| Method | Etching |
| Artist | Johann Heinrich Lips |
| Published | Joh. H. Lips del. et fec. 1779 |
| Dimensions | Image 240 x 196 mm, Plate 248 x 205 mm, Sheet 350 x 270 mm |
| Notes |
Johann Heinrich Lips' engraved portrait of his colleague, the celebrated Swiss romantic painter Henry Fuseli. Fuseli is shown half length, in profile to the left, seated and with his arms crossed across his chest. He wears a necktie, and formal coat, and the portrait is presented in a simple oval frame. Lips, the engraver, had completed his apprenticeship under the tutelage of Fuseli's father, the painter and art historian Johann Caspar Füssli (1706-1782). One of his most important commissions involved engraving a series of portraits and illustrations for Johann Caspar Lavater's landmark study of physiognomy 'Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beförderung der Menschenkenntnis und Menschenliebe,' and it seems that other states of the current portrait of Henry Fuseli were also included in editions of Lavater's work. Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) was an Anglo-Swiss painter, draughtsman, writer and collector of Old Master prints. He was classically educated and held a particular interest for literature which often extended into the themes of his work. Fuseli was encouraged by Sir Joshua Reynolds to paint, but was never academically, nor technically trained. He settled in England in 1779, and became the Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy twenty years later. He made several contributions to Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery and opened a gallery dedicated to Milton in 1799. One of the leading romantic painters of his day, Fuseli was an inspiration for many young British artists of the next generation, particularly William Blake. Johann Heinrich Lips (1758-1817) was a Swiss engraver and portraitist. After receiving early support from the writer and physiognomist Johann Caspar Lavater, Lips was apprenticed to the painter and art historian Johann Caspar Füssli, father of the romantic painter Henry Fuseli. After studying and working in Mannheim and Dusseldorf, Lips moved to Rome, where he joined a circle of writers, poets, and artists including Tischbein and Goethe. A prolific engraver, Lips produced over fifteen hundred prints in his lifetime, including many portraits. O'Donoghue 12 Condition: Minor creasing to edges of sheet. Minor scuffing to platemark. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £225.00 |
| Stock ID | 52975 |