William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice

Maker Giovanni Battista Cipriani (Italian, 1727 - 1785, active in England)

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Datec.1786

Mediumblack and red chalk, squared

Dimensions17 1/2 x 13 5/8 in. (44.5 x 34.6 cm.)

Descriptionfor the print by Bartolozzi

InscribedInscription Earl of Mansfield by Cipriani see the back Verso inscribed: Earl of Mansfield by Cipriani-- bought at mr. Christie's Pall Mall, Feby 27th 1801 - 1st Day's Lot 103

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gilbert Davis Collection

Status

Not on view

Label TextBartolozzi engraved many of Cipriani's paintings over the course of his career. In this instance, the two artists worked together to reproduce Joshua Reynolds's portrait of Lord Mansfield, the eminent judge. Rather than work directly from the three-quarter-length painting, Bartolozzi used Cipriani's smaller scale copy of the portrait to make his mezzotint. A preliminary drawing allows an engraver to better work out a print's scale, permitting a more direct transfer of the image to the copper plate. The public status of the sitter made the final product of this artistic collaboration between painter, copyist and engraver marketable. Preliminary drawings rarely remained in the company of the prints they helped produce. Collectors fortunate enough to acquire both a print and its related drawing often juxtaposed them in albums to display their collecting skills.

Object number59.55.79

Terms