Title: John Baptist Jackson - 18th-Century Master of the Color Woodcut
Author: Kainen, Jacob
Language: English
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  SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
  UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

    [Illustration:
    Smithsonian symbol]

  BULLETIN 222
  WASHINGTON, D.C.
  1962



  United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1962

  For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,
  U.S. Government Printing Office

  Washington 25, D.C.



            _John Baptist Jackson:_

              18th-Century Master
              of the Color Woodcut



                 _Jacob Kainen_

            Curator of Graphic Arts
        Museum of History and Technology



_Publications of the United States National Museum_


The scholarly publications of the United States National Museum include
two series, _Proceedings of the United States National Museum_ and
_United States National Museum Bulletin_.

In these series are published original articles and monographs dealing
with the collections and work of the Museum and setting forth newly
acquired facts in the fields of Anthropology, Biology, History, Geology,
and Technology. Copies of each publication are distributed to libraries
and scientific organizations and to specialists and others interested in
the different subjects.

The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication in
separate form, of shorter papers. These are gathered in volumes, octavo
in size, with the publication date of each paper recorded in the table
of contents of the volume.

In the _Bulletin_ series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear
longer, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in
several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related
subjects. _Bulletins_ are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on
the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the
botanical collections of the Museum have been published in the
_Bulletin_ series under the heading _Contributions from the United
States National Herbarium_.

This work forms number 222 of the _Bulletin_ series.

  REMINGTON KELLOGG

  _Director, United States National Museum_



CONTENTS

                                                          _Page_

  _Preface_                                                  IX
  Jackson and his Tradition                                   3
    _The Woodcut Tradition_                                   4
    _Status of the Woodcut_                                   7
    _The Chiaroscuro Tradition_                               9
  Jackson and his Work                                       13
    _England: Obscure Beginnings_                            14
    _Paris: Perfection of a Craft_                           17
    _Venice: The Heroic Effort_                              25
    _England Again: The Wallpaper Venture_                   40
  _Critical Opinion_                                         51
  _Postscript_                                               54
  Catalog                                                    69
    _Prints by Jackson_                                      71
    _Jackson’s Workshop_                                     90
    _Unverified Subjects_                                    95
  The Chiaroscuros and Color Woodcuts                        97
  _Bibliography_                                            171
  _Index to Plates_                                         177
  _Index_                                                   181



_PREFACE_


John Baptist Jackson has received little recognition as an artist. This
is not surprising if we remember that originality in a woodcutter was
not considered a virtue until quite recently. We can now see that he was
more important than earlier critics had realized. He was the most
adventurous and ambitious of earlier woodcutters and a trailblazer in
turning his art resolutely in the direction of polychrome.

To 19th century writers on art, from whom we have inherited the bulk of
standard catalogs, lexicons, and histories-- along with their
judgments-- Jackson’s work seemed less a break with tradition than a
corruption of it. His chiaroscuro woodcuts (prints from a succession of
woodblocks composing a single subject in monochrome light and shade)
were invariably compared with those of the 16th century Italians and
were usually found wanting. The exasperated tone of many critics may
have been the result of an uneasy feeling that he was being judged by
the wrong standards. The purpose of this monograph, aside from providing
the first full-length study of Jackson and his prints, is to examine
these standards. The traditions of the woodcut and the color print will
therefore receive more attention than might be expected, but I feel that
such treatment is essential if we are to appreciate Jackson’s
contribution, in which technical innovation is a major element.

Short accounts of Jackson have appeared in almost all standard
dictionaries of painters and engravers and in numerous historical
surveys, but these have been based upon meager evidence. A fraction of
his work was usually known and details of his life were, and still are,
sparse. Later writers interpreting the comments of their predecessors
have repeated as fact much that was conjecture. The picture of Jackson
that has come down to us, therefore, is unclear and fragmentary.

If he does not emerge from this study completely accounted for from
birth to death, it has not been because of lack of effort. Biographical
data for his early and late life-- about fifty years in all-- are almost
entirely missing despite years of diligent search. As a man he remains a
shadowy figure. I have traced Jackson’s life as far as the available
evidence will permit, quoting from the writings of the artist and his
contemporaries at some length to convey an essential flavor, but I have
refrained from filling in gaps by straining at conjecture.

While details of his life are vague, sufficient information is at hand
to reconstruct his personality clearly enough. After all, Jackson wrote
a book and was quoted at length in another. A contemporary
fellow-practitioner wrote about him with considerable feeling. These and
other sources give a good indication of the artist’s character.

The man we have to deal with had something excessive about him; he was
headstrong, tactless, impractical, enormously energetic, a prodigious
worker, a conceiver of grandiose projects, and a relentless hunter of
patrons. He was at home with his social superiors and had some
pretentions to literary culture, he had a coarse gift for the vivid
phrase in writing, and his tastes in art ran to the classic and heroic.

This study includes an illustrated catalog of Jackson’s chiaroscuros and
color prints. Previous catalogs, notably those of Nagler, Le Blanc, and
Heller, have listed no more than twenty-five works. The present catalog
more than triples this number.

To acknowledge fully the assistance given by museum curators,
librarians, archivists, and scholars on both sides of the Atlantic would
necessitate a very long list of names. However, I wish especially to
thank Mr. Peter A. Wick of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, who has been
generous enough to allow me to read his well-documented paper on
Jackson’s Ricci prints; Mr. A. Hyatt Mayor of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art; Mr. Carl Zigrosser of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Miss Anna
C. Hoyt and Mrs. Anne B. Freedberg of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston;
Dr. Jakob Rosenberg and Miss Ruth S. Magurn of the Fogg Art Museum; Mr.
Karl Kup of the New York Public Library; Miss Elizabeth Mongan of the
Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art; Miss Una E. Johnson of
the Brooklyn Museum; Mr. Gustave von Groschwitz of the Cincinnati Art
Museum; and Dr. Philip W. Bishop of the U.S. National Museum,
Smithsonian Institution.

