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Richard Earlom & Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione

Richard Earlom and Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione - The Exposition of Cyrus The Houghton Gallery

The Exposition of Cyrus (The Houghton Gallery)

Richard Earlom's original mezzotint engraving, The Exposition of Cyrus is based upon a design created by the Italian artist, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. It is printed upon eighteenth century laid paper and with full margins as published by John Boydell in London for his set entitled, The Houghton Gallery in 1781. The Exposition of Cyrus is a scarce and valuable example of the art created by the British artist, Richard Earlom and of the eighteenth century mezzotint engraving. The mezzotint depicts The legend of Cyrus where the herdsman discover the young Cyrus. The omens foretell his greatness, as the chariot and the crown, accompany him. Cyrus is the most famous ancient King of Persia.
 
Title: The Exposition of Cyrus
Engraver: Earlom, Richard (London, 1743 - 1822)
Designer: Castiglione 'Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione' (1609 - 1664)
Date: 1781
Medium: Original Mezzotint Engraving
Publisher: John Boydell, London
Source: The Houghton Gallery
Note: Richard Earlom: One of the greatest eighteenth century mezzotint and stipple engravers, Richard Earlom was apprenticed to the London based engraver, Cipriani, in his youth. He began work for John Boydell in 1774, taking five years to create the two hundred plates which comprise the Liber Veritas set. These engravings showed the world the remarkable effects a combination of mezzotint and etching could produce on landscape art and gained for both Earlom and Boydell a long lasting fame. In fact, in the following century, these Earlom mezzotints directly influenced the landscape art of Turner.
  During the following decades Earlom engraved outstanding works both after the designs of his contemporaries and after the old masters. Boydell continued to commission his talents for some of the most famous plates in both The Houghton Gallery and the Shakespeare Gallery. As one can easily see in this original engraving, entitled, The Exposition of Cyrus, he was without equal in capturing the rich tonal qualities of the demanding mezzotint medium. Today, Earlom is most appreciated for his technical virtuosity and mastery.
  John Boydell was clearly one of England's most remarkable 18th century people. Born to a poor family, he began his career as an at best mediocre engraver of book plates. At this time England was at a very low ebb as a serious centre for the creative arts (particularly engraving) and Boydell sought to eradicate this problem by beginning a second career as a print publisher. Modest experiments in the 1760's led to a rapid expansion and the mid 1770's saw the publication of his Liber Veritas, with mezzotint engravings by Richard Earlom after the drawings of Claude in the King's Collection. This expensive undertaking put England back on the printmaking map and was a huge financial success for Boydell.
  Some of the finest mezzotint engravings in the history of British art belong to Boydell's series known today as The Houghton Gallery. Beginning in 1781, Boydell commissioned England's best mezzotint artists to engrave the paintings by Italian Renaissance masters in the collection of the Empress of Russia at Houghton. In total, one hundred and twenty-eight plates were created by the time the set was completed in 1788. This original mezzotint engraving is one of them. Once again, these engravings were widely acclaimed and John Boydell now found himself as the head of England's most influential publishing house. This is evidenced by the fact that midway through The Houghton Gallery, Boydell's nephew, Josiah, had joined the venture. Richard Earlom's original mezzotint engraving, The Exposition of Cyrus based upon a design created by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione is a fine, original example from this set.
  John Boydell had now established England as a major capital for the arts and this once poor and struggling artist was now acknowledged for his efforts by being elected no less than Lord Mayor of London in 1791. The same year marked the ill fated beginning of Boydell's most ambitious and final undertaking. His new publishing house, "Shakspeare Gallery", commissioned the most famous painters and engravers in Britain to create and design large stipple engravings based on the plays of William Shakespeare. This monumental experiment continued until Boydell's death thirteen years later. By that time the "Shakspeare Gallery" had published 170 large engravings. Alas, the expenses for this vast undertaking had been so large that England's foremost publisher of art ended his life the way it began and died a pauper.
  The Exposition of Cyrus: This Earlom engraving depicts the herdsman discovering young Cyrus. The omens foretelling his greatness, such as the chariot and the crown, accompany him. Cyrus is the most famous ancient King of Persia. According to this legend, his grandfather, alarmed by a prophecy that his grandson would dethrone him, gave orders to cast the baby into the wilderness. The young child was rescued from sure death by a kindly herdsman and his wife. As an adult, Cyrus overthrew his grandfather in 559 B.C. Now King of all Persia, he went on to also conquer Lydia, Croesus and Babylon.
Size: 11 1/4 X 14 1/2 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
  Framed and Matted with 100% Archival Materials
  View larger Framed Image
  The Exposition of Cyrus Framed Original Mezzotint by Richard Earlom
Condition: Printed upon eighteenth century laid paper and with full margins as published by John Boydell in London in 1781. Very slight foxing exists in the outer margins but the actual engraving is in near excellent condition throughout. One should here take note that this is a very early impression of The Exposition of Cyrus. Eighteenth century mezzotint engravings yielded at most one hundred satisfactory impressions. Only the first handful of impressions would exhibit such strong and velvety tonal values as one sees here. The Exposition of Cyrus, therefore is a most scarce and valuable example of the art of Richard Earlom and of the eighteenth century mezzotint engraving.
Price: Sold - The price is no longer available.
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Original Mezzotint Engraving by the British artist, Richard Earlom designed by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione.

