The ruin'd Temple of Diana
Printmaker:
Robinson, Robert
Publisher:
Smith, John
A moonlit scene. A pair of travellers in the right foreground pause to gaze upon the ruins of a classical temple, a colonnaded archway to centre left and a dome rising above. A third figure sits on a ruined block in the centre foreground. Trees beyond to the right.
History note: VanSittart gave 1,485 engravings to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1879 and this mezzotint was probably included within this group. The number written in large script on the verso almost certainly relate to some kind of count by curators at the time of the acquisition.
Given by Augustus Arthur VanSittart, ?1879
Method of acquisition: Given (1879) by VanSittart, Augustus Arthur
18th Century#
Circa
1683
-
1695
Mezzotint. Re-published state. Engraved with the title in the inscription space at lower centre: 'The ruin'd Temple of Diana'. Engraved with printmaker's name and publisher at lower right: 'R Robinson fe : I S ex:'. Inscribed in graphite on the verso: 'Vansittart Collection'; '524 (1)'. It is thought that Robinson began making mezzotints about 1683 (See Ganz, 'Fancy Pieces: Genre Mezzotints ...', p.6). James Atkins Ganz lists iv states of the plate, with state i executed and published by Robinson himself, state ii published by Isaac Beckett (production details altered to 'R Robinson fe: I.B. ex:') and state iii, as here, being the re-published plate by Beckett's pupil, John Smith, where Beckett's excudit is replaced with 'I.S. ex:'. A pair with Robinson's, The Ruined Temple of Apollo.
Accession number: P.15066-R
Primary reference Number: 240097
Chaloner Smith: 3 (p.1039, unlisted but described)
Nagler (Künstler-Lexicon): 13.10 (p.251)
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "The ruin'd Temple of Diana" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/240097 Accessed: 2024-12-22 19:22:20
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/240097
|title=The ruin'd Temple of Diana
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-22 19:22:20|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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