| Method | Mezzotint with original hand colour |
| Artist | Richard Earlom after Robert Dighton |
| Published | Printed for & Sold by Carrington Bowles, No. 69 in St. Pauls Church Yard, London. Published as the Act directs. [1783, but c. 1790] |
| Dimensions | Image 328 x 250 mm, Plate 352 x 250 mm each |
| Notes |
A pair of framed eighteenth century mezzotints depicting women in domestic settings representing Peace and Plenty. In Peace a richly dressed woman with large beribboned hat sits at a round table, facing right, her face on her left hand and looking out, her right hand on a two books which sit on an open pamphlet entitles "Preliminaries of PEACE.", a glass of water and an olive branch are also on the table with two doves below in the floor. A classical landscape can be seen through the open door in the background right. In Plenty a fashionably dressed woman sits on a striped upholstered chair looking at the the viewer, her right foot on an upholstered footstool. She wears and elaborate cap with lace and ribbons, gloves, and an apron. On her lap is sheath of wheat and she hold pears in her hands and a basket of fruit containing pineapples, peaches, and grapes is on the floor next to her. In the background left through an open door lies a kitchen with game hanging from a metal frame, a pie with knife on a wooden stool, and an open fire with a kettle, a cooking pot, and meat roasting on a spit. This pair of prints were produced in the same year of the Treaty of Paris and the inclusion of the pamphlet "Preliminaries of Peace" is a direct direct reference to this and a celebration of the end of such a long conflict. Mezzotints of this type were a popular means for people to decorate their homes at this time. Richard Earlom (1743 - 1822) was a British painter, draughtsman and printmaker. He was born in London, and was apprenticed to Giovanni Battista Cipriani after he was discovered making sketches of the Lord Mayor's coach. This natural faculty for art manifested throughout Earlom's career, and he is believed to have taught himself the technique of mezzotint. In 1765, Earlom went to work for John Boydell, who commissioned the artist to produce a large series of works from Sir Robert Walpole's collection at Houghton Hall. This pair of mezzotints constituted part of this series. His works after van Huysum, as well as the still-life painter Jan van Os, are widely recognised as his most striking. Robert Dighton (1752 - 1814) was an English draughtsman and printmaker. He was the son of the art dealer John Dighton, and father of the artists Robert Junior, Denis, and Richard. Dighton was especially well known for his satirical prints, which he initially supplied to Carington Bowles and Haines. Later plates he etched, published, and sold himself. Dighton infamously stole prints from the British Museum to stock his shop in Charing Cross. When this was discovered in 1806, Dighton escaped prosecution, but was forced to lie low in Oxford until the scandal died down. Listed in Carrington Bowles' catalogue, 1790 108/478: "Peace and Plenty, 2 prints after Dighton, by Earlom" under the heading "Ladies in Fashionable Dresses from fine Paintings and Drawings". Lennox-Boyd lists only one state of these prints with a publication line - "Printed for & Sold by Carington Bowles, *** N.o 69 in S.t Pauls Church Yard, London. / *** PEACE*** La PAIX. *** / 501 *** / Published as the Act directs [... date erased from print] and "Printed for & Sold by Carington Bowles, *** N.o 69 in S.t Pauls Church Yard, London. / *PLENTY. *** L' ABONDANCE. *** / 502 *** / Published as the Act directs, 9 June 1783. Therefore, there was a first state issued in 1783 with a date but subsequent and thus, later printings, were issued without a date. Ex. Col. Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd Condition: Peace: Toning to sheet, pressed horizontal fold just above title. Strong original hand colour Plenty: Good clean impression with strong original hand colour. Framed in period frames. |
| Framing | framed |
| Price | £1,400.00 |
| Stock ID | 52126 |