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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 7 cms) inscr. on plate b.c. "Hiraclytus et Democritus"; inscr. on plate b.l. "E Hkerck pinx:"; inscr. on plate b.r. "I. Smith ex."; inscr. hand-written in brown ink b.r. "6d"; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "56" CRE SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) PUB SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) AFTER HEEMSKERK, Egbert van II; (Dutch; 1634/35-1704) 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 Greek philosophers Democritus (c. 460-370 BC) and Heraclitus (c. 540-475 BC) are often depicted together as contrasting figures. Democritus was known for the amusement he derived from humankind whilst Heraclitus was solemn. The print is one of six prints in the volume after the popular Dutch genre scenes of contemporary painter Egbert van Heemskerk. It was published by Smith who may also be its author but he is known to have acquired and republished many plates from his predecessors and contemporaries and included them in collections such as this to give context to his own work. | 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: | PHILOSOPHY : PHILOSOPHERS : HERACLITUS : DEMOCRITUS : SMILE : GLOBE : WORLD : MAP : BEARD : PRE-SOCRATIC : 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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