I am particularly grateful to curators of European collections, who have
been uniformly generous in their assistance. Special thanks are due Mr.
J. A. Gere of the British Museum and Mr. James Laver of the Victoria and
Albert Museum, who have gone to considerable trouble to acquaint me with
their great collections. Others whose help must be particularly noted
are Mr. Peter Murray, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London;
Mme. R. Maquoy-Hendrickx of the Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique,
Brussels; Dr. Vladimír Novotný of the Národní Galerie, Prague; Dr.
Wegner of the Graphische Sammlung, Munich; Dr. Wolf Stubbe of the
Kunsthalle, Hamburg; Dr. G. Busch of the Kunsthalle, Bremen; Dr. Hans
Möhle of the Staatliche Museen, Berlin; Dr. Menz of the Staatliche
Kunstsammlungen, Dresden; Miss B. L. D. Ihle of the Boymans Museum,
Rotterdam; and M. Jean Adhémar of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.

The excellent collections of chiaroscuro prints in the Museums of the
Smithsonian Institution have formed a valuable basis for this monograph.
These prints include the set of Jackson’s Venetian chiaroscuros,
originally owned by Jackson’s patron, Joseph Smith, British Consul in
Venice, now in the Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, and
the representative sampling of Jackson’s work in the Division of Graphic
Arts, U.S. National Museum.

I am indebted to the following museums which have kindly given
permission to reproduce Jackson prints in their collections. These are
listed by catalog number.

  Smithsonian Institution 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 (also in color), 24,
  25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 39, 50, 51, 52, 53 (also in color), 54, 55,
  56, 57, 58, 63

  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (W. G. Russell Allen Estate) 1 (also in
  color), 11, 14, 23, 33, 34, 38, 40 (also in color)

  Fogg Art Museum 13 (also in color)

  Worcester Art Museum 32

  Metropolitan Museum of Art 5 (Rogers Fund) (also in color), 17, 31
  (gift of Winslow Ames), 73 (Whittelsey Fund)

  Philadelphia Museum of Art (John Frederick Lewis Collection) 2, 60,
  61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 74

  British Museum 2 (in color), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 37, 41, 42, 43
  (also in color), 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 (also in color), 59, 69, 70,
  71, 72, 75, 76 (photographs by John R. Freeman & Co.)

  Victoria and Albert Museum (Crown copyright) 3, 35, 36, 40

Finally, I want to thank the Editorial Office of the Smithsonian
Institution for planning and designing this book; the Government
Printing Office for their special care in its production; and Mr. Harold
E. Hugo for his expert supervision of the color plates.

A grant from the American Philosophical Society (Johnson Fund), made it
possible to conduct research on Jackson in Europe. Acknowledgment is
herewith gratefully given.

  JACOB KAINEN

  _Smithsonian Institution_

  _September 1, 1961_



_John Baptist Jackson_

18th-Century Master

of the Color Woodcut



Jackson and His Tradition


_The Woodcut Tradition_

Although the woodcut is the oldest traditional print medium it was the
last to win respectability as an art form. It had to wait until the
1880’s and 1890’s, when Vallotton, Gauguin, Munch, and others made their
first unheralded efforts, and when Japanese prints came into vogue, for
the initial stirrings of a less biased attitude toward this medium, so
long considered little more than a craft. With the woodcut almost
beneath notice it is understandable that Jackson’s work should have
failed to impress art historians unduly until recent times. Although he
bore the brunt as an isolated prophet and special pleader between 1725
and 1754, his significance began to be appreciated only after the turn
of the 20th century, first perhaps by Martin Hardie in 1906, and next
and more clearly by Pierre Gusman in 1916 and Max J. Friedländer in
1917, when modern artists were committing heresies, among them the
elevation of the woodcut to prominence as a first-hand art form. In this
iconoclastic atmosphere Jackson’s almost forgotten chiaroscuros no
longer appeared as failures of technique, for they had been so regarded
by most earlier writers, but as deliberately novel efforts in an
original style. The innovating character of his woodcuts in full color
was also given respectful mention for the first time. But these were
brief assessments in general surveys.

If the woodcut was cheaply held, it was at least acceptable for certain
limited purposes. But printing pictures in color, in any medium, was
considered a weakening of the fiber-- an excursion into prettification
or floridity. It was not esteemed in higher art circles, except for a
short burst at the end of the 18th century in France and England. This
was an important development, admittedly, and the prints were coveted
until quite recently. They are still highly desirable. But while
Bartolozzi stipple engravings or Janinet aquatints in color might have
commanded higher prices than Callots or Goyas, or even than many Dürers
and Rembrandts, no one was fooled. The extreme desirability of the color
prints was mostly a matter of interior decoration: nothing could give a
finer 18th century aura. It was not so much color printing that
mattered; it was _late 18th century_ color printing that was wanted,
often by amateurs who collected nothing else. Color prints before and
after this period did not appeal to discriminating collectors except as
rarities, as exotic offshoots. Even chiaroscuros, with their few sober
tones, fell into this periphery. Jackson, as a result, was naturally
excluded from the main field of attention.

The worship of black-and-white as the highest expression of the graphic
arts[1] automatically placed printmakers in color in one of two
categories: producers of abortive experiments, or purveyors of popular
pictures to a frivolous or sentimental public. This estimate was
unfortunately true enough in most cases, true enough at least to cause
the practice to be regarded with suspicion. As an indication of how
things have changed in recent years we can say that color is no longer
the exception. It threatens, in fact, to become the rule, and
black-and-white now fights a retreating battle. A comparison of any
large exhibition today with one of even 20 years ago will make this
plain.

    [Footnote 1: The purist’s attitude was pungently expressed by
    Whistler. Pennell records this remark: “Black ink on white paper
    was good enough for Rembrandt; it ought to be good enough for
    you.” (Joseph Pennell, _The Graphic Arts_, Chicago, 1921, p.
    178.)]

At first glance Jackson seems to be simply a belated 18th-century worker
in the chiaroscuro process. If to later generations his prints had a
rather odd look, this was to be expected. Native qualities, even a
certain crudeness, were expected from the English who lacked advantages
of training and tradition. And Jackson was not only the first English
artist who worked in woodcut chiaroscuro, he was virtually the first
woodblock artist in England to rise beyond anonymity[2] (Elisha Kirkall,
as we shall see, cannot positively be identified as a wood engraver) and
he was the only one of note until Thomas Bewick arose to prominence
about 1780. He was, then, England’s first outstanding woodcutter. We
will find other instances of his significance from the English
standpoint, but his being English, of course, would have a small part in
explaining the importance of his prints.

