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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 6) inscr. on plate below image "Illustrissimus et Excellentissimus Dominus / FRANCISCUS CORNARO apud Serenissimam / ANNAM Magnae Britanniae Reginam &c. / Pro Serenissima Venetiarum Republica Orator &c. / Ea Veste Senatoria indutus qua primo in Aula / Regia a predicta Serenissima Regina. / Fuit publice receptus Die XXV Aprilis Anno. 1706."; inscr. on plate b.l. "Carolus D'Agar pinx."; inscr. on plate b.r. "Johannes Smith Fecit Londini 1706."; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "70"
CRE SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) AFTER AGAR, Charles d'; (French; 1669-1723) Part of William Hunter's original bequest, this is one of three volumes together containing 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.
Francesco Cornaro was a Venetian Ambassador in London from 1705-1709. His portrait is inserted among a group of British Earls and Lords in the volume with just one other foreign ambassador. The portrait is after a painting by the French artist Charles d'Agar who trained in England under Robert Robinson, one of Smith's contemporary mezzotinters, and spent his career in London. | 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 : EMBROIDERY : AMBASSADOR : 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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