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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 7 cms) inscr. on plate b.c. "The Kings Burds."; inscr. on plate b.l. "F. Barlow pinx."; inscr. on plate b.r. "I. Smith ex."; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "50" CRE SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) AFTER BARLOW, Francis; (English; 1626-1702) PUB SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) Part of William Hunter's original bequest, this is one of three volumes which 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 subject prints. These latter are wide ranging in the artists and subjects represented, reflecting the broad tastes of the day; from mythological and religious scenes after old Italian and Dutch and Flemish masters such as Titian and Rubens to fancy subjects after contemporary French and English painters.
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 first half of the 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 published this print and may have also made it although he is known to have bought up many mezzotint plates by his predecessors and contemporaries, republished them and included them in volumes such as this, providing context to his own work. Small prints depicting birds and animals were popular and there are several scattered through the volume. English artist Francis Barlow, whom the print is after, was particularly well known for his depictions of birds. | 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: | LANDSCAPE : BURDS : BIRDS : MONKEY : FOWL : FOUNTAIN : SQUIRREL : DECORATIVE PRINT : 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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