A hunting scene
Mezzotint
1690-1740 (printed)
1690-1740 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
John Smith was a mezzotinter mostly occupied with reproducing oil portraits, particularly those of Kneller.
This print demonstrates early solutions to the twin problems of producing tone and colour in a printed image, problems which in later years were to result in many technological breakthroughs. One way of producing a colour intaglio print is to ink the plate selectively with different colour inks, but close inspection shows this was not the case here. The regular marks, made on the plate by the mezzotint tool, have printed dark grey and the colours have been applied over them filling the spaces between.
Contemporary hand-colouring in the work of a conventional monochrome printmaker is likely to turn up, if at all, in the more unusual or experimental subject matter away from the main field of his activities.
(Miller, Elizabeth. Hand Coloured British Prints. London: Published by Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987.)
This print demonstrates early solutions to the twin problems of producing tone and colour in a printed image, problems which in later years were to result in many technological breakthroughs. One way of producing a colour intaglio print is to ink the plate selectively with different colour inks, but close inspection shows this was not the case here. The regular marks, made on the plate by the mezzotint tool, have printed dark grey and the colours have been applied over them filling the spaces between.
Contemporary hand-colouring in the work of a conventional monochrome printmaker is likely to turn up, if at all, in the more unusual or experimental subject matter away from the main field of his activities.
(Miller, Elizabeth. Hand Coloured British Prints. London: Published by Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987.)
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A hunting scene (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour mezzotint with additional colour by hand |
| Brief description | Print depicting a hunting scene. Colour mezzotint by John Smith after Francis Barlow. Great Britain, 1690-1740 |
| Physical description | Colour print depicting a hunting scene, with a spaniel lying beside a group of dead birds. Two figures appear in the background, one gesturing towards the birds and the other on a white horse. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'F: Barlow delin. J. Smith: excud.' (Lettered) |
| Credit line | Given by Westminster City Council |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | John Smith was a mezzotinter mostly occupied with reproducing oil portraits, particularly those of Kneller. This print demonstrates early solutions to the twin problems of producing tone and colour in a printed image, problems which in later years were to result in many technological breakthroughs. One way of producing a colour intaglio print is to ink the plate selectively with different colour inks, but close inspection shows this was not the case here. The regular marks, made on the plate by the mezzotint tool, have printed dark grey and the colours have been applied over them filling the spaces between. Contemporary hand-colouring in the work of a conventional monochrome printmaker is likely to turn up, if at all, in the more unusual or experimental subject matter away from the main field of his activities. (Miller, Elizabeth. Hand Coloured British Prints. London: Published by Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987.) |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1952. London: HMSO, 1963. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1734-1952 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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