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Dr. Robert John Thornton
Oblique-leaved Begonia
1800

Name: Oblique-leaved Begonia
Brand: Dr. Robert John Thornton
Rating: 5 (11 reviews)

$7,000List Price

About the Item

This piece would pair well with Thornton's "Hyacinths" which is also listed. DR. ROBERT JOHN THORNTON (c1765 – 1832). The Temple of Flora. London, 1798-1810. Painted by Reinagle, Henderson, Pether, et. al. Engraved by Ward, Caldwall, Earlom, et. al. Aquatint, mezzotint, and/or stipple engraving finished by hand. Approximately 17.75” x 22.5” Unframed. 5 frontice pieces, 32 plates; generally 29-30 per volume, 1 or more frontice pieces. As a boy, Robert John Thornton (d.1837) demonstrated his love of natural history with his own botanical garden and an aviary, which contained every species of English hawk, most of them captured by himself. He took his Cambridge M.B. and, following in his father's footsteps, set up practice as a London doctor. Upon inheriting the family fortune in 1797, Thornton desired to leave his mark on the world in the form of a massive work dedicated to Carolus Von Linnaeus, the great Swedish naturalist. For his own aggrandizement and that of his beloved England, Thornton wished it to surpass in scope, illustration, paper, and topography any publication produced in any other European country. He felt he was engaged upon "a national undertaking", and dedicated this homage of philosophic and literary distinction to Queen Charlotte. It was to be titled The Temple of Flora; or Garden of Nature Picturesque Botanical Plates of the New Illustration of the Sexual System of Linnaeus. Desiring the national glorification of botany and its alliance with the arts of painting and engraving, Thornton was the first person to juxtapose landscape backgrounds with his floral subjects. He opened an art gallery of the paintings from which the prints were made and subscriptions for the forthcoming books were sold. Copies of the work were sent to the Queen and Prince Regent, and to the Emperor of Russia, who sent Thornton a ring in acknowledgment of the "splendid and elaborate Botanical works." The Thornton prints, originally to number seventy in all, were barely published in an edition of thirty at the author's expense between the years 1799 and 1807. Despite his efforts, Thornton was unable to succeed financially. Technically The Temple of Flora, as it came to be known, was not a success due to botanical inaccuracies and rather insipid text all based on Thornton's aesthetic sense. However, it is the forceful stylization of flowers, together with their historical, allegorical and fanciful backgrounds that place The Temple of Flora among the greatest botanical books of all time. Though Thornton actually painted only one picture used for the engravings in his Temple, "The Roses", he literally directed his flower pictures. He chose the plants, arranged the symbolism and the backgrounds. For example, in the "Night-Blowing Cereus" the moon illuminates the turret clock, which has just struck midnight, the hour when this flower is fully open. Henderson, Reingal, Edwards and Pether are among the artists hired by Thornton to work on the flower designs and their backgrounds. Many times they would collaborate, as in the aforementioned "Cereus" where it states "The Flower by Reinagel, Moonlight by Pether". These plates were executed by the likes of Bartolozzi and other English master engravers and are a varied combination of mezzotint, aquatint, stipple engraving and finished in watercolor by hand. The text, primarily composed by Thornton, was lengthy, somewhat fanciful and included rather exaggerated poetry. Thornton was a man of his era, a time of romanticism, when artistic tastes ran to the sentimental, symbolic, and dramatic. The flowers from the Temple of Flora are delightful examples of that style. In spite of tremendous public exposure and a dedication to Queen Charlotte, Thornton's venture was a financial disaster. While he attributed this to the continental war, no doubt his over-zealous attention to details, none too scientific, largely contributed to his failure. By 1811, Thornton was forced to petition Parliament for permission to set up a lottery. "An Act to enable Dr. Robert John Thornton to dispose of his collection of paintings, drawings and engravings, together with several copies of certain books therein mentioned, by way of chance" was passed in May of that year. Thus, the Quarto or Lottery edition of The Temple of Flora was published. This work, smaller in scale but not in romantic spirit, was to salvage Thornton's expenses for the original folio edition. Hoping to sell twenty thousand tickets at two guineas each, Thornton estimated the worth of his ten thousand prizes to be 77,000 pounds. This was a generous estimate as the complete sale of tickets would be worth no more than 42,000 pounds. Once again, Thornton's venture resulted in disaster. For the remaining years of his life, Thornton continued his medical practice with varying success, and attempted a brief, unhappy collaboration with the poet William Blake. Sadly when he died in 1837 his family was almost destitute. But despite these early failures, The Temple of Flora has now a permanent place as one of the greatest prizes of all time. Reference: Flower & Fruit Prints. Dunthorne. Da Capo Press. Washington, D. C., 1938. The Temple of Flora: Robert Thornton. King. Little, Brown and Company, NY, 1981.

