Francesco BartolozziRA (21 September 1727, in
Florence – 7 March 1815, in
Lisbon) was an Italian
engraver, whose most productive period was spent in
London. He is noted for popularizing the "crayon" method of engraving.
Early life
Bartolozzi was born in
Florence in 1727. He was originally destined to follow the profession of his father, a gold- and silver-smith, but he manifested so much skill and taste in designing that he was placed under the supervision of two Florentine artists, including
Ignazio Hugford and
Giovanni Domenico Ferretti who instructed him in painting. After devoting three years to that art, he went to
Venice and studied engraving.[1] He spent six years there working for
Joseph Wagner, an engraver and printseller, before setting up his own workshop.[2]
Early career
His first productions in Venice were plates in the style of
Marco Ricci and
Francesco Zuccarelli. He then moved for a short time in 1762 to
Rome, where he completed a set of engravings representing frescoes at Grottaferrata by
Domenichino depicting the life of
St Nilus. Those and his etchings of
Old Master's works, began to draw attention throughout Europe. In 1763 he met
Richard Dalton, the English Royal Librarian who was traveling in Italy looking for acquisitions for the King's collections. Dalton offered him an appointment as Engraver to the King; Bartolozzi accepted and left for
London in 1764.
Career in London
He lived in London for nearly forty years. He produced an enormous number of engravings, including Clytie after
Annibale Carracci, and of the Virgin and Child, after
Carlo Dolci. A large proportion of them are from the works of
Cipriani and
Angelica Kauffman. Bartolozzi also contributed a number of plates to
Boydell's
Shakespeare Gallery.[1] He also drew sketches of his own in red chalk. Soon after arriving in London, he was appointed 'Engraver to the King' (
George III) with an annual salary of £300. He was elected a founding member of the
Royal Academy. The new Academy's bylaws specifically excluded engravers but Bartolozzi was so well esteemed that he was brought in as an Academician in the category of Painter.[3] In 1802 he became the founding President of the short-lived
Society of Engravers.
While Bartolozzi was not the original inventor of the
crayon manner of engraving, he became a leading exponent that "stipple" method and it became associated with him. With that technique images are created by delicate dots rather than lines as in traditional etchings or engravings. Bartolozzi added distinction to his work by using red (sanguine), orange and brown inks rather than common black ink.
His son
Gaetano Stefano Bartolozzi, born in 1757, also became an engraver and later fathered
Madame Vestris a celebrated English actress, opera singer, and theater manager.
Career in Lisbon
In 1802, Bartolozzi accepted the post of director of the National Academy of
Lisbon and moved there with the intention of reforming the royal press and producing an edition of the Portuguese epic poem
The Lusiads (Os Lusíadas). By then he was in his seventies and delegated much of the work to one of his students.[3]
Despite his fame and prolific output, debts forced him to sell off most of his prints and possessions. Bartolozzi died in his studio in 1815 and was buried in the common grave of a Lisbon church.
Works
Ticozzi and Bryan both published lists of his output, including:
Original etchings
Abraham and the Angels.
The Miracle of the Manna.
Job abandoned by his Friends.
Charity, an oval; inscribed Ipse feci .
The Origin of Painting (1787).
The Virgin and Infant; (circular).
Etchings after masterworks
St. Francis of Sales triumphs over Heresy; after
Ottavio Amiconi.
St. Luke paints the Portrait of the Virgin; after
Cantarini.
The Dukes of Northumberland and Suffolk praying Lady Jane Gray to accept the crown.
Engravings after Angelica Kauffman
Socrates in Prison.
Penelope lamenting Ulysses.
Telemachus and Mentor in the Isle of Calypso.
Paulus Emilias educating his Children.
Coriolanus appeased by his Family
The Beautiful Rhodope in love with Aesope (1780s, inscription: From an original painting of the same size by
Signora Angelica Kauffman. In the possession of Charles Boddam sun Esqv.)
^"The ratifying Magna Charta by King John". www.britishmuseum.org. British Museum. Archived from
the original on 15 December 2019. Currator's comments: The print was started by William Wynne Ryland and is listed in Calabi + De Vesme's catalogue raisonné of prints by Bartolozzi because of the part played by Bartolozzi in completing the plate.