Luigi Schiavonetti & Angelica Kaufmann

Shakspeare. Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act V, Scene III. Publish'd Augt. 1. 1792. by John & Josiah Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall. & No. 90, Cheapside, London. Engraved by L Schiavonetti. Painted by Anga. Kauffman Zucchi.

Note: In reality the scene depicted in this engraving originates not from Act V, Scene III, but from Act V, Scene IV. with Valentine, Proteus, Silvia and Giulia in the Forest.

"Proteus: In love,
Who respects friend?

Silvia: All men but Proteus.

Proteus: Nay, if the gentle spirit of moving words
Can no way change you to a milder form,
I'll woo you like a soldier, at arms' end;
and love you 'gainst the nature of love, force you.

Silvia: O heaven!

Proteus: I'll force thee yield to my desire.

Valentine: Ruffian, let go that rude uncivil touch;
Thou friend of an ill fashion!

Proteus: Valentine!

Valentine: Thou common friend, that's without faith or love;
(for such is a friend now;) treacherous man!
Thou hast beguil'd my hopes; nought but mine eye
Could have persuaded me: Now I dare not say
I have one friend alive; thou wouldst disprove me.
Who should be trusted when one's own right hand
Is perjur'd to the bosum? Proteus
I am sorry I must never trust thee more,
But count the world a stranger for thy sake.
The private wound is deepest: O time most accurs'd!
' Mongst all foes, that a friend should be the worst..." *Shakespeare

This Luigi Schiavonetti engraving was inspired by a William Shakespeare's play, "Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act V, Scene III.", the scene takes place in a forest near Verona with Valentine, Proteus, Silvia and Julia. Here, Valentine intervenes to rescue Silvia from the forced advances of Proteus, as Julia (disguised as the youth, Sebastian), stands by watching his infidelity and offensive behavior with sadness and disbelief. Shakespeare's characters for this play include, Valentine, a handsome and noble youth of Verona, unfortunately, his is a bit naive and easily deceived by his friend Duke Proteus. Valentine has little understanding of women, and considers romance to be a foolish waste of time, that is, until he falls in love with Silvia, the daughter of the Duke of Milan. As mentioned, Silvia is the Duke's daughter, and is a lovely young, but headstrong woman for her times. Silvia decides to run away with Valentine after he was exiled, and wishes to have nothing to do with Sir Thurio, who has her father's approval to marry her, or Proteus who she also despises. Proteus is the other young gentleman of Verona, unlike his friend Valentine, he is an immoral youth, as well as being passionate & capricious, particularly when it comes to women. He is infatuated with Julia who was sent to Milan, then without notice, he turns his attention towards Silvia, the girl he now intends to seduce, fully aware that his friend Valentine is in love with her. Proteus procures the help of Valentine, the youth, Sebastian and others to accomplish this. Julia is the young maiden of Verona, who was sent to Milan. Determined to see Proteus again, she has disguises herself as a young man, and goes by the name, Sebastian in order to travel in safety. At her arrival, she is distressed to discover that Proteus has completely forgotten her, still obsessed, she offers to help him with Silva, in the hopes that she can win him back. When Proteus attempts to force himself upon Silva and Valentine intervenes, she is distraught, but becomes so deeply incensed when Valentine offers Silvia to Proteus, that she reveals her identity to them, thus regaining the love of Proteus. etc. etc... This is a superb, original example of the art created by the British artists, Luigi Schiavonetti and Angelica Kaufmann and the famous Boydell Shakespeare Gallery.

Note: It should be noted that during Shakespeare's time, women were regarded as decorative objects (seen, but not heard) and could be gifted or traded away in order to gain wealth and power. However, there have been recorded instances where women were fortunate enough to take control, thus becoming the masters and not the oppressed.

This original engraving is a 'First Edition Impression'. 4. 'First Edition Impressions'. The completed set of Boydell's Shakespeare engravings was published in London in 1803. The full publisher's address appears along the lower margin as well as the text for the play. The heading, 'Shakspeare', is now filled in with stippling. The text below the image of this proof impression reads;

"Shakspeare. Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act V, Scene III. Publish'd Augt. 1. 1792. by John & Josiah Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall. & No. 90, Cheapside, London. Engraved by L Schiavonetti. Painted by Anga. Kauffman Zucchi.

Sil. O heaven!
Pro. I'll force thee yield to my desire.
Val. Ruffian. let go that rude uncvil touch;
Thou friend of an ill fashion!"

An Important Note on Boydell States and Editions: Proof impressions and true first edition impressions are easily identified by their fine lines and strong contrasts of black and white tones. Later more common editions print in a more overall grey tone and contain areas of re-working. Briefly, the publishing history of these great engravings can be categorized into five states or editions:

1. 'Artist's Proofs'. These are the earliest of states and were printed in only a handful of impressions. They are identified not only by their vibrant lines and tones but by the fact that they lack any letters along the lower margin.
2. 'Proofs Before Title'. These impressions usually contain the names of the artist, publisher and engraver along the lower margin. They lack the title of the specific play depicted and usually the heading -- 'Shakspeare' -- is smaller than in the published edition. Once again, this state was printed in a very small numbers.
3. 'Open Letter Proofs'. These impressions bear the title of the play. the heading, 'Shakspeare' (Shakespeare), is yet to be filled in with stippling. These impressions were printed before the publication of the first edition and were probably struck from the plate at a customer's request. Perhaps ten to twenty Open Letter Proofs exist for each engraving.
4. 'First Edition Impressions'. The completed set of Boydell's Shakespeare engravings was published in London in 1803. The full publisher's address appears along the lower margin as well as the text for the play. The heading, 'Shakspeare', is now filled in with stippling. Both first edition impressions and proofs were most often printed on either hand-made, laid paper or wove paper bearing the 'J. Whatman' watermark.
5. 'Posthumous Impressions and Restrikes' As early as 1807, John Stockdale of London issued a second edition of the Shakespeare prints. They continued to be published throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. Finally, in 1852, an enterprising dentist in New York City (with the delightful name of Shearjashub Spooner) acquired the plates, restored them and produced the last edition. These prints are most commonly offered for sale.

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