Sleat | Skye | Inverness-shire | Scotland | Monument to Sir James Macdonald who died in Rome in 1766. | | 1773 | Fyvie Castle and ancillary buildings | Fyvie | | Aberdeenshire | Scotland | Two chimneypieces (of which that in the Drawing Room survives) | | 1773 | King's College | Old Aberdeen | | Aberdeen | Scotland | Drawings attributed to James Byres - Colvin does not state what they are of - attribution by David M Walker | | 1790s | Castle Fraser | | | Aberdeenshire | Scotland | May have been involved. May have acted as agent providing bas relief sculpture for Moses Well in grounds. | | 1798 | Aquorthies House | Inverurie | | Aberdeenshire | Scotland | Colvin gives 1796-99 | | 1808 | Cluny Churchyard, Fraser Family Mausoleum | Cluny | | Aberdeenshire | Scotland | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Burke | 2001 | Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain: the Kingdom of Scotland | 19th edition | | | | Colvin, Howard | 2008 | A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 | | London: YUP. 4th edition | | | DNB | | Dictionary of National Biography | | | | | Fleming, John | 1959 | Some Roman Cicerones and Artist-Dealers | | Conoisseur Year Book | pp24-26 | | Gill, A J M | 1835 | The Families of Moir and Byres | | | | | Ingamells, J | 1997 | Dictionary of British and Irish travellers in Italy, 1701-1800 | | | pp169-172 | | Stillman, D | 1973 | British Architects and Italian Architectural Competitions, 1750-1780 | xxxvi | Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Apollo | 1974 | xcix | | pp446-60 | | Architectural Heritage | 1991 | ii | | 'James Byres of Tonley' by H G Slade. |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Courtesy of David W Walker | Information sent to Dictionary | | Sent January 2013 | | National Library of Scotland | Manuscript Collection | Deposit 184 | | | Wiltshire Record Office | Letters from Fr Thorpe to Lord Arundell of WArdour in Arundell archive | | |
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