| Method | Mezzotint |
| Artist | Charles Turner after John James Halls |
| Published | London, Published Decr. 1, 1807 by C. Turner for the Proprietor No. 50 Warren Street, Fitzroy Square. |
| Dimensions | Image 533 x 448 mm, Plate 603 x 454 mm, Sheet 755 x 547 mm |
| Notes |
A rare print by Charles Turner after John Halls inspired by Act I, Scene III of Macbeth in which one of the witches says she will sail to Aleppo in a sieve to do harm to a sailor gone there. Here one of the Witches from Macbeth, crouches in a sieve in the sea, staring at the viewer with her robes draped over the edge of the sieve into the water left and her cloak billowing like a sail behind and around her, a wave curls to her right and the moon is above her left with the inscription below: "But in a seive I'll thither sail I'll do, I'll do, I'll do. Vide Shakespeare Macbeth. Charles Turner (1774-1857) was was an English mezzotint engraver and draughtsman. Hailing from Woodstock, Oxfordshire, Turner moved to London at the age of fifteen. He enrolled in The Royal Academy and, like many other engravers of the time, initially relied upon the patronage of wealthy and influential people. Turner had the considerable backing of the Marlborough family, for his grandmother had been a close companion of the Duchess. This relation led to important commissions. Turner would, for instance, engrave the Marlborough family portrait after the painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds. He was subsequently employed by the influential publisher John Boydell. Diversely gifted, Turner was as adept in the medium of mezzotint as he was in stipple and aquatint. This leant great scope to the subjects he could depict. Whether it was the engraving of Van Dyck or Rembrandt, or the topography of his namesake, Turner excelled. John James Halls (1776-1853) was an English portrait and history painter. Born in Romford, he exhibited at Royal Academy from 1791 and entered the schools in 1798. Whitman, Charles Turner, 748. Condition: Some time toning to paper and old mount stain with some loss to paper surface in margins not affecting the plate or image, some minor surface abrasion to plate, and laid to a sheet of Japanese tissue. |
| Framing | framed |
| Price | £2,500.00 |
| Stock ID | 52265 |