    [Footnote 2: The only earlier name is that of George Edwards.
    Oxford University has most of the blocks for a decorated alphabet
    he engraved on end-grain wood for Dr. Fell in 1674. Further data
    on Edwards can be found in Harry Carter’s _Wolvercote Mill_,
    Oxford, 1957, pp. 14, 15, 20, and in Moxon’s _Mechanick Exercises,
    or the Doctrine of Handy Works Applied to the Art of Printing_.
    (Reprint of 1st ed., 1683, edited and annotated by Herbert Davis
    and Harry Carter, Oxford, 1958, p. 26n.)]

Jackson made, in fact, the biggest break in the traditions of the
woodcut since the 16th century. He broadened the scope of the
chiaroscuro print and launched the color woodcut as a distinct art form
that rivaled the polychrome effects of painting while retaining a
character of its own. These were not modest little pieces of purely
technical interest. The set of 24 sheets reproducing 17 paintings by
Venetian masters made up the most heroic single project in chiaroscuro,
and the 6 large landscapes, completed in 1744, after gouache paintings
by Marco Ricci, were the most impressive color woodcuts in the Western
world between the 16th century and the last decade of the 19th.

But Jackson’s grand ambition to advance the woodcut beyond all other
graphic media had little public or private support and finally led him
to ruin. His efforts were made with insufficient means and with few
patrons. As a consequence, he rarely printed editions after the blocks
were cut and proofed. The Venetian set is well known because it was
printed in a substantial edition. A few additional subjects were also
sponsored by patrons, but most of Jackson’s other chiaroscuros were
never published-- they were limited to a few proofs. Editions were
postponed, no doubt, in the hope that a patron would come along to pay
expenses in return for a formal dedication in Latin, but this did not
often happen. Most subjects exist in a few copies only; of some, single
impressions alone remain. Others have entirely disappeared.

With a large part of Jackson’s work unknown, his reputation settled into
an uneasy obscurity which, it must be granted, has not prevented his
work from being collected. The chiaroscuros, especially the Venetian
prints, can be found in many leading collections in Europe and the
United States, but the full-color sheets after Ricci are excessively
rare, particularly in complete sets.

Jackson has long been considered an interesting figure. _His Essay on
the Invention of Engraving and Printing in Chiaro Oscuro_...,[3] with
its bold claims to innovation and merit, his adventurous career as an
English woodcutter in Europe, his adaptation of the color woodcut to
wallpaper printing and his pioneering efforts in this field, and
Papillon’s immoderate attack on him in the important _Traité historique
et pratique de la gravure en bois_[4] will be discussed later. For the
moment we can say that the Essay was the first book by an Englishman
with color plates since the _Book of St. Albans_ of 1486, with its
heraldic shields in three or four colors, and the first book with
block-print plates in naturalistic colors.[5]

    [Footnote 3: Jackson, London, 1754. Hereafter cited as Essay.
    Other references bearing directly on Jackson will receive only
    partial citation in the text. They are given in full in the
    bibliography, page 171.]

    [Footnote 4: Papillon, Paris, 1766. Hereafter cited as the
    _Traité_.]

    [Footnote 5: Occasional book illustrations in two or three
    colors, confined chiefly to initial letters and ornamental
    borders, appeared as early as the 15th century. Ratdolt in 1485
    printed astronomical diagrams in red, orange, and black, and used
    similar colors in a Crucifixion in the _Passau missal_ of 1494.
    The _Liber selectarum cantionum_ of Senfel, 1520, however, has a
    frontispiece printed in a broad range of colors from more than
    four woodblocks. The design is attributed to Hans Weiditz.]

Although critics have been interested in Jackson as an historical
figure, they have been uncertain about the merit of his work. Opinions
vary surprisingly. Most judgments were based on the Venetian
chiaroscuros and depended upon the quality of impressions, many of which
are poor. Criticisms when they have been adverse have been surprisingly
harsh. It is unusual, to say the least, for writers to take time
explaining how bad an artist is. To do this implies, in any case, that
he warrants serious attention; space in histories is not usually wasted
on nonentities. We can see now that Jackson was misunderstood because
the uses of the woodcut were rigidly circumscribed by tradition.


_Status of the Woodcut_

After the 15th century the woodcut lost its primitive power and became a
self-effacing medium for creating facsimile impressions of drawings and
for illustrating and decorating books, periodicals, and cheap popular
broadsides. At its lowest ebb, in the late 17th century, and in the
18th, it was used to make patterns for workers in embroidery and
needlework and to supply outlines for wallpaper designs to be filled in
later by “paper-stainers.”

The prime deficiency of the woodcut as an art form lay in the division
of labor which the process permitted. Draughtsmen usually drew on the
blocks; the main function of the cutter was to follow the lines
precisely and carefully. Small room existed for individual style or
original interpretation; there was little in the technique to
distinguish one cutter from another. In spite of these limitations,
gifted cutters could rise beyond the dead level of ordinary practice. As
fine draughtsmen with a feeling for their materials they did not trace
with the knife, they drew and carved with it. Their feeling for line and
shape was sensitive, crisp, and supple. But although they created the
masterpieces of the medium they suffered from the traditional contempt
for their craft. Creative ability in a woodcutter was rarely recognized,
and the art fell into gradual decline. By the time the 18th century
opened it had been almost entirely abandoned as a means of creating and
interpreting works of art, and had been relegated to a minor place among
the print processes.

The attitude of the print connoisseur was clearly stated as early as
1762 by Horace Walpole:[6]

  I have said, and for two reasons, shall say little of wooden cuts;
  that art never was executed in any perfection in England: engraving
  on metal was a final improvement of the art, and supplied the
  defects of cuttings in wood. The ancient wooden cuts were certainly
  carried to a great heighth, but that was the merit of the masters,
  not of the method.

