A rare find and a unique opportunity to own the Emblem of Night, an 18th century, sepia toned print of an etching by Francesco Bartolozzi dated 1764.   Framed and glazed, this piece has considerable age and was from the former collection of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.
 
The engraver and painter Francesco Bartolozzi was a Founder Member of the Royal Academy who served as engraver to the King for almost 40 years. He engraved works by several of his fellow Royal Academicians, including Angelica Kauffman, Benjamin West and Joshua Reynolds.
 
Bartolozzi was born in 1727 and trained in his native Florence before moving to Venice. There, he spent six years working for the engraver and print seller Josef Wagner before setting up his own workshop.  Bartolozzi is best known as the leading exponent of the “stipple” technique he developed in the 1770s, which created images through delicate networks of dots rather than lines (as in etching or line-engraving). Bartolozzi enhanced the decorative effect of his work by favouring a range of red, orange and brown inks, rather than the more common black.
 
Despite his prolific output and standing as one of the most influential printmakers of his day, he was forced to sell most of his prints and possessions to satisfy debts. Bartolozzi died in his studio in 1815, aged 87 years old, and was buried in the common grave of his parish church in Lisbon.
 
Provenance:
The collection of former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and thence by family descent.
 
Please note this piece shows considerable age. 
 
Dimensions:
Width: 61.5
Height: 48cm
 
Framed & Glazed.