Lot 72
Engraved by Samuel Middiman after painting by John Wright. Shakespeare Winter's Tale Act III. Scene III. Published by John & Josiah Boydell at Shakespeare Gallery Paul Mall & Cheapfide, June 4th 1794. A detailed engraving of a pivotal scene from one of Shakespeare's plays - generally considered one of his comedies, though some prefer to call the genre a late romance. A strong impression of Wright's important image of the "Bear scene" in "A Winter's Tale" executed for Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery. Size: sheet measures 29" W x 23" H (73.7 cm x 58.4 cm); plate measures 25.25" W x 19.25" H (64.1 cm x 48.9 cm); image measures 23.25" W x 17.125" H (59.1 cm x 43.5 cm)
Josiah Boydell, born in Hawarden, Flintshire (northeast Wales), moved to London in 1766 to apprentice to his uncle John Boydell; he later became John's partner at his publishing house. Together they created the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery, a project created in an effort to foster a school of British history painting (the Boydells were very worried about the French surpassing the English in this regard). Their plans included producing an illustrated version of Shakespeare's plays and a folio of prints based on paintings done by different contemporary painters. During the 1790s, they showed these paintings at their London gallery, which was incredibly popular, capitalizing on renewed interest in Shakespeare's works in the late 18th century. The London press reported weekly on the building of the gallery on Pall Mall. Now, most of the original paintings have been lost, making the engravings from the folio the major surviving record of this fascinating effort.
Provenance: private Lucille Lucas collection, Crested Butte, Colorado, USA
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#134191
- Condition: Age wear to the margins - tears, creases, and stains as shown. Still the image is strong and the text in the ledger is vivid.
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