Richard Earlom
Encyclopedia
Richard Earlom was an English
mezzotint
engraver.
. His natural faculty for art appears to have been first called into exercise by admiration for the lord mayor's state coach, just decorated by Giovanni Battista Cipriani
. He tried to copy the paintings, and was sent to study under Cipriani. He displayed great skill as a draughtsman
, and at the same time acquired without assistance the art of engraving in mezzotint
.
In 1765, Earlom was employed by Alderman Boydell
, a publisher and promoter of the fine arts, to make a series of drawings from the pictures at Houghton Hall; and these he engraved in mezzotint. His best works are perhaps the fruit and flower pieces after the Dutch artists Van Os and Jan van Huysum
. Among his historical and figure subjects are Agrippina, after West; Love in Bondage, after Guido Reni
; the Royal Academy, the Embassy of Hyderbeck to meet Lord Cornwallis Colonel Mordant's Cock Fight and a Tiger Hunt, the last four after Zoffany; and Lord Heathfield, after Sir Joshua Reynolds
.
Earlom also executed a series of 200 facsimile
s of the drawings and sketches of Claude Lorraine, which was published in 3 vols. folio, under the title of Liber veritatis (1777–1819).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mezzotint
Mezzotint
Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple...
engraver.
Biography
Earlom was born and died in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His natural faculty for art appears to have been first called into exercise by admiration for the lord mayor's state coach, just decorated by Giovanni Battista Cipriani
Giovanni Battista Cipriani
Giovanni Battista Cipriani , Italian painter and engraver, Pistoiese by descent, was born in Florence.-History:His first lessons were given him by a Florentine of English descent, Ignatius Hugford, and then under Anton Domenico Gabbiani...
. He tried to copy the paintings, and was sent to study under Cipriani. He displayed great skill as a draughtsman
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, and at the same time acquired without assistance the art of engraving in mezzotint
Mezzotint
Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple...
.
In 1765, Earlom was employed by Alderman Boydell
John Boydell
John Boydell was an 18th-century British publisher noted for his reproductions of engravings. He helped alter the trade imbalance between Britain and France in engravings and initiated a British tradition in the art form...
, a publisher and promoter of the fine arts, to make a series of drawings from the pictures at Houghton Hall; and these he engraved in mezzotint. His best works are perhaps the fruit and flower pieces after the Dutch artists Van Os and Jan van Huysum
Jan van Huysum
Jan van Huysum, also spelled Huijsum, was a Dutch painter.-Biography:He was the brother of Jacob van Huysum, the son of the flower painter Justus van Huysum, and the grandson of Jan van Huysum I, who is said to have been expeditious in decorating doorways, screens and vases...
. Among his historical and figure subjects are Agrippina, after West; Love in Bondage, after Guido Reni
Guido Reni
Guido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
; the Royal Academy, the Embassy of Hyderbeck to meet Lord Cornwallis Colonel Mordant's Cock Fight and a Tiger Hunt, the last four after Zoffany; and Lord Heathfield, after Sir Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
.
Earlom also executed a series of 200 facsimile
Facsimile
A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...
s of the drawings and sketches of Claude Lorraine, which was published in 3 vols. folio, under the title of Liber veritatis (1777–1819).