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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 7 cms) inscr. on plate b.l. "L. Castro pinxit."; inscr. on plate b.r. "I. Smith excudit"; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "74" PUB SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) CRE SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) AFTER CASTRO, Lorenzo; (Dutch; fl. c.1664-1700) 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.
Smith published this print and may also be its author; it is one of 100 in the volume without an engraver's name. He is known to have acquired and republished many plates from his predecessors and contemporaries, including them in collections such as this to give context to his own work. Musicians and singers often appeared in 17th and 18th century prints having become a popular theme in 16th century painting due to the influence of Caravaggio and his circle. This is one five prints in the volume after Dutch artist Lorenzo Castro about whom little is known. | 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: | GENRE : YOUNG WOMAN : HEAD SCARF : HAT : FEMALE : NEWS PAPER : SING : PEASANT : SINGING : BALLAD SINGER : : 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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