    [Footnote 6: Walpole, 1765 (1st ed. 1762), p. 3.]

William Gilpin in 1768 went even further. Describing the various
contemporary print processes he omitted the woodcut entirely as not
worthy of consideration. He acknowledged that “wooden cuts” were once
executed by early artists but made no additional reference to the
medium.[7]

    [Footnote 7: William Gilpin, _An Essay on Prints_, London, 1781
    (1st ed. 1768), p. 47. “There are three kinds of prints,
    engravings, etchings, and mezzotintos.”]

As late as 1844 Maberly[8] cautioned print amateurs to steer clear of
block prints:

  Prints, from wooden blocks, are much less esteemed, or, at least,
  are, generally speaking, of greatly less cost than engravings on
  copper; and there are connoisseurs who may, perhaps, consider them
  as rather derogatory to a fine collection.

    [Footnote 8: Maberly, 1844, p. 130.]

Specialized histories of wood engraving, written mainly by 19th-century
practitioners and bibliophiles, have tended to emphasize literal
rendition rather than artistic vision. The writers favored wood
engraving executed with the burin on the end grain of hard dense wood,
such as box or maple, because it could produce finer details than the
old woodcut, which made use of knife and horizontally grained wood. They
judged by narrow craft standards concerned with exact imitation of
surface textures. Linton, for example, is almost contemptuous in his
references to the chiaroscuro woodcut:[9]

  ... The poorest workman may suffice for an excellent chiaroscuro.
  I do not depreciate the artistic value as chiaroscuros of the
  various prints here noted nor underestimate the difficulty of
  production; but my business has been solely with the not difficult
  knifecutting and graver cutting of the same.

    [Footnote 9: Linton, 1889, p. 215. A woodcut in the German manner
    was far more difficult to manage than Linton imagined. Bewick
    tried to imitate the cross-hatched lines of a Dürer woodcut
    without success. He finally concluded (1925, pp. 205-207) that the
    old woodcutters had used two blocks, each with lines going in
    opposing directions, and had printed one over the other!]


_The Chiaroscuro Tradition_

The chiaroscuro woodcut was originally designed to serve a special
purpose, to reproduce drawings of the Renaissance period. These were
often made with pen and ink on paper prepared with a tint or with brush
and wash tones on white or tinted paper. Highlights were made and
modeled with brush and white pigment; the result had something of a
bas-relief character. Neither line engraving nor etching was suited to
reproducing these spirited drawings, but the chiaroscuro woodcut could
render their effects admirably. Its nature, therefore, was conceived as
fresh and spontaneous, as printed drawing, in fact.

Chiaroscuros were usually of two types, the German and the Italian. The
Germans specialized in reproducing line drawings made on toned paper
with white highlights. The woodcuts, however, could stand by themselves
as black-and-white prints; the tones required separate printing. The
typical German chiaroscuro was therefore from two blocks. The earliest
dated print in this style is Lucas Cranach’s _Venus_, with “1506”
appearing on the black block. But the brown tint might have been added a
few years later. Jost de Negker, working after drawings by Hans
Burgkmair, cut blocks which are dated, on the black block at least, as
early as 1508, and work by Hans Baldung and Hans Wechtlin appeared
shortly after.

The Italian style originated with Ugo da Carpi, who in 1516 petitioned
the Senate in Venice to grant him exclusive rights to the chiaroscuro
process, which he claimed to have invented. For many years, until
Bartsch adduced proof in favor of the Germans, da Carpi was conceded to
be the founder of this process. His first work dates from 1518 but
obviously he produced prints earlier-- how much earlier is uncertain.
Working mainly after the loose, fresh wash drawings of Raphael and
Parmigianino he developed a method of reducing their tonal constituents
to two or three simple areas plus a partial outline, each of which was
cut on a separate block. The blocks were then inked with transparent
tones and printed one over the other to achieve gradations. White
highlights were imitated, as in the German manner, by cutting out lines
on a tone block to let the white paper assert itself. The result was a
broadly treated facsimile of the original drawing. Some liberties were
occasionally taken in interpretation, and sometimes fanciful changes
were made in color combinations.

This technique was followed in Italy during the remainder of the 1500’s,
the most prominent early workers being Antonio da Trento (Fantuzzi),
Domenico Beccafumi, and Giuseppe Niccolò Vicentino. Late in the century
Andrea Andreani acquired a large number of blocks by previous Italian
chiaroscurists and reissued them, adding his own monogram. By
multiplying these subjects he reduced their rarity and emphasized their
distinct character, their difference from other types of prints. The
Italian term “chiaroscuro,” meaning light and dark, has persisted as a
generic name for this class of work.

The Italian and German techniques were often pursued in variant styles.
The Germans sometimes used three blocks, with outlines not only in black
but in a tone and white as well. Burgkmair’s _Death as a Strangler_ (B.
40)[10] and Wechtlin’s _Alcon Freeing his Son from the Serpent_ (B. 9)
are of this type.

    [Footnote 10: Adam Bartsch, _Le Peintre graveur_, Vienna,
    1803-1821.]

The Italians, in turn, often used two blocks in the German fashion,
reproducing a complete crosshatched pen drawing with one tint block.
Even da Carpi used this procedure more than occasionally, as in _St.
John Preaching in the Desert_ after Raphael (B. XII), and in _The
Harvest_ after Giulio Romano (B. XII). Most other Italian chiaroscurists
made frequent use of this method which had the virtue of simplicity.
Outstanding exponents included Niccolò Boldrini, who worked chiefly
after drawings by Titian, and in the early 17th century the brothers
Bartolomeo and G. B. Coriolano. Andreani’s prints were usually in a more
independent style which employed a clear outline in gray or soft brown
with three tints blocks. While technical procedures were identical in
Italian and German chiaroscuros after pen drawings, the Italian work
tended to be looser than the German, which was more careful and
methodical.

The Italian style, then, strictly interpreted, was simply the da Carpi
style. Less rigorously considered, it included the free Italian variants
of the German process.

