Mezzotinte en verre peint à lenvers géorgien encadré le plus cher "The Happy Sportsman" ca 1805-10

The Happy Sportsman. Attributed to: P.Stampa & Son (publishers) [London: 74 Leather Lane]

Size, including frame: 16-3/4 in. L x 12-3/4 in. H x 1-1/2 in. W

Mezzotint, transferred to glass, finished with oil color.

Condition: Very Good. Colors rich & vibrant, overall very good. No cracks or losses.

Please See Photos.

A rare and beautiful example of a highly unusual process: a glass transfer engraving, here depicting an idealized interior domestic scene with husband and wife.

The ingenious and laborious process entailed the transference of a printed image to glass, removing the paper on which the image was originally printed, and then finishing the image on the reverse side le plus cher with oil color. Thus, a humble engraving was transformed into an image with the richness of an oil painting. The opacity of oil paint and the luminosity of glass combine to create this.