Creator:
Dr. Robert John Thornton (1768 - 1837, English)
Creation Year:
1800
Dimensions:
Height: 37 in (93.98 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
Medium:
Archival Paper,Archival Tape,Handmade Paper,Laid Paper,Plexiglass,Rag Paper,Silk,Watercolor
Movement & Style:
Academic
Period:
Early 19th Century
Condition:
Clean, crisp image. Full margins. Beautiful original color finished by hand. Custom hand-painted frame.
Gallery Location:
Florham Park, NJ
Reference Number:
Seller: 2.11.151stDibs: LU652249202

2010s Abstract Abstract Prints

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Price Upon Request

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Eagle /// Antique Ornithology Bird Saverio Manetti Italian Watercolor Engraving

By Saverio Manetti

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Saverio Manetti (Italian, 1723-1785) Title: "Eagle" (Plate V - 5) Portfolio: Storia Naturale Degli Uccelli (The Natural History of Birds) Year: 1767-1776 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Engraving on watermarked laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Unknown Publisher: heirs of Francesco Mouck (Vols. I-III), Gaetano Cambiagi (Vol. IV), Giuseppe Vanni (Vol. V), Florence, Italy Reference: Ayer/Zimmer page 241; Fine Bird Books page 120; McGill/Wood, page 450; Nissen IVB No. 588 Sheet size: 16.75" x 14.5" Platemark size: 13.63" x 10.88" Condition: Some minor surface marks mainly in margins. In excellent condition with strong colors Rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Haarlem, Netherlands. Engraved and hand-colored by Italian artists Lorenzo Lorenzi (Active: 1750-1780) and Violante Vanni (1732-1776). Latin and Italian texts by Saverio Manetti. Comes from Manetti's monumental five volume "Storia Naturale Degli Uccelli (The Natural History of Birds)", (1767-1776), which consists of 600 hand-colored engravings. Unidentified watermark in very center of sheet. Comes with its accompanying information sheet. Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 60 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Manetti's extraordinary "Storia Naturale Degli Uccelli (The Natural History of Birds)", 1767-1776 was commissioned by Maria Luisa, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. It is a massive 5 book volume set...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Intaglio

Saverio Manetti
Eagle /// Antique Ornithology Bird Saverio Manetti Italian Watercolor Engraving, 1767-1776

$750

H 16.75 in W 14.5 in

Union - Whom --- Has Join'd, Let No Man put Asunder!

Located in Middletown, NY

Etching and engraving with hand coloring in watercolor on cream laid paper. 6 3/4 X 9 5/8 inches (170 x 244 mm), margins trimmed, image intact. Rubbing in the lower left image area obscuring the publishing information (which reads Published by Mm. Darchery, St. James Street March 11, 1783), scattered light foxing, corner loss, top left corner, well outside of image area. "SMP" collector's stamp in red ink on the verso (not in Lugt), and the name "Renier" and the initials "AR" in black ink on the verso. Colors are extremely fresh. Impressions of this work may be found in the permanent collection of the British Museum, and the Yale Center for British Art. Ex-Collection of Anne & Ferdinand Gabriel (F.G.) Renier, reknowned for their inspriational collection of children's books and works on paper, now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum. _____ The devil officiates at the wedding of Tory Lord North, and Charles James Fox, the Whig statesman whose career spanned almost four decades in Parliament. The satirical scene is the signing of the Fox-North coalition, which was a short-lived partnership the two formed while combining forces in the House of Commons to oust then Prime Minister William Petty, Earl of Shelburne. Fox had fallen out of favor with the Irish born Shelburne, also a Whig, whose ministry remained in power just long enough to see the American War of Independence...