Hendrick Goltzius of Haarlem, whose first chiaroscuros date from 1588,
combined both Italian and German influences with marvelously crisp
drawing and cutting and sharper color combinations than were common.
Paulus Moreelse, a Dutch artist in the first half of the 17th century,
employed a dark block in clear outline but modeled his forms internally
in the da Carpi manner. The technical procedure was therefore close to
Andreani’s.

A number of other well-known artists including Simon Vouet and
Christoffel Jegher, and quite a few anonymous ones, also turned out
occasional pieces in the first half of the 17th century, generally in
the manner of da Carpi or Goltzius. Perhaps the most prolific was
Ludolph Businck, who created prints in France especially after drawings
by George Lallemand.

After this period little was done in the medium until 1721, when Count
Antonio Maria Zanetti in Venice made his first chiaroscuro woodcut. He
worked consistently for almost thirty years and sent proofs to his
friends in Europe, mostly important connoisseurs, through whom the
prints became widely known. For the most part they were in the da Carpi
style, to which he added a light charm. Between 1722 and 1724 Elisha
Kirkall in London published twelve chiaroscuros after Italian masters.
The prints were done in a combination of media-- etching and mezzotint
with relief blocks in either wood or metal-- and were outside the
woodcut tradition, but they attracted attention to the old process. In
about 1726 Nicolas and Vincent Le Sueur in Paris produced some
chiaroscuros, and a year later Jackson made his first example. The Le
Sueurs followed da Carpi’s method while Jackson used a loosely drawn
outline and three tint blocks in a slight variation of the Andreani
style.

One characteristic was shared in common by all early chiaroscurists;
their work always reproduced drawings, usually in exact size. Jackson
added a new dimension to the medium in 1735 by beginning to work after
oil paintings.[11] His attempt to convey their scale, solidity, and
tonal range, while retaining the woodcut’s breadth of execution, was
perhaps carrying the chiaroscuro into complexities for which it was not
suited. The method called for extraordinary talents in planning,
drawing, cutting, and printing, and it resulted in impressions that
could not escape a certain heaviness of effect when compared with
traditional work. Jackson’s prints in this style are both daring and
original, but no later woodcutter had either the desire or the temerity
to follow his example. The method remained a dead end in chiaroscuro.

    [Footnote 11: Andrea Andreani in 1599 published ten plates after
    cartoons of Mantegna’s nine paintings, _The Triumph of Julius
    Caesar_ (B. 11), printed from four blocks in variations of gray.
    But Mantegna’s cartoons were basically drawings in monochrome, and
    Andreani’s fine chiaroscuros did not differ appreciably from the
    usual examples.]

    [Illustration:
    Tailpiece in _L’Histoire naturelle éclaircie dans une de ses
    parties principales, l’oryctologie_, by D. d’Argenville, De Bure,
    Paris, 1755. This is one of the cuts Jackson made between 1725-1730.
    Actual size.]



Jackson and His Work


_England: Obscure Beginnings_

Little is known of Jackson’s early years. It is assumed that he was born
in England about 1700, although many accounts, probably based upon
Nagler, have him born in 1701. Papillon[12] conjectures that he studied
painting and engraving on wood with “an English painter” named “Ekwits,”
but is not sure he remembers the name correctly. He believes this artist
engraved most of the head pieces and ornaments in Mattaire’s _Latin
Classics_, published by J. and R. Tonson and J. Watts in London, 1713,
and remarks on similarities with Jackson’s style. Chatto[13] believes
these cuts were executed by Elisha Kirkall, interpreting the initials
_EK_ appearing on one of the prints to refer to this engraver rather
than to “Ekwits.” He goes on to assume that Kirkall also engraved the
blocks for Croxall’s edition of _Aesop’s Fables_, 1722, by the same
publisher, and adds that Jackson was probably his apprentice and might
have had some share in their execution. Most accounts of Jackson, taking
Chatto’s word, note him as a pupil of Kirkall.

    [Footnote 12: Papillon, 1766, vol. 1, p. 323. Most probably
    Papillon confused “Ekwits” with Elisha Kirkall.]

    [Footnote 13: Chatto and Jackson, 1861 (1st ed. 1839), p. 448.]

Linton[14] believes that only Kirkall or Jackson could have made the
cuts, “unless some _Sculptor ignotus_ is to be credited with that most
notable book of graver-work in relief preceding the work of Bewick.”

    [Footnote 14: Linton, 1889, p. 130.]

But it is doubtful that Jackson was a pupil of Kirkall. For this
assumption we have the evidence of a curious and important little book,
_An Enquiry into the Origins of Printing in Europe_,[15] which because
of a misleading title and an anonymous author has been overlooked as a
reference source. It is a transcription of Jackson’s manuscript journal
and was prepared for publication to coincide with the launching of the
wallpaper venture, Kirkall is mentioned as follows (pp. 25-26):

  ... I shall give a brief account of the State of Cutting on Wood in
  England for the type Press before he [Jackson] went to France in
  1725. In the beginning of this Century a remarkable Blow was given
  to all Cutters on Wood, by an invention of engraving on the same
  sort of Metal which types are cast with. The celebrated Mr.
  _Kirkhal_, an able Engraver on Copper, is said to be the first who
  performed a Relievo Work to answer the use of Cutting on Wood. This
  could be dispatched much sooner, and consequently answered the
  purpose of Book-sellers and Printers, who purchased these sort of
  Works at a much chaper [sic] Rate than could be expected from an
  Engraver on Wood....

    [Footnote 15: London, 1752. Hereafter cited as the _Enquiry_. The
    first half deals with Jackson’s opinions on the origins of
    printing from movable type and the progress of cutting on wood,
    the second half with Jackson’s career and his venture into
    wallpaper manufacturing. The real content of the book was so
    little known that Bigmore and Wyman’s comprehensive, annotated
    _Bibliography of Printing, London, 1880-86_, vol. 1, p. 201,
    described it as dealing with “certain improvements in
    printing-types made by Jackson, the typefounder.”]

It does not seem reasonable that Jackson would learn the art of
woodcutting from Kirkall and then refer to him as a famous engraver on
copper and type metal. It is just as difficult to believe that Kirkall
taught Jackson to work on metal, not wood.

