In the Collection of Wm Fauquier Esqr

Date1746

Engraver James S. Mason

Publisher Arthur Pond (ca. 1705-1758)

After work by Gaspar Poussin

OriginEngland, London

MediumBlack & white line and etched engraving

DimensionsOverall: 15 1/4 × 19 1/4in. (38.7 × 48.9cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1979-66

DescriptionLower margin reads: "Gaspar Poussin pinx. / Publish'd by Ar. Pond March 1746. / In the Collection of Wm. Fauquier Esqr. / 2 feet 3 inch wide. / 1 foot 8 inch high. / J. Mason Sculp."
Label TextThis prints as well as the orignal paintings the prints are modeled after, were owned by William Fauquier Esqr., brother of Francis Fauquier (1703 –1768), a colonial governor of Virginia. Francis Fauquier served as Virginia's colonial governor from 1757 until his death in 1768. Prints after the work of Old Master paintings were popular in the eighteenth century and were often copied from paintings owned by English art dealers or collectors or gentleman who had imported them from abroad. Lending a painting to an engraver or publisher for the purpose of reproduction added to the value of the work itself and raised could raise the reputation of the owner as a person of wealth, refinement, and taste -- it also made the print more saleable. This print was part of a series of 44 prints published between 1741 and 1746 known as the 'Italian Landscapes." They were copied from works by Claude Lorrain and Gaspar Poussin borrowed from aristocratic collections and published by art dealer and artist Arthur Pond.