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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 6) inscr. on plate below image "Mr. Steele"; inscr. on image "G. Kneller Eques pinxit"; inscr. on plate b.r. "Sold by I. Smith in Russell Street."; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "83" CRE SIMON, John; (French; c.1675-1754) AFTER KNELLER, Godfrey, Sir; (English; 1646-1723) 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.
Smith's close association with leading portrait painter Kneller, author of this portrait, was key to his success. From around 1690 almost all engravings after portraits by Kneller, were executed by Smith. During a brief falling out between the two, Kneller employed John Simon to engrave a number of plates such as this one.
Richard Steele was a politician, playwright and essayist and a founder of The Spectator. His portrait is included in the volume among a group of men of achievements in the worlds of medicine, art, literature, science or the military, toward the end of volume one. | 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 : WIG : CHARTER HOUSE : OXFORD : PLAYWRITE : TATLER : SPECTATOR : STOCKBRIDGE : M.P. : SIR : 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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