Background
Denis Dighton was the son of the caricaturist Robert Dighton and a younger brother was Richard Dighton. He enjoyed the patronage of the Prince of Wales, who had been a close friend of his mother.
Denis Dighton was the son of the caricaturist Robert Dighton and a younger brother was Richard Dighton. He enjoyed the patronage of the Prince of Wales, who had been a close friend of his mother.
He enrolled as a student of the Royal Academy in 1807 and exhibited 17 pictures there between 1811 and 1825. Through the influence of the prince, he received a commission in the army in 1811, however, he soon returned to civilian life. By 1814 he had received the title of Military Painter to Royal Highness the Prince Regent.
The prince sent Dighton to the Southern Netherlands just before the Battle of Waterloo, and seems to have bought all his exhibited pictures.
Dighton visited the Waterloo battlefield five days after the victory and executed nine paintings of the battle. He fell from royal favour when his intermediary with the Prince Regent, Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, lost his place in the royal household, to be replaced by Sir William Knighton.
Dighton is mostly known for his paintings of battle scenes especially depicting the Peninsular War and Waterloo. He also painted a scene of Nelson being shot at the Battle of Trafalgar.