The “EK” who engraved the blocks for Mattaire’s _Latin Classics_ might
very well have been Kirkall, whose style also might have had something
in common with Jackson’s early work. But this would not necessarily
indicate a definite influence. English pictorial relief prints for book
illustration in the first decades of the 18th century had one
characteristic in common; they were almost all done with the engraver’s
burin on type metal or end-grain boxwood. They therefore showed elements
of a “white-line” style as opposed to the black-line or knife-cut method
commonly used in other countries. While it is likely that Jackson was an
exception to the general rule in England (we have his word for it in the
_Enquiry_, as we shall see), he was also deeply influenced by the
prevailing English style of burin work on wood or type metal. If
Papillon saw a similarity between Jackson’s cuts and those in the _Latin
Classics_, it might have been because he was unfamiliar with other
examples of English work and did not recognize a national style.

The initials “J. B. I.” appear on a small cut in the 1717 edition of
Dryden’s plays, also published by Tonson. If this is an early piece by
Jackson it would indicate that he might have been born earlier than
1701, although it is conceivable that he could have made it when he was
sixteen.

This is the extent of the evidence, or rather lack of evidence, of
Jackson’s early years in England. Nothing is certain except that
woodblock work was at a particularly low ebb. Standards in typography
and printing were rude (Caslon was just beginning his career), far
inferior to those on the Continent. Cuts were used rather sparingly by
printers, and almost always for initial letters (these included little
pictures), for tailpieces, and for decorative borders. As a measure of
economy the same cut was often repeated throughout a book. Also, initial
letters were sometimes contrived to permit the type for different
capitals to be inserted in the center area, so that in some instances no
more than two cuts were needed to begin alternate chapters in a volume.
Rarely were woodblocks employed to illustrate the text. Pictures were
almost always supplied by the copper-plate engraver, even when the
prints were small and surrounded with typographical matter. This was an
expensive and troublesome procedure, but it was the only one possible
where an able group of cutters or engravers on wood did not exist and
where printers found it difficult to achieve good impressions on the
uneven laid paper of the time.

The main employment for knife cutters on wood was in making the popular
prints, or illustrated broadsides, which had been sold in city and
village throughout the country since the early 1600’s. Plank and knife
could be used for these prints because of the generally large size of
the pictures and the lack of sophistication of the audience. They are
described by Bewick from his memories as a boy in the 1760’s:[16]

  I cannot, however, help lamenting that, in all the vicissitudes
  which the art of wood engraving has undergone, some species of it
  are lost and done away: I mean the large blocks with the prints from
  them, so common to be seen, when I was a boy, in every cottage and
  farm house throughout the country. These blocks, I suppose, from
  their size, must have been cut on the plank way on beech, or some
  other kind of close-grained wood; and from the immense number of
  impressions from them, so cheaply and extensively spread over the
  whole country, must have given employment to a great number of
  artists, in this inferior department of woodcutting.... These
  prints, which were sold at a very low price, were commonly
  illustrative of some memorable exploits, or were, perhaps, the
  portraits of eminent men.... Besides these, there were a great
  variety of other designs, often with songs added to them of a moral,
  a patriotic, or a rural tendency, which served to enliven the circle
  in which they were admired. To enumerate the great variety of these
  _pictures_ would be a task.

    [Footnote 16: Bewick, 1925 (1st ed. London, 1862), pp. 211-212.]

Bewick adds that some of these popular woodcuts, although not the great
majority, were very good. Since this was the main field for woodcutters,
it is an interesting conjecture that Jackson might have been trained for
this craft. As he matured, we can assume that he felt the urge to excel
as a woodcutter and left the country to develop his potentialities.

It must be remembered that in painting and engraving England was far
behind the continental countries, which could boast of centuries of
celebrated masters. The medieval period persisted in England until the
time of Henry VIII. Traditional religious subjects, so indispensable to
European art, were thereafter generally proscribed. There was no
fondness as yet for themes of classical mythology, and the new and
developing national tradition in painting had to form itself on the only
remaining field of pictorial expression, portraiture. Standards of style
were set by foreign artists who were lured to England to record its
prominent personages in a fitting manner. Beside such masters as
Holbein, Zuccaro, Moro, Geeraerts, Van Dyck, Mytens, Lely, Kneller,
Zoffany, and Van Loo, among others, native painters seemed crude and
provincial. The list of foreign artists other than portraitists who
visited England before 1750 for varying periods is also impressive.

If good native painters were rare in the first decades of the 18th
century, good engravers or woodcutters were even rarer. Hogarth, whose
earliest prints were produced in the 1720’s, received his training from
a silversmith.

Jackson’s next move was toward the Continent.


_Paris: Perfection of a Craft_

Jackson arrived in Paris in 1725, his age 24 if we accept 1701 as his
birth date. Here flourished a brilliant community of artists, craftsmen,
dealers, and connoisseurs; woodcutting, etching, and line engraving were
highly developed and the printing offices made extensive use of woodcuts
for decoration and illustration. The woodcut tradition mimicked line
engraving and was confined chiefly to tiny blocks wrought with the
utmost delicacy. The main influence came from the 17th century-- in
particular from the etchings and line engravings of Sébastien Le Clerc
and from the etchings of Jacques Callot, whose simple system of swelling
parallel lines, with occasional cross-hatchings, was adopted by both
line engravers and woodcutters.

Le Clerc, whose style was influenced by Callot, had produced a vast
number of illustrations involving subjects of almost every type; his
designs, therefore, were ready-made for publishers who wanted good but
low-priced illustrations. Woodcutters copied his engravings shamelessly,
line for line. The overblown high Baroque style in ornament, swag, and
cartouche was also drawn upon as a source for decorative cuts. In an
attempt to imitate the full tonal scale of engraving, the woodcutters
used heavier lines in the foreground to detach the main figures from the
background, which was made up of more delicate lines. Background lines
were often narrowed further by scraping down their edges, an operation
that caused them to merge imperceptibly into the white paper. In this
way, although the natural vigor of the woodcut suffered, an effect of
space and distance was achieved. Because of the small scale this
technique was difficult, especially when cross-hatching was added, and
special knives as well as a phenomenal deftness were needed to work out
these bits of jewelry on the plank grain of pear, cherry, box, and
serviceberry wood.

