Guilielmus Wissing.Inter Pictores sui Soeculi celeberrimos nulli secundus, Artis suae non exiguum Deeus & Ornamentum, Obijt Sept: 10. An Aet: 31 D.ni 1687. Immodicis brevis est Aetas.
W Wissing pinx: J Smith fe. [1687]
Mezzotint, 18th century watermark, 340 x 245mm (13½ x 9¾"). Trimmed to plate. Nick and stain in top right corner.
William Wissing (1656-87), portrait painter. Apprenticed to Sir Peter Lely, Wissing became one of the leading portraitists of the 1680s, in the period between the death of Lely and rise of Sir Godfrey Kneller. Wissing's career coincided with the vogue for mezzotint publishing, in which next to Kneller's, Wissing's works were the most widely reproduced (as in this self-portrait). Engraved by John Smith (1652-1743), a first-class mezzotint engraver who made the mezzotint portrait a serious rival to the traditional engraved portrait (in which the French specialised). In the first half of the 18th century no serious print collection, whether in Britain or abroad, was without examples of Smith's work. In 1688 Smith became the regular engraver of Kneller's portraits.
Ex: collection of the Late Hon. C. Lennox-Boyd; CS 278 i/ii.
[Ref: 60247] £260.00
Mezzotint, 18th century watermark, 340 x 245mm (13½ x 9¾"). Trimmed to plate. Nick and stain in top right corner.
William Wissing (1656-87), portrait painter. Apprenticed to Sir Peter Lely, Wissing became one of the leading portraitists of the 1680s, in the period between the death of Lely and rise of Sir Godfrey Kneller. Wissing's career coincided with the vogue for mezzotint publishing, in which next to Kneller's, Wissing's works were the most widely reproduced (as in this self-portrait). Engraved by John Smith (1652-1743), a first-class mezzotint engraver who made the mezzotint portrait a serious rival to the traditional engraved portrait (in which the French specialised). In the first half of the 18th century no serious print collection, whether in Britain or abroad, was without examples of Smith's work. In 1688 Smith became the regular engraver of Kneller's portraits.
Ex: collection of the Late Hon. C. Lennox-Boyd; CS 278 i/ii.
[Ref: 60247] £260.00