Philip Hermogenes Calderon

Philip Hermogenes Calderon RA (Poitiers 3 May 1833 – 30 April 1898 London) was a British painter of French birth (mother) and Spanish (father) ancestry, who initially worked in the Pre-Raphaelite style before moving towards historical genre painting.

His father, the Reverend Juan Calderón (* 19 April 1791 in Villafranca de los Caballeros; † 28 January 1854 in London) was a professor of Spanish literature and a former Roman Catholic priest who had converted to Anglicanism.

Calderon planned to study engineering, but he became so interested in drawing technical figures and diagrams that he changed his mind and devoted his time to art.

His later paintings adopt a more classical style, comparable to Edward Poynter, which resulted from his close relationship with Frederic Leighton, then-President of the Royal Academy.

His 1891 painting St Elizabeth of Hungary's great act of renunciation was secured by the Chantrey bequest for the national collection, and is now located in Tate Britain, but caused considerable controversy because of its perceived anti-Catholic message.

Ruth, Boas and Naomi
Broken Vows (1856; Tate Britain , London).
The Vine