Thomas Kirk & Richard Westall

Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve (The Poetical Works of John Milton)

Thomas Kirk's "Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve" is an original stipple engraving, 'First Edition Impression' based upon a design by Richard Westall for John & Josiah Boydell's "The Poetical Works of John Milton" published in 1795. This striking engraving contains the engraver's name, "Thos. Kirk Sculpt.", the designer's name, "R. Westall R. A. delt." title, "Paradise Lost..." and publisher's details "Publish'd June 4, 1795 by J. & J. Boydell & G. Nicol, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside." printed below the image. Such masterworks as "Paradise Lost", "Samson Agonistes" and "Comus" place John Milton (British, 1608 - 1674) as England's greatest poet. Paradise Lost was first published in 1667. It is Milton's great epic poem, composed in twelve books. This original stipple engraving created by the British artist, Thomas Kirk illustrates the Ninth Book. In the First Book Satan revolts and is driven from Heaven with his legions. He establishes his palace in Hell. In Book Two Satan and his angels debate as to whether to wage another battle against Heaven but instead decide to examine a newly created world (Eden) with its new creatures. God's greatest creations of first Adam and then Eve take place in the Garden of Eden several book's later. This original Thomas Kirk stipple engraving illustrates the important lines of Book Nine when, Eve, who has eaten the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, relates her story and takes the apple to Adam. Rather than spending Eternity alone in Eden, Adam then eats the apple to be with Eve. God casts Adam and Eve from Paradise condemning them to a life of the human conditions of suffering and mortality.

Original Stipple Engraving by the British artist, Thomas Kirk designed by Richard Westall.

Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve (The Poetical Works of John Milton)

View other original works of art by Thomas Kirk.

Thomas Kirk (London, Died, 1797)
#	Image	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	-
01.-		Paradise Lost: The Angel Raphael Relates The Story of Creation to Adam and Eve by Thomas Kirk designed by Richard Westall	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Sold
02.-		Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve by Thomas Kirk designed by Richard Westall	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Sold

View other original engravings published by John and Josiah Boydell for "The Poetical Works of John Milton".

The Poetical Works of John Milton
Designed by Richard Westall
#	Image	Title & Engraver	Engraver Info	Medium	Date	-
01.-		Comus: Sabrina Releasing the Lady from her Spell by John Ogborne	John Ogborne (Chelmsford, 1755 - London, 1837)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	Available
02.-	-	Comus: The Forest Scene by Benjamin Smith	Benjamin Smith (London, 1754 - 1833)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	--
03.-	-	Comus: The Temptation Scene by Benjamin Smith	Benjamin Smith (London, 1754 - 1833) & Benjamin Duterrau (1767 - 1851)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	--
04.-	-	Elegia Quinta by Thomas Kirk	Thomas Kirk (London, Died, 1797)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	--
05.-		Hymn to the Nativity by Jean Pierre Simon	Jean Pierre Simon, 'John Peter Simon' (London, 1750 - Paris, c. 1810)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	Available
06.-	-	Il Penseroso by John Ogborne	John Ogborne (Chelmsford, 1755 - London, 1837)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	--
07.-		On the Death of a Fair Infant by Benjamin Smith	Benjamin Smith (London, 1754 - 1833)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1794	Available
08.-	-	L'Allegro by Thomas Kirk	Thomas Kirk (London, Died, 1797)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	--
09.-		Lycidas (A poem by John Milton), by Benjamin Smith	Benjamin Smith (London, 1754 - 1833)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	Available
10.-	-	Milton and his two Daughters by Benjamin Smith	Benjamin Smith (London, 1754 - 1833)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1797	--
11.-		Paradise Lost: Adam and Eve Banished from Paradise by Benjamin Smith	Benjamin Smith (London, 1754 - 1833)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Available
12.-		Paradise Lost: Adam Awakening Eve by Richard Earlom	Richard Earlom (London, 1743 - 1822)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1794	Sold
13.-		Paradise Lost: Death Leaving the Gates of Hell for the World of Man by John Ogborne	John Ogborne (Chelmsford, 1755 - London, 1837)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Available
14.-		Paradise Lost: Eve in the Garden of Eden by Richard Earlom	Richard Earlom (London, 1743 - 1822)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Sold
15.-		Paradise Lost: Messiah Routs Satan and his Angels by Luigi Schiavonetti	Luigi Schiavonetti (Bassano, Italy, 1765 - London, 1810)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1794	Sold
16.-		Paradise Lost: Satan Alarmed by Jean Pierre Simon	Jean Pierre Simon, 'John Peter Simon' (London, 1750 - Paris, c. 1810)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1794	Available
17.-	-	Paradise Lost: Satan at the Gates of Hell by Jean Pierre Simon	Jean Pierre Simon, 'John Peter Simon' (London, 1750 - Paris, c. 1810)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1794	--
18.-	-	Paradise Lost: Satan Awakening His Legions by Jean Pierre Simon	Jean Pierre Simon, 'John Peter Simon' (London, 1750 - Paris, c. 1810)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1794	--
19.-		Paradise Lost: The Angel Raphael Relates The Story of Creation to Adam and Eve by Thomas Kirk	Thomas Kirk (London, Died, 1797)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Sold
20.-		Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve by Thomas Kirk	Thomas Kirk (London, Died, 1797)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Sold
21.-		Paradise Regained: Christ and Satan Dispute the Value of Earthly Glory. by William Satchwell Leney	William Satchwell Leney (London, 1769 - Longue Pointe (Montreal), Canada, 1831)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Available
22.-		Paradise Regained: Christ in the Wilderness by Moses Haughton Junior	Moses Haughton, Junior (Wednesbury, Staffordshire, c. 1772 - London, 1848)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Available
23.-		Paradise Regained: The Fall of Satan by Benjamin Smith	Benjamin Smith (London, 1754 - 1833)	Original Stipple Engraving 'First Edition Impression	1795	Available

