| Method | Copper engraving |
| Artist | Thomas Cook after Sir Joshua Reynolds |
| Published | c. 1792 |
| Dimensions | Image 128 x 79 mm, Sheet 143 x 88 mm |
| Notes |
A half length portrait of Samuel Johnson after Sir Joshua Reynolds. Johnson looks down with a furrowed brow, wearing a wig, and a dark plain suit within an oval frame surrounded by a pot flowing with water flowers and reeds. This engraving is presumably a frontis to a reduced copy of Johnson's Dictionary. Thomas Cook (c. 1744-1818) British engraver who worked in London and is well known for his engravings after Hogarth. Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) was one of the most important figures of the eighteenth century art world. He was the first President of the Royal Academy and Britain's leading portrait painter. Through a series of lectures on the Discourses on Art at the Royal Academy he defined the style later known as the Grand Manner, an idealised Classical aesthetic. He had a profound impact on the theory and practice of art and helped to raise the status of portrait painting into the realm of fine art. A flamboyant socialite, Reynolds used his social contacts to promote himself and advance his career becoming one of the most prominent portrait painters of the period. Not in O'Donoghue Condition: Some surface dirt, old binding holes on left. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £25.00 |
| Stock ID | 44579 |