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The Art of Painting, With The Lives and Characters of above 300 of the most Eminent Painters: Containing a Complete Treatise of Painting, Designing, And The Use of Prints. With Reflexions on the Works of the most Celebrated Masters, and of the several Schools of Europe, as well ancient as modern. Being the most perfect Work of the Kind extant / Translated from the French of Monsieur De Piles. To which is added, An Essay towards an English School.

Roger de Piles

RA Collection: Book

Record number

07/1838

Author

Uniform Title

[L'Abrégé de la vie des peintres., English.]

Variant Title

Essay towards an English School

Imprint

London:: Printed for Thomas Payne, in Castle-Street, next the Mews-Gate, near Charing-Cross., [1754]

Physical Description

[42], 421, 426-439, [1], [2], 140 p.; 197 mm. (Octavo.)

General Note

Titlepage in red and black

Contents

[T.p., dedic.] - To The Honourable Lady Lyttleton [by J.B.] - Errata - Preface - The Contents - An Alphabetical Index of the Painters Names in De Piles; An Index of the Painters Names in the Essay towards an English School - A List Of The Painters Names - [Publisher's advertisement] - [Text] - [Publisher's advertisement] - [Divisional t.p., 'The Lives Of The Most Eminent Modern Painters, Who have lived since, or were omitted by Mons. De Piles. - By J.B. - [Epigraph] - London: Printed for Thomas Payne, in Castle-street, next the Mews-Gate, near St. Martin's Church. M,DCC,LIV.'] - [Text].

Responsibility Note

The translator was John Savage.

The work is dedicated to Robert Child by someone unnamed; and to Lady Lyttelton by 'J.B.'

References

ESTC, T71752 [without the Lives called-for on the title page].
T. Puttfarken, Roger de Piles' theory of art (1985)
B. Teyssèdre, 'Félibien et Roger de Piles, historiens de la peinture française avant Poussin', in Inf. Hist. A., 3/VI (1961), p. 72-81.

Summary Note

No publication-date is given on the title page. The 'Lives Of The Most Eminent Modern Painters, Who have lived since, or were omitted by Mons. De Piles. - By. J.B.' has its own pagination and title page carrying the imprint, 'London: Printed for Thomas Payne, in Castle-Street, next the Mews-Gate, near St. Martin's Church. M,DCC,LIV.' This is the third edition of the translation first published in 1706 (second edition 1744). Piles's L'Abrégé de la vie des peintres was originally published in 1699.

The 'Essay towards an English School' by B. Buckridge is a biographic dictionary of painters. It draws on R. Graham's Short account of the most eminent painters (1695) and other sources. Although essaying an account of an 'English school', Buckridge sensibly includes foreign artists working in Britain, such as O. Gentileschi, H. Holbein, P. Lely and G. Kneller.

Reproductions

A microfilm copy was published in 2006 (Woodbridge, Conn.: Primary Source Microfilm [imprint of Thomson-Gale]).

Provenance

27 July 1813: 'Mr Smirke moved that the following work(s) be purchased for the Library - ... De Piles ... on Painting ... Which was seconded by Mr. Wilkie, & passed Unanimously.' (RA Council Minutes V, 68-9). Acquired by 1821 (see A Catalogue of the Library in the Royal Academy, London, 1821, p. 7).

Apparently replaced a copy of the 1744 edition that had been acquired by 1802 but was no longer in the Library by 1821 (see A Catalogue of the Library in the Royal Academy, London, 1802, p. 7).

Binding Note

18th-century half calf, marbled-papered boards; rebacked in 20th century, red morocco spine-label lettered 'De Piles · The Art Of Painting.'

Subject

Connoisseurship - Europe - History
Painting - Painters - Europe - Great Britain - History
Art history - Biography - Reference books - France - 17th century - 18th century
Art history - Biography - Reference books - Translations from French - Translations into English - Great Britain - 18th century

Contributors

John Savage, translator
Thomas Payne, publisher
Robert Child, dedicatee
Bainbrigg Buckridge, Essay towards an English school