Category Archives: Engravings

A contemporary printmaker

Posted on May 29, 2013 by mercedes-c

Douce befriended some of the most celebrated artists of his time and his collections were widely used by them. When Grayson Perry visited the Ashmolean Print Room a few weeks ago, it was great fun to select some of Douce’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections and Collectors, Engravings, Everyday life, Fools, History of printmaking, Museums, Prints, Satirical prints | Comments Off on A contemporary printmaker

A print by Cosway

Posted on May 21, 2013 by mercedes-c

Douce was a friend and executor of the painter Richard Cosway (1742-1821). Many works by him and by his wife Maria can be found among Douce’s prints and drawings -this nymph carrying Cupid on her shoulders is a good example: … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquaries, Antiquities, Aquatint, Collections and Collectors, Engravings, History of printmaking, Paintings, Prints | Comments Off on A print by Cosway

Amateur drawings

Posted on April 28, 2013 by mercedes-c

Among Douce’s drawings in the Ashmolean there are many by amateurs like Francis Cohen (1788-1861). In 1823, Cohen changed his name to Palgrave and married one of Dawson Turner’s daughters, Elizabeth. Douce and Cohen became close friends and they met … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquaries, Collections and Collectors, Drawings, Engravings, Networks, Physicians, Prints, Travel | Comments Off on Amateur drawings

We are five

Posted on March 6, 2013 by mercedes-c

I have just started cataloguing Douce’s prints of fools -the engraving below belongs to the popular type depicting a group of foolish figures that numbers one fewer than the title, so that the viewer makes up the total: On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquaries, Collections and Collectors, Engravings, Fools, Networks, Paintings, Popular prints, Prints, Satirical prints | Comments Off on We are five

Bonasone in red

Posted on February 8, 2013 by mercedes-c

Over fifty prints by Giulio Bonasone from Douce’s collection were transferred to the Ashmolean in 1863. At the time, they were integrated in the main sequence and they can now be found under the printmaker’s name. The print below, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections and Collectors, Colour, Engravings, History of printmaking, Prints, Religion | Comments Off on Bonasone in red

The Star of the Kings

Posted on January 3, 2013 by mercedes-c

A few months ago, I came across the image below while cataloguing a series of prints of the months from a late seventeenth-century almanac in Douce’s collection: The man pouring water from a vase next to a fountain in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Almanacs, Carols, Engravings, Everyday life, Feast, Festivals, Prints, Seasons, Stipple, Zodiac | Comments Off on The Star of the Kings

The ruff-setter

Posted on December 12, 2012 by mercedes-c

In 1817, the April issue of The Critical Review carried an article on Philip Stubbes’s The Anatomie of Abuses (1583), in which Douce and his print Der Kragen Setzer are mentioned with regard to extravagant fashions and to the moral … Continue reading →

Posted in Costumes, Engravings, Everyday life, Fashion, Prints, Satirical prints, Shakespeare | Comments Off on The ruff-setter