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Late 18th Century English School Figurative Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching

Edward Topham
Union - Whom --- Has Join'd, Let No Man put Asunder!, 1783

$1,200

H 5.63 in W 6.75 in

A Hong Kong Canal Boat

By John Taylor Arms

Located in Middletown, NY

Aquatint with hand coloring in watercolor on watermarked, laid Arches paper, 8 1/16 x 5 9/16 inches (206 x 142 mm), full margins. Signed, titled, dated, and numbered 22/40 in pencil,...

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Mid-20th Century American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Watercolor, Aquatint

John Taylor Arms
A Hong Kong Canal Boat, 1919

$2,000

H 8.12 in W 5.6 in

View of Fountain Court, Middle Temple, City of London

Located in Middletown, NY

An 18th century view of the first permanent water fountain in London. London: J.Boydell, 1753. Engraving with hand coloring in watercolor on white laid paper, laid down to a modern...

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Mid-18th Century English School Figurative Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Engraving

Henry Fletcher
View of Fountain Court, Middle Temple, City of London, 1753

$250

H 11.97 in W 17.72 in

“Returning Home”

By Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen

Located in Southampton, NY

Original etching on Ingres laid paper (watermarked, see last photograph) attributed to the hand of the well known Dutch artist, Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen. No visible signature. Sheet size 9.25 by 12 inches. Sight size 7 by 9 inches. Under glass. Circa 1875. Condition is excellent. Professionally matted and framed in a walnut colored frame with gold leaf edge. Overall framed measurements are 12.75 by 14.5 inches. Gallery label verso. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector. Biography: Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen (1813-1883) was a landscape painter and etcher. Rijkelijkhuysen spent most of his life working in the vicinity of his birthplace Utrecht. Inspired by the polders on the one hand and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug on the other, he mainly painted and etched water...

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1870s Academic Landscape Prints

Materials

Laid Paper, Etching

“Returning Home”, Circa 1875

$520 Sale Price

20% Off

H 7 in W 9 in D 0.75 in

“Les Revers de la Fortune”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original stipple engraving with colors titled “Les Revers de la Fortune” (Reversal of Fortune) by the well known French engraver, Louis Marin Bonnet...

Category

1780s Academic Interior Prints

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving

Louis Marin Bonnet
“Les Revers de la Fortune”, Circa 1785

$760 Sale Price

20% Off

H 11.75 in W 8.5 in D 1 in

“Innocent Captivation Amusement Pastorale”

By Anthony Cardon

Located in Southampton, NY

Original stipple engraving on a verge type of hand laid paper. The overall size of the engraving is 15.75 inches by 12.75 inches The image size of the engraving is 14 inches by 12 i...

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Early 1800s Academic Figurative Prints

Materials

Engraving, Laid Paper

Anthony Cardon
“Innocent Captivation Amusement Pastorale”, 1801

$950 Sale Price

36% Off

H 15.75 in W 12.75 in D 1 in

"The Temptation of Saint Anthony " Etching, Signed

By Fernand Cormon

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"The Temptation of Saint Anthony" is an original etching by Fernand Cormon. This piece has the artist's stamp. The piece is signed in pencil by the artis...

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1890s Academic Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Paper, Ink, Laid Paper

Fernand Cormon
"The Temptation of Saint Anthony " Etching, Signed, circa 1890

$26,100

H 19 in W 22 in

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Hand-coloured tableau of a weeping spirit and her guardians, immobilised in marble. A disjointed narrative looking at recovery and protection, the angels shield the spirit with tender embraces and cry for her when alone. Taken from The Sialia Marbles, a series of portraits containing ephemeral human sculptures taken between 2016-19. Together these works act as tales contained in a fictional sculpture hall, in direct reaction to Andre Malraux’s 1947 Le Musee Imaginaire (Museum Without Walls). During the beginning of the 'Museum Age' in the 18th century , writer Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe discussed mythical...

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