Portraits of John Milton (England, 1608 - 1674)
#	Image	Title & Artist	Artist Info	Medium	Publisher	Date	-
01.-		John Milton, Age 21 by William Nelson Gardiner	William Nelson Gardiner (Dublin, 1766 - London, 1814)	Original Stipple Engraving and Etching	John and Josiah Boydell & George Nicol, London	1794	Sold
02.-		John Milton, Age 62 by William Nelson Gardiner	William Nelson Gardiner (Dublin, 1766 - London, 1814)	Original Stipple Engraving and Etching	John and Josiah Boydell & George Nicol, London	1794
03.-		Portrait of John Milton as a Child by Giovanni Battista Cipriani	Giovanni Battista Cipriani (Florence, Italy, 1727 - London (Hammersmith), 1785)	Original Etching	Thomas Hollis (J. & J. Boydell & G. Nicol Edition, 1794)	1760
04.-		Portrait of John Milton as a Young Man by Giovanni Battista Cipriani	Giovanni Battista Cipriani (Florence, Italy, 1727 - London (Hammersmith), 1785)	Original Etching	Thomas Hollis (J. & J. Boydell & G. Nicol Edition, 1794)	1760
05.-		Portrait of John Milton in Old Age by Giovanni Battista Cipriani	Giovanni Battista Cipriani (Florence, Italy, 1727 - London (Hammersmith), 1785)	Original Etching	Thomas Hollis (J. & J. Boydell & G. Nicol Edition, 1794)	1760
06.-		Portion of a Shield (John Milton dictating his epic poem, "Paradise Lost", to his daughter.) by John Alfred Vinter	John Alfred Vinter (London, 1828 - 1905)	Original Lithograph	Day & Son, London	1852

