| Method | Stipple engraving |
| Artist | Benjamin Duterrau & Benjamin Smith after Richard Westall |
| Published | Publish'd March 25. 1797, by J.&J. Boydell, & G. Nicol, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside. |
| Dimensions | Image 222 x 154 mm, Sheet 378 x 276 mm |
| Notes |
An illustration of Milton's A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634, better known as Comus after its principle antagonist, from John and Josiah Boydell's The Poetical Works of John Milton (1794-1797). Lady, the heroine of the masque, has been tricked into following Comus, the personification of revelry, back to his bower. Magically held by Comus' chair, Lady is subjected to the temptations of sexual indulgence and gluttony, but her temperance, chastity, and reason defeat his advances. Behind them, satyrs and maenads revel in the night. The publication of Boydell's Milton followed the success of his Shakespeare Gallery, and included 28 plates by Richard Westall after works by Henry Fuseli. Fuseli, one of the Shakespeare Gallery's key contributors, had been inspired by Boydell's success, subsequently painting 40 large-scale scenes from Paradise Lost that he intended to form the core of his own 'Milton Gallery'. Richard Westall RA (2nd January 1765 - 4th December 1836) was a British painter, illustrator, printmaker, and drawing master, best known for his portraits of Lord Byron, and his work as a painter for John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, and Henry Fuseli's failed Milton Gallery. Benjamin Smith (1754-1833) was a British engraver, printseller, and publisher. A student of Francesco Bartolozzi, his most celebrated engravings were the series he undertook for Boydell's editions of Shakespeare and Milton, though he also produced many fine plates after William Hogarth and George Romney, as well as portraits of George III. Benjamin Duterrau (2nd March 1768 - 11th July 1851) was an English painter, printmaker, and art historian, most well known for his early paintings and engravings of Australian history and Indigenous Australians. Ex. Col.: Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd, collector's mark on verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £90.00 |
| Stock ID | 36291 |