The Mezzotint Man has dated this Antique Portrait Mezzotint Engraving to the 18th Century.
Fine 18th century mezzotint portrait of Lady Mary Boynton by James Watson, after Francis Cotes.
Mary Heblethwayte, Lady Boynton, 1749 - 1815. 2nd wife of Sir G. Boynton; afterwards wife of John Parkhurst, of Catesby Abbey)
The sitter is depicted full length standing in a landscape, leaning her right hand on a stone pedestal adorned with flowers. She wears a highly detailed, fashionable 18th-century gown featuring an intricate lace-trimmed bodice and voluminous ruffled sleeves.
A heavy, dark overskirt draped over a lighter, shimmering underskirt. Her hair is worn in a vertiginous style which is typical of the late 1760s and early 1770s.
Portrait painter Francis Cotes was born in London; the son of a pharmacist and elder brother of the miniaturist Samuel Cotes. He was probably the most accomplished 18th-century British artist in the medium of pastels. From about 1757 he began to produce more work in oils. The drapery in his oil portraits was often painted by Peter Toms, who also worked for Sir Joshua Reynolds. Cotes became a founder member of the Royal Academy of Arts and exhibited 18 portraits at the Academy’s first two exhibitions of 1769 and 1770. However, by 1770 he was suffering from either kidney stones or gallstones. In the hope of dissolving them, Cotes drank a soap-based potion, which led to his death, by poisoning, on 19 July 1770.
James Watson was born in Dublin and initially trained at the Dublin Society. He later travelled to London, probably as a pupil of Irish printmaker James Macardell. Watson exhibited as a mezzotint engraver at the Society of Artists (1762-75), later becoming a fellow and, in 1770, the Director. After Macardell’s death in 1765, he inherited the role of principal engraver to Reynolds. He also engraved works by Gainsborough, Cotes, van Dyck, Rubens and others. From c.1762 he published his own works. He was able to enter semi-retirement by 1778 and, during his career of some 30 years, produced around 200 plates, most of which were portraits. He died in 1790 leaving a daughter, Caroline (also an engraver), and a son, James Edmund (a lawyer).
This mezzotint reflects the style of the Grand Manner of British portraiture, characterised by its idealized setting and the subject's elegant, poised stature.
Date: 1770
Sheet Dimensions: 63cm x 39cm.
Framed Dimensions: 77cm x 58cm.
Price: £980
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The Mezzotint Man has dated this Antique Portrait Mezzotint Engraving to the 18th Century.
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MEZZOTINT PORTRAIT OF LADY MARY BOYNTON BY JAMES WATSON AFTER FRANCIS COTES.