Jackson’s initial impression of the state of woodcutting in France is
described in the _Enquiry_ (p. 27):

  From this Account it is evident that there was little Encouragement
  to be hoped for in England to a Person whose Genius led him to
  prosecute his Studies in the ancient Manner; which obliged Mr.
  _Jackson_ to go over to the Continent, and see what was used in the
  _Parisian_ Printing-houses. At his arrival there he found the
  _French_ Engravers on Wood working in the old Manner; no Metal
  Engravers, or any of the same Performance on the end of the Wood,
  was ever used or countenanced by the Printers or Booksellers in that
  City. He tells us that he thought himself a tolerable good Hand when
  he came to _Paris_, but far inferior to the Performances of
  Monsieurs _Vincent le Seur_ and _Jean M. Pappillon_....

Jackson admits benefiting from the friendship and advice of these
woodcutters, then goes on to describe their work with a ruthless
frankness. Le Sueur, he says, was a brilliant copyist of the line
engravings of Sébastien Le Clerc but, because he was a line-for-line
copyist, lacked skill in drawing. Papillon’s father, also a woodcutter
who copied Le Clerc, avoided cross-hatching, which Jackson considered an
essential ingredient of the true style of black-and-white woodcutting;
Papillon himself, while described as a draughtsman of the utmost
accuracy, was criticized for making his work so minute that it was
impossible to print clearly. Jackson says in the _Enquiry_ (pp. 29-30):

  If his Father neglected Cross Hatching, the Son affected to outstrip
  the _le Seurs_ in this difficult Performance, and even the ancient
  _Venetians_, believing to have fixed a _Non plus ultra_ in our Times
  to any future Attempts with Engraving on Wood.

  ... I saw the Almanack[17] in a horrid Condition before I left
  _Paris_, the Signs of the Zodiack wore like a Blotch,
  notwithstanding the utmost Care and Diligence the Printer used to
  take up very little Ink to keep them clean. I have chosen to make
  mention of these two _Frenchmen_ as the only Persons in my time
  keeping up to the Stile of the ancient Engraving on Wood; and as
  they favoured me with their Friendship and Advice during my abode in
  _Paris_, I thought in Justice to their good Nature it was proper to
  give some Account of their Merit!

    [Footnote 17: The _Petit almanach de Paris_, founded by J. M.
    Papillon in 1727 and illustrated with his woodcuts.]

Acknowledgment of friendship and merit in this vein, while entirely true
(Papillon was minute to the point of exhibitionism, and his cuts were
often not adapted to clear printing), demonstrates the lack of tact that
made powerful enemies for Jackson wherever he traveled. Papillon no
doubt read the _Enquiry_, in which he was discussed at length, and the
well-known _Essay_, with its aggressive tone and irresponsible claims.
When Papillon’s _Traité_ came out in 1766 he took the opportunity to put
the English artist in his place. Certainly his account was colored by
Jackson’s writings; there is no other explanation for this display of
personal bitterness in a work published 36 years after the Englishman
left Paris (pp. 327-328):

  J. Jackson, an Englishman who lived in Paris for a few years, might
  have perfected himself in wood engraving, which he had learned, as I
  said previously on page 323, from an English painter, if he had been
  willing to follow my advice. As soon as he arrived in Paris he came
  to me asking for work; I gave him some things to execute for a few
  months in order to allow him to live, for which he repaid me with
  ingratitude by making a duplicate of a floral ornament of my design
  which he offered, before delivering the block to me, to the person
  for whom it was to be made. From the reproaches I received when the
  matter was discovered, I refused, naturally, to employ him further.
  Then he went the rounds of the printing houses in Paris, and was
  forced to offer his work ready-made and without order, almost for
  nothing, and many printers, profiting by his distress, supplied
  themselves amply with his cuts. He had acquired a certain insipid
  and limited taste, little above the mosaics on snuffboxes, similar
  to other mediocre engravers, with which he surcharged his works. His
  mosaics, however delicately engraved, are always lacking in effect,
  and show the engraver’s patience and not his talent; for the
  remainder of the cut has only delicate lines without tints or
  gradations of light and shade, and lack the contrast necessary to
  make a striking effect. Engravings of this sort, however deficient
  in this regard, are admired by printers of vulgar taste who
  foolishly believe that they closely resemble copper plate engraving,
  and that they give better impressions than those of a picturesque
  type having a greater variety of tints.

  Jackson, having been forced by poverty to leave Paris, where he
  could find nothing further to do, traveled in France; then,
  disgusted with his art, he followed a painter to Rome, after which
  he went to Venice, where, I am told, he married, and then returned
  to England, his native country.

Whether or not Jackson was unethical he was certainly an active
competitor and many printers “supplied themselves amply with his cuts.”
He must have produced an enormous amount of work during his five years
in Paris because John Smith, in his _Printers Grammar_,[18] says that
Jackson’s cuts were used so widely and for so many years in Paris that
they replaced the fashion of using “flowers,” or typographical
ornaments, and that this style did not come into vogue again until the
cuts were completely worn down through use.

    [Footnote 18: Smith, 1755, p. 136.]

This statement is not entirely true, but it is probable that Jackson’s
woodcuts, more broadly executed than the typical French products,
outlasted all others of the 1725-30 period. They were consistently
re-used, and appeared, as far as they can be traced, well into the
1780’s.[19]

    [Footnote 19: See cuts in _Dissertatiumeula quodlibetariis
    disputationibus_ of C. L. Berthollet, Paris, 1780, and _Voyage
    littéraire de la Grèce_, of de Guys, 1783.]

Elsewhere in the _Traité_, however, Papillon has a good word for
Jackson’s abilities:[20]

  Jackson, of whom I have already spoken, also engraved in
  chiaroscuro; I have a little landscape by him which is very nicely
  done.

    [Footnote 20: P. 415. This may be the print formerly in Dresden
    but lost during the war.]

