Thomas Maxwell Esq.r - after John Closterman

 

John Smith

 

1692  

mezzotint 

12 3/8 x 9 3/4" image size; 13-7/16 x 9-3/4" plate size 

name engraved in the plate, lower right margin 

not stated 

title engraved in the plate, lower margin; painter's name engraved in the plate, lower left 

CS 180 II; Wessely 184; BM 1; Rogers 1981, 6; Rogers 1983, 68. Additionally: Amsterdam (RM, RP-P-OB-32-800), Cambridge (Magdalene, Pepys collection, vol. II, 2979/270a), Chatsworth (Smith vol. I, fol. 92), Eton (CL, Storer Granger, Period VI, classes LX,  

antique-white laid 

published 

artist 

22088 

$350.00 

John Smith was born the son of an engraver and was exposed at an early age to the tools and techniques of metal plate printmaking. He swiftly rose in prominence in the print world, establishing mezzotint--until then considered a lesser technique than etching-- as a true and respected art form. By the end of his life he was considered the best mezzotint artist in England, if not all of Britain and Europe. His tombstone, located at St. Peter's in Northampton, reads, "the most eminent engraver in mezzotinto in his time" (Davenport, pg. 98).

This image extolls Smith's famously painterly touch: the softness of the clouds and texture of the Major General's formal wig, contrasting elegantly with the formidable suit of armor and the jutting face of a rocky cliff in the background. Most exceptionally, though, is Smith's rendering of the general's face: he captures a visage both stern and contemplative.

The original painting, by German artist John Closterman (1660 - 1711), has been lost to time.