| Method | Mezzotint and etching |
| Artist | Richard Earlom after Giovanni Battista Cipriani |
| Published | Publish'd Sepr. 1st 1786 by John Boydell No. 90 Cheapside. |
| Dimensions | Image 318 x 263 mm, Sheet 360 x 280 mm |
| Notes |
From Boydell's A collection of prints, after the sketches and drawings of the late celebrated Giovanni Battista Cipriani. Urania which stems from the Greek word for 'heavenly' or 'of heaven' was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy. Richard Earlom (1743-1822) was one of the greatest mezzotint and stipple engravers of his day. He was apprenticed to the London based engraver, G.B. Cipriani and studied at the St Martin's Lane Academy. He won many prizes for his drawings and engravings. In 1774, he began work for John Boydell for whom he created three hundred plates after Claude, published as the Liber Veritas (1777-1819). He also created for Boydell fifty-one plates after Cipriani. Earlom engraved outstanding works both after the designs of his contemporaries and after the old masters. Boydell commissioned his talents for some of the most famous plates in The Houghton Gallery and The Shakespeare Gallery. Giovanni Battista Cipriani, (1727-1785) was a Florentine decorative painter and designer, active mainly in England. In 1755 he was brought to London by the architect Sir William Chambers and the sculptor Joseph Wilton, who had met him in Rome. He was employed in the decoration of many public buildings and private houses and in some cases designed such architectural details as plasterwork, woodwork, and stonecarving. Good examples of his paintings are at Somerset House (where he worked for Chambers) and in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (a series originally executed for Lansdowne House, London). He was also active as a teacher at the Royal Academy (he was a foundation member in 1768 and designed its diploma), and his numerous decorative designs (many engraved by Bartolozzi, his friend since student days) had wide influence. Cipriani's work is accomplished rather than inspired, but he was, in the words of Sir Ellis Waterhouse, 'one of the great backroom figures of the Neoclassic style in England'. Wessely 461, Lennox-Boyd i/i Ex. Col.: Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd. Condition: Trimmed within platemark, slightly obscuring part of the artists names at the side and the publication line at the bottom. Glue residue on verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £280.00 |
| Stock ID | 24866 |