Rethriq ti'Maspai
Rethriq ti'Maspai | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1642 |
| Died | 14 November 1699 Osaikya, Emigara, Cadenza |
| Office | Member of the Greater Council (QL) for Emigara |
| Term | 1690-1691 |
Rethriq ti'Maspai (c. 1642 – 14 November 1699) was a Cadenzan painter, illustrator, solicitor and politician. He served in the administration of Torim Viqalka during the Cadenzan-Kelonnan wars, as an advisor of the earl of Emigara and as a member of the Greater Council.
Biography
Rethriq ti'Maspai was born c. 1642 as the second son of Timiet and Pala ti'Maspai at the family home at Maspai, a coastal estate in eastern Emigara about 6 km (3.7 mi) from the earldom's modern border with Mefrika. The details of his upbringing and early life are unknown, but he is known to have studied art and become a proficient painter before his mid-20s. In 1671 he was asked by his father to accompany Callador Lokaran, whose family were friends of the ti'Maspai family, to Torim Viqalka, which was recently colonised by Cadenza and to which Lokaran had just been appointed governor. He was involved in the administration of the remote island but, in 1672, Torim Viqalka was occupied by Kelonnan forces, and ti'Maspai found himself a prisoner until the island was retaken by Cadenza the following year. During this time he painted several artworks of the Kelonnan occupation, including his celebrated Brimstone off Viqalka, the best known of his paintings of the Battle of Torim Viqalka. He returned to Cadenza shortly before Kelonna invaded the island once again in 1673.
Political career
On his return to Cadenza, ti'Maspai joined his friend Karieg ti'Velis in a legal practice in Emigar that they named Velis ab Maspai. After five years of legal practice, ti'Maspai left the firm. His later political writings suggest that at this point he spent one or two years travelling in the Trellinese Empire and may have spent time in Berique and Slovertia. In 1680 he was invited to serve on the earl of Emigara's advisory council. It is not known how much work he did in this role, from which he retired in 1687, aged 45. In 1690 he was co-opted to a vacant seat on the Greater Council, the lower house of the Cadenzan legislature. He held this seat for 13 months before stepping down and returning to retirement, forcing a by-election. He died at his house in Osaikya, then part of Emigara, on 14 November 1699.
Works
Art
ti'Maspai remained an artist throughout his life, but his best known artworks are those from his youth, particularly his scenes of the conflict over Torim Viqalka, which were widely reproduced in Cadenza and spurred great animosity towards Kelonna at this time.
Political writings
ti'Maspai authored a number of pamphlets and political tracts. One of his writings advocated that a new earldom be created from the territory of Emigara and Khadeg, the earldom of the capital. While it has been suggested that this work foresaw by about 300 years the establishment of Mefrika, the proposal bears little resemblance to the modern earldom and seems in fact to have hoped to elevate his family's position by making Maspai, his estate, the second most important settlement in a new earldom. It was, in any case, not given any meaningful consideration during ti'Maspai's life.