Artwork
H Beard Print Collection
H Beard Print Collection is a print by the Baroque artist John Michael Williams. It dates from 1749 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum online to see more prints from the H Beard Print Collection.
This print shows John Beard in a stiff, formal pose. It’s a small picture, just a head-and-shoulders view. No fancy background, just a dark field behind the sitter.
The year is around 1749, so it’s from the late Baroque period. Baroque prints often used strong contrasts of light and shadow to make the face pop.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum online to see more prints from the H Beard Print Collection.
Overview
This small print is part of the H Beard Print Collection and depicts John Beard in a formal head-and-shoulders pose.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, John Beard, is shown against a plain dark background, emphasizing his facial features.
Technique & Style
Characteristic of late Baroque prints, the image employs strong contrasts of light and shadow to highlight the subject's face.
History & Provenance
Dating to around 1749, the print is a representative example of the period's printmaking techniques.
Context
The H Beard Print Collection includes other similar prints, some of which are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Michael Williams drew prints in mid-18th-century London, a trade tied to bookshops and print-sellers along Fleet Street.
Sir Nicholas Caren of Beddington
Marquis de Marigny
Charles Francois Paul Le Normant de Tournehem
Abel Francois Poisson, Marquis de Marigny
Gaspar-François de Fontenay
Portrait of the Frankfurt banker Johann Georg Leerse
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford
Marchese Cesare Beccaria
Landgraf Wilhelm VIII. von Hessen-Kassel
Albrecht V. Haller
William Wragg
Don Philippe, Infant d'Espagne