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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 7 cms) inscr. on plate b.l. "Warner delin:"; inscr. on plate b.c. "B Lens fec:"; inscr. on plate b.r. "C.P.R.E.Cooper exc:"; inscr. on page t.r. hand-written in brown ink "92" CRE LENS, Bernard II; (English; 1659-1725) PUB COOPER, Edward; (English; 1601-1699) AFTER WARNER; (English?; 1601-1699) 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.
This print was made by Bernard Lens II who was a pioneering mezzotint engraver like Smith. Almost 40 prints by or attributed to him were inserted in the volume, providing a context for Smith's own mezzotints. Depicting a traditional nativity scene, this print is positioned amongst a group of religious subjects toward the back of the volume. It is thought to be after a design by a 16th century artist named Heinrich Warner about whom very 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: | NEW TESTAMENT : BIBLE : NATIVITY : ADORATION : VIRGIN MARY : CHRIST : JOSEPH : STABLE : SHEPHERDS : ANIMALS : CATTLE : 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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