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Direct scan of object
Water
Direct scan of object

Water

Date1760
After work by Philippe Mercier (1689 - 1760)
Engraver Richard Houston (1721-1775)
Publisher Robert Sayer (1725-1794)
OriginEngland, London
MediumHand-colored mezzotint engraving
DimensionsOther (Sight): 13 5/8 × 9 3/4in. (34.6 × 24.8cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1952-376,3
DescriptionLower margin reads: "Ph: Mercier pinx.t/ Publish'd according to Act of Parliament October 2.st 1760/ Rich/d Houston fecit./ From Noise exempt where streaming Fountains rise. / And Spout their Gushing Torrents to the Skies / There the blest Nymph obeys her Strepbon's call / And sings responsive to the Waters Fall. / London Printed for Rob.t Sayer opposite Fetter Lane Fleet Street."
Label TextThis print is part of a set representing the elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth. This print, "Water,” features a fashionably dressed young woman filling a bowl at a fountain. Sets of prints depicting young women as allegorical representations of the seasons, months of the year, times of day, and elements were popular in the eighteenth-century. The rest of the set: Fire, 1952-376,1; Air 1952-376,2; and Earth 1952-376, 4.

Verse in lower margin reads:
From Noise exempt where streaming Fountains rise.
And Spout their Gushing Torrents to the Skies
There the blest Nymph obeys her Strephon's call
And sings responsive to the Waters Fall.