| Method | Mezzotint |
| Artist | John Smith after Abraham Hondius |
| Published | John Smith [n.d. c. 1689] |
| Dimensions | Image 220 x 188 mm, Plate 239 x 188 mm, Sheet 240 x 189 mm |
| Notes |
A portrait of artist Abraham Hondius. Hondius is seen facing the viewer, a distant look on his face. He points to a sketch seen to the left with his left hand. The sketch shows a faint drawing of a classical female figure seen seated wearing a helmet and holding a paint palette and brushes. John Smith (1652-1743) early British mezzotinter. He was born at Daventry, Northamptonshire, about 1652. He was apprenticed to a painter named Tillet in London, and studied mezzotint engraving under Isaac Beckett and Jan van der Vaardt. He became the favourite engraver of Sir Godfrey Kneller, whose paintings he extensively reproduced, and in whose house he is said to have lived for some time. He produced some 500 plates, 300 of which are portraits. On giving up business he retired to Northamptonshire, where he died on 17 January 1742 at the age of ninety. He was buried in the churchyard of St Peter's, Northampton, where there was a tablet to his memory and that of his wife Sarah, who died in 1717. Abraham Danielsz Hondius (c.1625 – 1691) was a Dutch artist and printmaker. Born in Rotterdam, Hondius is most known for his works of animals and hunting scenes. Hondius lived in London in later life where he painted views of the frozen Thames. Chaloner Smith 132, Russell 132, O'Donoghue 1, Lennox-Boyd i/iv Ex. Col.: Reverend John Burleigh James. Condition: Trimmed to plate mark and grangerised. Vertical crease to right sheet edge. Areas of rubbing to left sheet edge. Collectors mark on verso (Lugt L.1425). |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £175.00 |
| Stock ID | 51798 |