Particular and interesting pair of English colour prints; they represent two gentlewomen with elegant dresses of the end of the 18th century and they have been framed in the first years of the 20th century in gilded wooden frames in neoclassical style; the most involving and curious thing are the inscriptions that can be read under the portraits: the first print titled "Louisa" bears the inscription "Fascinating all unaware of her charm, the other one titled "Thoughts on marriage". bears the beautiful inscription "Take much of my advice, do not marry hastily because she who takes the best husband, judges only a man of gold". The attitude and expression of the women's faces link well with the meaning of the two inscriptions. There is also other interesting information about the prints: the first was designed and engraved by William Ward and published in London in January 1796 by the print publisher John Raphael Smith in his shop at 83 Oxford Street; the second was designed by John Raphael Smith and engraved by William Ward, and published like the first in 1796 in London in the same print shop. William Ward (1762-1826) was a famous and illustrious English engraver, appointed engraver to the Duke of York, the Prince of Wales, and associate engraver of the Royal Academy. William's collaboration with his brother James Ward (painter) produced the best that English art had to offer, their great technical and artistic skill resulting in images that reflect the grace and charm of the period. John Raphael Smith (1751 - 2 March 1812) was an English painter, engraver and pastelist; it was his discovery of mezzotint engraving that decided his success. His mastery of this difficult technique soon made him famous, and in 1781 he opened an engraving shop in London. He engraved black reproductions of works by famous artists and created colour reproductions of his own paintings. He was so successful that he employed up to thirty engravers to assist him. His success lasted until 1802, when mezzotint engravings went out of fashion and John Raphael Smith devoted all his activity to pastel. His small-format portraits of the English nobility and aristocracy enjoy as great a reputation as his etchings. His prints are delicate, excellent in drawing and finely expressive of colour. Another curiosity about our prints as written above, they were framed in the early 1900s and the shop where the work was done was located in the centre of Toulouse (France) in Rue de la Pomme 2; The street was characterised by Haussmann-style buildings in light brick, cast-iron balconies and sculptural decorations, created by Toulouse's most important architects. It was also animated by numerous peculiar shops such as that of the poet shoemaker Louis Vestrepain, watchmakers and jewellers from the Ancely family, important printer-bookshops, the English tailor The Red House, large cafés and restaurants such as the Café Anglais and the Hotel Portes and Hotel de Londres. The prints are in good condition, in some parts of the frames the gold leaf appears worn (see photo) but this makes the two items much more fascinating and historically interesting. Measures each one width cm.41, height cm.35, depth cm.2; prints measure cm.26 x cm.20.
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SILVER Seller in Prato, Italy
