William Woollett
Encyclopedia
William Woollett was an English engraver. He was born at Maidstone
, of a family which came originally from the Netherlands.
He was apprenticed to John Tinney, an engraver in Fleet Street
, London, and studied in the St Martin's Lane academy. His first important plate was from the "Niobe" of Richard Wilson
, published by Boydell in 1761, which was followed in 1763 by a companion engraving from the "Phaethon" of the same painter. After Benjamin West
he engraved his fine plate of the "Battle of La Hogue" (1781), and "The Death of General Wolfe
" (1776), which is usually considered Woollett's masterpiece. In 1775 he was appointed engraver-in-ordinary to George III; and he was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, of which for several years he acted as secretary.
In his plates, which unite work with the etching-needle, the dry-point and the graver, Woollett shows the greatest richness and variety of execution. In his landscapes the rendering of water is particularly excellent. In his portraits and historical subjects the rendering of flesh is characterized by great softness and delicacy. His works rank among the great productions of the English school of engraving. Louis Fagan, in his Catalogue Raisonné of the Engraved Works of William Woollett (1885), has enumerated 123 plates by this engraver.
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, of a family which came originally from the Netherlands.
He was apprenticed to John Tinney, an engraver in Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, London, and studied in the St Martin's Lane academy. His first important plate was from the "Niobe" of Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson (painter)
Richard Wilson was a Welsh landscape painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Wilson has been described as '...the most distinguished painter Wales has ever produced and the first to appreciate the aesthetic possibilities of his country.' He is considered to be the...
, published by Boydell in 1761, which was followed in 1763 by a companion engraving from the "Phaethon" of the same painter. After Benjamin West
Benjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...
he engraved his fine plate of the "Battle of La Hogue" (1781), and "The Death of General Wolfe
The Death of General Wolfe
The Death of General Wolfe is a well-known 1770 painting by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West depicting the death of British General James Wolfe during the 1759 Battle of Quebec of the Seven Years' War. It is an oil on canvas of the Enlightenment period...
" (1776), which is usually considered Woollett's masterpiece. In 1775 he was appointed engraver-in-ordinary to George III; and he was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, of which for several years he acted as secretary.
In his plates, which unite work with the etching-needle, the dry-point and the graver, Woollett shows the greatest richness and variety of execution. In his landscapes the rendering of water is particularly excellent. In his portraits and historical subjects the rendering of flesh is characterized by great softness and delicacy. His works rank among the great productions of the English school of engraving. Louis Fagan, in his Catalogue Raisonné of the Engraved Works of William Woollett (1885), has enumerated 123 plates by this engraver.
Further reading
- Fagin, Lewis. A catalogue raisonné of the engraved works of William Woollett (London, The Fine art society Ltd., 1885).
- Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, volume 5 (New York: Macmillan, 1903) p394.
External links
- William Woollett and family (woolletthistory.co.uk)
- Engravings by Woolett (Government Art CollectionGovernment Art CollectionThe United Kingdom's Government Art Collection places works of art in major Government buildings in the UK and around the world to promote British art, culture and history....
) - William Woollett & William Hogarth – Frontispiece to Taylor's Perspective (Art of the Print)
- Phaeton (engraving after Richard Wilson)
- Works by Woolett (National Portrait gallery, London)
- Woollett's grave