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Title:	Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve
Engraver:	Kirk, Thomas (London, Died, 1797)
Designer:	Westall, Richard (Hertford, 1765 - London, 1836)
Date:	1795
Medium:	Original Stipple Engraving
Publisher	J. & J. Boydell & G. Nicol, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside
Source:	The Poetical Works of John Milton
Note:	Thomas Kirk: An English painter and engraver, Thomas Kirk studied art in London under Richard Cosway. He exhibited his art annually at the Royal Academy from 1785 to 1796. Thomas Kirk's most famous engravings were based upon either his own design or the designs of Angelica Kauffmann, Richard Westall or Sir Joshua Reynolds. Thomas Kirk's last great works were his stipple engravings for Boydell's, The Poetical Works of John Milton.
	Richard Westall: After attending the Royal Academy schools in London (1785), Richard Westall devoted himself to history and landscape subjects. He was an early practitioner of the watercolour medium and many publishers of illustrated books soon sought his designs for publication of illustrated editions of Gray, Moore, Crabbe and other poets of the day. During the 1790's he was commissioned by Boydell to work upon both the Milton and Shakespeare sets. Richard Westall was elected an Associate of the prestigious Royal Academy in 1792 and a full Academician in 1794. In the 1820's he was appointed the drawing master to then Princess Victoria.
	John Boydell is easily one of England's most remarkable 18th century personalities. Born in poverty, he began his career as an at best mediocre engraver of small book plates. At this time England was at a very low ebb as a serious centre for the visual arts (particularly engraving) and Boydell sought to eradicate this situation by beginning a second career as a publisher of fine prints. Modest initial experiments in the 1760's led to a rapid expansion of his business and during the 1770's he published his striking series of mezzotint engravings, Liber Veritas, engraved by Richard Earlom after the drawings of Claude Lorrain. This ambitious undertaking put England back on the printmaking map and was a huge financial success for John Boydell.
	Boydell had now established London as a major centre for the arts and this once poor and struggling engraver/publisher was acknowledged for his efforts by being elected no less than Lord Mayor of London, in 1791. The same year marked the beginning of Boydell's most grandiose undertaking. His new publishing establishment in Pall Mall, the 'Shakspeare Gallery', began by commissioning the most esteemed painters and engravers in the country to create and design large and expensive engravings based upon the plays and life of William Shakespeare. By this time as well John Boydell's nephew, Josiah Boydell (1752-1817), had joined the firm.
	This monumental venture continued until Boydell's death thirteen years later. By that time, The Shakespeare Gallery had created and published one hundred and seventy engravings on a grand scale. Alas, the expenses for this vast project had been so large that England's foremost publisher of art ended his life the way he began, dying penniless.
	At this time England's other great literary giant, John Milton, was honoured by Boydell. The Poetical Works of John Milton was published in three parts in 1794, 1795 and 1797. Sparing no expense, Boydell commissioned George Romney to design a portrait plate and Richard Westall to design images illustrating each part of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained as well as the more famous individual poems. The engravers included Richard Earlom, Thomas Kirk, Jean Pierre Simon, Benjamin Smith, M. Haughton, Dutterau and John Ogborne.
	Unlike the Shakespeare engravings, the Milton prints were constructed almost solely in the stipple technique. Stippling reached its golden age in late eighteenth century England. The technique was promoted and taught by Francesco Bartolozzi (Florence, Italy, 1727 - Lisbon, Portugal, 1815). Many of the above mentioned engravers were among his finest students. Briefly, stippling was a tonal method where the image was created not with solid lines but with a multitude of dots or flicks. Under a master's hand, stippling magnificently captured tonal values by contrasting areas of light and shade. Unfortunately, it was most laborious and quickly became extinct with advances in aquatint engraving in the early nineteenth century. Yet to this day some of the most subtle and sensual engravings in the history of British art belong to the stipple engravers of the late eighteenth century.
	Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve: Such masterworks as "Paradise Lost", "Samson Agonistes" and "Comus" place John Milton (British, 1608 - 1674) as England's greatest poet. Paradise Lost was first published in 1667. It is Milton's great epic poem, composed in twelve books. This original stipple engraving created by the British artist, Thomas Kirk illustrates the Ninth Book. The First Book Satan revolts and is driven from Heaven with his legions. He establishes his palace in Hell. In Book Two Satan and his angels debate as to whether to wage another battle against Heaven but instead decide to examine a newly created world (Eden) with its new creatures. God's greatest creations of first Adam and then Eve take place in the Garden of Eden several book's later. This original Thomas Kirk stipple engraving contains the engraver's name, "Thos. Kirk Sculpt.", the designer's name, "R. Westall R. A. delt." title, "Paradise Lost" and publisher's details "Publish'd June 4, 1795 by J. & J. Boydell & G. Nicol, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside." printed below the image.This original Thomas Kirk stipple engraving illustrates the important lines of Book Nine when, Eve, who has eaten the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, relates her story and takes the apple to Adam, "Thus Eve, with countenance blithe, her story told; But in her cheek distemper, flushing, glow’d. On the other side, Adam, soon as he heard The fatal trespass done by Eve, amazed, Astonished, stood and blank, while horrour chill Ran through his veins, and all his joints relax’d; From his slack hand the garland, wreathed for Eve, Down dropp’d, and all the faded roses shed: Speechless he stood, and pale, till thus at length, First to himself, he inward silence broke. O fairest of creation! last and best Of all God’s works! creature in whom excell’d Whatever can to sight, or thought, be form’d, Holy, divine, good, amiable, or sweet! How art thou lost, how on a sudden lost, Defaced, deflower’d, and now to death devote? Rather, how hast thou yielded to transgress The strict forbiddance, how to violate The sacred fruit forbidden? some cursed fraud Of enemy hath beguiled thee, yet unknown, And me, with thee, hath ruin’d; for with thee Certain my resolution is to die:" Rather than spending Eternity alone in Eden, Adam then eats the apple to be with Eve. God casts Adam and Eve from Paradise condemning them to a life of the human conditions of suffering and mortality.
Edition:	As one can easily see, the stipple engravings for Boydell's The Poetical Works of John Milton are masterpieces of their kind. In both design and technique they easily surpass the larger Shakespeare prints one usually associates with John Boydell and his artists. The following two original stipple engravings, Paradise Lost: The Temptation of Eve by Thomas Kirk. and Paradise Lost: The Angel Raphael Relates The Story of Creation to Adam and Eve by Thomas Kirk are superb examples of the late 18th century British art created for this set.
Size:	9 7/8 X 6 1/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Framed and Matted with 100% Archival Materials
Condition:	Printed upon thick Whatman wove paper and with large, full margins as published by John and Josiah Boydell in Pall Mall in 1795. It contains the engraver's name, "Thos. Kirk Sculpt.", the designer's name, "R. Westall R. A. delt." title, "Paradise Lost" and publisher's details "Publish'd June 4, 1795 by J. & J. Boydell & G. Nicol, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside." Containing slight foxing and staining in the outer margins (under the matte) else a rich, early impression and in excellent condition throughout. This original stipple engraving Paradise "Lost: The Temptation of Eve" represents a superb example of late eighteenth century British art.
Price:	Sold - The price is no longer available.
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