Richard Earlom: mezzotint engravings after Claude Lorrain, c1777

Richard Earlom: mezzotint engravings after Claude Lorrain, c1777

Code: 10217

$750.00 each framed Approx £594.29

"Liber Veritatis", c1777.

One of the most accomplished engravers of the 18th century, Richard Earlom was born in London in 1742 and in his early years studied under the Italian painter and engraver Giovanni Battista Cipriani. His skill as a draughtsman was recognised by publisher John Boydell, who in 1765 commissioned him to make a series of mezzotint engravings after the paintings at Houghton Hall, a Palladian country house in Norfolk, England, built for the first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Boydell later commissioned Earlom to produce 200 mezzotints after drawings by Claude Lorrain in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire. Known as "Liber Veritatis", this series of mezzotints, printed in rich bistre tones, is probably Earlom's best known work and a landmark in engraving technique. 

Our selection of engravings from the series are rare "proofs before letters"; in other words, impressions taken before the first edtion was printed with copper-plate lettering. 

Framed size: 435 x 365 mm (17 1/4 x 14 1/2)

Hand-made gilded frame.