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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 7 cms) inscr. on plate b.c. "Bacchus et Ariadne"; inscr. on plate b.l. "B. Lens fe:"; inscr. on plate b.r. "I. Smith ex:"; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "53" CRE LENS, Bernard II; (English; 1659-1725) PUB SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) 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. The remaining third are subject prints after a wide range of artists and subjects, 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.
The Roman god of wine Bacchus, adorned with grapes and accompanied by a satyr comes to rescue Ariadne and, taking her crown, casts it into the heavens where it becomes a constellation. This print is attributed to Bernard Lens II, who, like Smith, was a pioneering mezzotint engraver. Almost 40 prints by or attributed to him were inserted in the volume, providing a context for Smith's own mezzotints. | 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: | GREEK MYTHOLOGY : CUPID : SATYR : AMOR : EROS : LOVE : BACCHUS : ARIADNE : CROWN : NUDE : BED : FOLIAGE : VINE LEAVES : GRAPES : THYRSUS : BANGLE : STARS : CONSTELLATION : 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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