22. Giovanni (John) Vendramini (1769-1839)
after Francis Wheatley (1747-1801)

Strawberrys, Scarlet Strawberrys

(click on image to print)
Vendramini, Strawberrys, Scarlet

Strawberrys, Scarlet Strawberrys

Stipple engraving, 1795, from The Cries of London (Plate 9), LeBlanc 16, Nagler 21, 424 x 319 mm. Fine impression in sepia on wove paper trimmed just inside the plate mark with a small margin at the bottom and laid down to another sheet. The cries of the street peddlers of London, a constant buzz in many quarters of that city, were idealized both visually (as here) and musically (in madrigals by Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Weelkes and others). Idealization is the operative word here, as the neat and comely figures created by Wheatley most likely bore little relation to their actual prototypes. The Cries were Wheatley’s most successful print endeavor and their popularity as decorative prints continues to this day. While seen mostly as colored prints (and reproductions), the monochrome versions, which were probably printed earlier and from the unworn plates, show many subtleties of light and shading not present in the color versions. Sentimental, yes; the perfect opposite to the satires.

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