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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 6) inscr. on plate below image "Henry Bishop of London"; inscr. on plate b.l. "I Rily pinx:"; inscr. on plate b.c. "Sold by I.Smith att the Golden Lyon in Russel Street Covent Garden"; inscr. on plate b.r. "I Beckett fe:"; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "74"
CRE BECKETT, Isaac; (English; 1653-1688) AFTER RILEY, John; (English; 1646-1691) PUB SMITH, John; (English; 1653-1742) 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.
This print was made by Smith's teacher Beckett, many of whose plates Smith bought and published after his death, including them in volumes such as this to give context to his own work. He worked after a portrait by John Riley, a successful English portrait painter who was appointed joint Principal Painter to William and Mary along with Godfrey Kneller with whom Smith worked very closely.
Henry Compton served as Bishop of Oxford and then Bishop of London. He played an important role in the accession of William and Mary. His portrait is included in the volume among a group of high profile ecclesiastical figures. | 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 : CAP : EPISCOPAL ROBES : BISHOP OF LONDON : SPENCER, EARL OF NORTHAMPTON : BISHOP OF OXFORD : PRINCESS MARY : PRINCESS ANNE : THE PROTESTANT BISHOP : 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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