The Exposition of Cyrus Original Mezzotint Engraving by the British artist Richard Earlom designed by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione published by John Boydell for The Houghton Gallery
The Exposition of Cyrus (The Houghton Gallery)

View other original works of art by Richard Earlom.

Richard Earlom (London, 1743 - 1822)
# Image Title & Engraver Medium Date Publisher -
01- Liber Veritas No 110 by Richard Earlom after Claude Gellee Liber Veritas #110 by Richard Earlom designed by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellee) Original Etching & Mezzotint 1775 Liber Veritas Sold
02.- Liber Veritas No 127 by Richard Earlom after Claude Gellee Liber Veritas #127 by Richard Earlom designed by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellee) Original Etching & Mezzotint 1776 Liber Veritas Sold
03.- Liber Veritas No 130 by Richard Earlom after Claude Gellee Liber Veritas #130 by Richard Earlom designed by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellee) Original Etching & Mezzotint 1776 Liber Veritas Sold
04.- Orpheus by Richard Earlom after Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Orpheus by Richard Earlom designed by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Original Mezzotint Engraving 1781 The Houghton Gallery Sold
05.- Paradise Lost Adam Awakening Eve by Richard Earlom after Richard Westall Paradise Lost: Adam Awakening Eve by Richard Earlom designed by Richard Westall Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression' 1794 The Poetical Works of John Milton Sold
06.- Paradise Lost Eve in the Garden of Eden by Richard Earlom after Richard Westall Paradise Lost: Eve in the Garden of Eden by Richard Earlom designed by Richard Westall Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression' 1795 The Poetical Works of John Milton Sold
07.- The Exposition of Cyrus by Richard Earlom after Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione The Exposition of Cyrus by Richard Earlom designed by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Original Mezzotint Engraving 1781 The Houghton Gallery Sold

View other original works of art Published for John Boydell's "The Houghton Gallery"
# Image Title Engraver Medium Date -
01.- Orpheus by Richard Earlom after Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Orpheus by Richard Earlom designed by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Richard Earlom (London, 1743 - 1822) Original Mezzotint Engraving 1781 Sold
02.- The Exposition of Cyrus by Richard Earlom after Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione The Exposition of Cyrus by Richard Earlom designed by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Richard Earlom (London, 1743 - 1822) Original Mezzotint Engraving 1781 Sold
03.- The Cyclops at Their Forge by John Murphy designed by Luca Giordano The Cyclops at Their Forge by John Murphy designed by Luca Giordano John Murphy (Ireland, 1748 - London, c. 1807) Original Mezzotint Engraving 1788 Sold

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