John Bluck’s hand-coloured aquatint (as publ.), “Tomb of Lewis Stuart, Duke of Richmond”, 1812

John Bluck (fl.c1791–1832)

“Tomb of Lewis Stuart, Duke of Richmond”, 1812 (inscribed in plate), after a drawing by Thomas Uwins (1782–1857), plate 36 (insert between pp.152–53, vol. 2) to William Combe’s (1742–1823) “The History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster: Its Antiquities and Monuments: In two volumes”, published in 1812 in London by Rudolph Ackermann (fl. 1797-1825).

Archive.org offers and online view of this plate in its context in the second volume: https://archive.org/details/historyofabbeych02comb/page/152/mode/2up.

See also the descriptions of two other plates from the same publication offered by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1889-0409-302; https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1889-0409-297.  

William Combe (1812) describes the portrayed tomb:

“This tomb, which is of brass, almost fills the chapel to the north of Henry Vll.th’s monument. The figures of the duke and duchess are finely cast; but the caryatides which support a canopy, of various ornamental, pierced scroll-work, in the characters of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Prudence, possess superior excellence. The figure of Fame, on the top, is represented in the act of taking her flight; and the urns are copied after antique forms” (p. 152).

Hand-coloured aquatint and etching on cream wove paper with small margins around the platemark.

Size: (sheet) 34.3 x 27 cm; (plate) 29.8 x 25 cm; (image borderline) 26.5 x 19.7 cm.

Numbered in plate above the image borderline: (upper right) “Plate 36”.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “T. Unwins del’t.”; (centre) “163. LEWIS STUART, DUKE OF RICHMOND/ HENRY THE SEVENTH’S CHAPEL./ Publishe’d 1 Octr. 1812. for R. Ackermann’s Westmr. Abbey, at 101 Strand London.”; (right) J. Bluck sculpt.”

Condition: a superb impression with luminously strong hand-colouring in near pristine condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains, foxing or signs of handling.

I am selling this visually arresting hand-coloured aquatint exemplifying the amazing skill of the artist in handling this technically demanding medium, for the total cost of AU$194 (currently US$144.85/EUR122.27/GBP105.18 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this stunningly aquatint—a perfect example of this medium and how it can be employed to show even the finest architectural details—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold