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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 7) title inscr. on plate b.c. "The Right Honourable Laurence Earle of Rochester Ld. High Treasurer / of England, Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter."; inscr. on plate b.l. "W. Wissing pinx." and "Cum Privilegio Regio"; inscr. on plate b.c. "R. Williams fec:"; inscr. on plate b.r. "Sold by E. Cooper at the 3 Pidgions in Bedford Street" CRE WILLIAMS, Robert; (Welsh; active 1680-1704) AFTER WISSING, William; (Dutch; 1653-1687) PUB COOPER, Edward; (English; 1682-1725) Part of William Hunter's original bequest, this is one of three volumes which together contain 488 mezzotints, almost all made or published by John Smith. About two thirds are portraits of eminent late Stuart, early Hanoverian persons, and one third fancy and mythological subjects.
Instrumental in raising the standard of mezzotint portraits, Smith was the first British printmaker to gain a European reputation, and examples of his work were essential for any serious early to mid 18th century European print collection.
Hunter's set of volumes is a rare surviving example of a comprehensive collection of mezzotints compiled in the 1730s.
Lawrence Hyde was a diplomat and politician. He was sent by Charles II as ambassador to the Polish King, John III, whose portrait follow's Rochester's in this volume (Glaha 16331). His title appears to have been awarded for his careful management of the King's finances.
The print was engraved by Robert Williams, one of the earliest English mezzotinters. Smith published and republished many plates by his contemporaries, providing a context to his own work. It is after a portrait by Dutch artist Willem Wissing who was an assistant to Sir Peter Lely. After Lely's death he became England's leading portrait painter until his early death at 31. | License: | http://www.hmag.gla.ac.uk/spirit/rights/ | Publisher: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Rights holder: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Subjects: | PORTRAIT : HALF-LENGTH : ALBUM : OVAL : MUSTACHE : WIG : LACE CRAVAT : GEORGE : TREASURER : KNIGHT : ORDER OF THE GARTER : VOLUME : HUNTER VOLUME : | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Creator: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Identifier: | http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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