Claes Jansz Visscher

Sir Thomas Wentworth

Claes Jansz Visscher's portrait of Sir Thomas Wentworth is an original engraving printed upon fine, hand-made, laid 17th century paper and signed in the plate with Visscher's distinctive monogramme. With its brilliant use of light and shade, Sir Thomas Wentworth is a veritable tour de force of seventeenth century portrait engraving and the art created by the Dutch artist, Claes Jansz Visscher.

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Original Line Engraving by Claes Jansz Visscher.

Sir Thomas Wentworth

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Title:	Sir Thomas Wentworth
Artist:	Visscher, Claes Jansz (Amsterdam, 1587 - 1652)
Date:	C. 1625
Medium:	Original Line Engraving
Note:	During its early stages British painting and engraving was dominated by the talents of foreign artists. In the years forming the reigns of the Stuarts there was a wide gulf between the pedestrian abilities of English born engravers and the sophisticated techniques employed by transplanted, non-English engravers (mainly of Dutch or Flemish origin), such as Robert van Voerst, Elstracke and the Van de Passe family. These engravers excelled at the small portrait study with its elaborate scroll work incorporating the sitter's coat-of-arms and his titles. The skills shown by these early engravers set the stage for the late seventeenth century emergence of the first great British school of portrait engravers, led by such artists as William Faithorne and David Loggan.
	In the 1620's London was indeed fortunate to be visited by several of the most renowned portrait artists of any era; the painter, Anthony van Dyck, and the engravers, Lucas Vorsterman and Claes Jansz Visscher. Born the son of a ship's carpenter in Amsterdam, Claes Jansz Visscher became one of the most important publishers of prints, maps and topographical views of the first half of the seventeenth century. During Holland's Golden Age of landscape art Visscher commissioned etchings from such important artists in this genre as Willem Buytewech and Esias and Jan van de Velde. After his death in 1652, his son, Nicolaes (1618-1709) took over the publishing house.
	Claes Jansz Visscher was also a very accomplished artist and it is recorded that he engraved or etched over two hundred works, most either from his own designs or from the designs of contemporary painters. His teachers are not known but his earliest plates are landscapes and show the influence of David Vinckboons, or are composed in the tradition of Bruegel. These are mostly views in and around Haarlem.
	Portrait engraving began to occupy most of Claes Jansz Visscher's skills by 1620 and at about this time he visited England. During his stay, Claes Jansz Visscher was commissioned to engrave several important portraits, including those of King Charles I, John Calvin, James, Duke of Monmouth and this outstanding likeness of Sir Thomas Wentworth. These portraits (including, Sir Thomas Wentworth) may have been designed by Anthony van Dyck. Thomas Wentworth (1593-1641) was the First Earl of Strafford and one of the most powerful Lords of his time.
	This great portrait, with its brilliant use of light and shade, is a veritable tour de force of seventeenth century portrait engraving. In England, the influence of Claes Jansz Visscher's, Sir Thomas Wentworth was vast and many engravers attempted to emulate his art. Even more than fifty years later, the English engraver, Robert White (1645-1704), attempted a rather stiff copy of this famous portrait, in reverse. With its inscriptions in both English and Dutch, Visscher's Sir Thomas Wentworth is a magnificent example of early seventeenth century portrait engraving.
Size:	7 7/8 X 5 5/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Framed and Matted with 100% Archival Materials
Condition:	Printed upon fine, hand-made, laid seventeenth century paper and with margins extending past the plate-mark on all sides. Signed in the plate with Visscher, Claes Jansz's distinctive monogramme. One extremely faint browning spot exists to the right, else this is a superb, early impression and in excellent condition throughout. Sir Thomas Wentworth represents a prime example of early seventeenth century art.
Price:	Sold - The price is no longer available.
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