Antique Print-MAN-IN-RAINCOAT-Bartolozzi-Guercino-1764

Medium: Etching on hand laid (verge) paper.

Sheet size: 37 x 29.8 cm (14.57 x 11.73 inch). Image size: 16.2 x 20.8 cm. (6.38 x 8.19 inch).

Condition: very good, given age. Clean impression with crisp details. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.

FRANCESCO BARTOLOZZI, GUERCINO, GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI, ITALIAN BAROQUE, 18TH-CENTURY ENGRAVING, LONDON PUBLICATION, COPPER ENGRAVING, RAINCOAT, MASTER PRINT, HISTORICAL PRINT | PCO-E21-31

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The engraving is included in the first volume of the edition “Eighty-two Prints engraved by F. Bartolozzi from the original Drawings of Guercino in the Collection of His Majesty” printed in London by the publisher Boydell around 1765 (Davoli 1995, p. 390). At least three editions of this highly prized edition are known: a first undated edition is printed on paper laid with sepia ink around 1765/66, a second undated edition is also printed with sepia ink but on unlaid paper datable to the very early nineteenth century and a third edition, dated 1835 is printed on paper not laid with black ink. This first volume consists of eighty-two prints all taken from drawings by Guercino: fifty-eight of these are by Bartolozzi (fifty-three have the signature, the others are attributed to him), six engravings are by Richard Dalton, George III’s librarian, thirteen by James Basire and five by Giovanni Vitalba. Guercino’s drawings relating to the edition, now partly considered to be of the school or later copies, are preserved in Windsor Castle where they had been since the eighteenth century (Mahon – Turner 1989).

The prints of Guercino’s drawings were engraved by Bartolozzi on behalf of Richard Dalton, librarian of the Crown, who also procured the engraver a two-year contract and the title of “King’s Engraver”. For an in-depth treatment of the subject, please refer to the catalogue of the exhibition “Francesco Bartolozzi engraver of the Graces” edited by Barbara Jatta (1995, pp. 109 – 120), who has shown that collectors were confused with the first Italian edition edited by Piranesi (1764) consisting of a single volume and this first London edition by Boydell, consisting of two volumes. Of this English edition, the Pinacoteca owns 15 sheets by Bartolozzi. Two states of the printouts are known: a first state without the underlying writings and a second state with the writings.

Reference: Gozzi F. (edited by), Il Guercino: le stampe della Pinacoteca civica, Ferrara, 1996, Liberty house, p. 96.

Biography engraver: Francesco Bartolozzi (1728-1815) was an Italian engraver known for his intricate stipple engravings, working in London and producing numerous fine prints based on the works of Renaissance and Baroque masters.

Biography artist: Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, more commonly known as “Guercino” (1591-1666), was a leading Baroque painter from the Bolognese school, known for his dynamic compositions and dramatic use of light and shadow. He worked in Rome and Cento, creating religious, historical, and genre paintings.