SMITH of Derby, After Thomas (c. 1720 -1767)

A Prospect of the Chee-Torr &c. on the River Wie, Two Miles below Buxton

[No place]: 13 July 1743. Etching by Thomas Smith with engraving by Gérard Scotin on laid paper, coloured by hand. (Corners rounded, two expertly repaired tears to upper blank margin). Image size (including text): 13 1/2 x 20 3/8 inches. Sheet size: 16 5/8 x 22 1/2 inches.

A rare example from a series that was the first to display the picturesque nature of English landscapes.

"Landscape prints encouraged admiration of natural scenery and native landscape painters sought British scenes to rival those found [abroad]... In stimulating an appetite for British beauty Thomas Smith of Derby... was a pivotal figure. A subscription for "eight of the most extraordinary Natural Prospects in the Mountainous Part of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, commonly called the peak" was proposed in June 1743... these landscapes... represent the first English appearance of the precipices and cascades that Burke would later call sublime.'(T. Clayton The English Print, 1997, p.157). This print, drawn and etched by Smith, depicts a cascade in the River Wye surrounded by the limestone walls of Chee Tor in Derbyshire.

Item #5731

Price: $1,200.00