Here we have a fine sepia mezzotint (one of three I am selling) engraved by Richard Earlom (1743-1822) after the original drawing by Claude Lorrain (1600-1682). Earlom was an accomplished engraver and has used a mix of etching for the graphic lines and mezzotint for the ink washes to create a print with high contrast that mimics Lorrain's fine penmanship.

The engraving has been inscribed in plate with the names of the engraver, artist and publisher.

This is an original engraving engraving from the 1770s

Artist Biography

Earlom was commissioned by John Boydell to copy all 200 drawings of Claude Lorraine's record of his paintings as prints, which were published from 1774 to 1777, when a collected edition in two volumes was published as Liber Veritatis. Or, A Collection of Two Hundred Prints, After the Original Designs of Claude le Lorrain, in the Collection of His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, Executed by Richard Earlom, in the Manner and Taste of the Drawings.... with the inscription on the reverses, a "descriptive catalogue of each print" and the current owner, where it was known. A further volume of 100 prints after other Claude drawings from various British collections was added in 1819, also using "Liber Veritas" as its title. The title Liber Veritatis was invented for these reproductions, but is now used for the originals as well. These were then in a rebound book at Devonshire House in London; they are now in the British Museum.

Condition:

Size: ¼ ½ ¾ inches  by ¼ ½ ¾ inches