It was inevitable that Papillon and Jackson should clash. The
Frenchman’s notion of woodcutting was influenced, as we have seen, by
copper plate engraving; he wanted, by incredible minuteness of cutting,
to achieve approximately the same results. This was in keeping with the
delicate French _rocaille_ tradition on which Papillon was nurtured; to
him any other contemporary style of book decoration was evidence of bad
taste. Jackson, on his part, felt that this approach violated the
essentially broad, vigorous nature of the woodcut and, in addition, made
excessive demands on the printer. Since this impoverished beginner, and
an Englishman at that, refused to take his earnest advice or to fall
into the prevailing style, Papillon was enraged. After all, Jackson was
working as an employee. But Papillon was not entirely blind. In a number
of places in the _Traité_ he made reference to other woodcutters who
were working in Jackson’s style, and he recorded some of the works the
Englishman illustrated during his five years in Paris.

    [Illustration:
    Headpiece by J. M. Papillon for his _Traité historique et pratique
    de la gravure en bois_, Paris, 1766, vol. 3. This is an example of
    Papillon’s minute style, against which Jackson rebelled.
    Actual size.]

Jackson’s blossoming out as a maker of wallpaper after his return to
England and his brash claims in this connection in the _Essay_, must
also have irked Papillon, who knew the field as an expert; his father in
1688 had set up the first large printing house in France for wall
hangings, and after his death in 1723 Papillon had inherited it. In
1740, he sold the business to the widow Langlois, but he had run the
shop during Jackson’s residence in Paris and his former employee no
doubt had learned a great deal by observing its operation. Yet here more
than twenty years later was the upstart Englishman again, venturing into
wallpaper manufacturing with an air of moral superiority, attacking all
other products as unworthy. Jackson’s ridiculing of the Chinese style
must have been particularly galling since Papillon and his father had
specialized in producing such papers. These were much better than
comparable English work, but Jackson, confining himself to English
products, had attacked the whole style without making distinctions.

According to the _Enquiry_ (pages 32-55 of this book will be drawn upon
for the ensuing details of Jackson’s career), M. Annison, Director of
the Imprimerie Royale, for whom Jackson produced many cuts, introduced
him to Count de Caylus, collector, connoisseur, etcher, and the leading
spirit in French engraving at the time. De Caylus had, in 1725,
undertaken to direct the reproduction of drawings and paintings in the
best French collections.[21] Pierre Crozat, the famous collector,
sponsored the publication of this ambitious work.

    [Footnote 21: _Recueil d’estampes d’après les plus beaux tableaux
    et d’après les plus beaux dessins qui sont en France dans le
    cabinet du Roy, dans celui de M. le Duc d’Orléans et dans d’autres
    cabinets, divisé suivant les différentes écoles._ Paris, 1729-42,
    2 vols., 182 plates. Often called the _Cabinet Crozat_, it was
    reprinted by Basan in 1763 with aquatint tones by François
    Charpentier replacing the woodblock tints.]

The drawings were reproduced in chiaroscuro while the paintings were
rendered in black-and-white by a corps of engravers. The chiaroscuros
were made by combining an etched outline, usually by de Caylus or
P. P. A. Robert, with superimposed tones, mainly in green or buff, from
one or two woodblocks cut in most cases by Nicolas Le Sueur, or under
his direction. This was not a new printing method. Hubert (not Hendrick)
Goltzius had first employed it in a set of Roman emperors after antique
medallions in 1557.[22] To reproduce drawings by Raphael, Parmigianino,
and himself, Abraham Bloemart, as well as Frederick and Cornelius
Bloemart in the early 1600’s, had used this combination extensively, and
as described earlier, p. 11, Kirkall had used it between 1722 and
1724.[23] The combination method produced rather feeble prints that
lacked the vigor of straight woodblock chiaroscuro. The etched outline
was thin and ineffective, and the tints were pallid so as not to
overpower the drawing. Only Abraham Bloemart’s prints in this style were
convincing, although Kirkall’s chiaroscuros, in their soft, over-modeled
way, had individuality. But the _Cabinet Crozat_ lacked distinction
entirely. The chiaroscuros had a mechanical look, a fact not surprising
when we remember that they were produced by a team of engravers--
assembled, as it were, from several hands working in different media.
The best prints were a few chiaroscuros made entirely from woodblocks by
Nicolas Le Sueur, although these were also rather tepid, no doubt to
harmonize with the rest of the work.

    [Footnote 22: _Imperatorum imagines_, Antwerp, 1557. The
    woodblocks were cut by Josse Geitleugen.]

    [Footnote 23: In the _Enquiry_ (p. 31) Jackson asserts that
    Kirkall’s tints were made from copper plates, not woodblocks.]

Jackson tells us that he worked on some tint blocks, first from a
drawing by Giulio Romano and later from a drawing by Raphael, _Christ
Giving the Keys to St. Peter_, the original _modello_ for one of the
famous tapestry cartoons. Count de Caylus, he says, liked the work and
wanted to employ him further on the project, but Crozat rejected him
flatly. De Caylus, according to Jackson, was embarrassed and distressed
and offered recompense for the lost time and labor, but Jackson, not to
be outdone in generosity by a nobleman, refused, explaining that the
honor of knowing the Count and receiving his approbation more than made
up for his lost effort.

Vincent Le Sueur objected to the combination method and withdrew early
from the project. Possibly Jackson, who also disliked this method and
was not known for his discretion, was considered by Crozat to be a
disruptive element. Possibly his style of cutting was not retiring
enough for Crozat’s tasteful French notion of chiaroscuro. This project,
in any case, aroused the Englishman’s interest in the process. _Christ
Giving the Keys to St. Peter_, after Raphael, made about 1727, was
probably Jackson’s first chiaroscuro woodcut. No doubt he produced it on
his own and offered it as a plate for the publication, perhaps at the
time he was commissioned to cut the tint blocks to be used in
combination with de Caylus’ etching of this subject.

With both Papillon and the powerful Crozat against him, Jackson was
finished in Paris. De Caylus urged him to go to Italy. Accordingly, in
April 1730, he left Paris in the company of John Lewis, an English
painter, and set out for Rome, where he expected to continue his studies
in drawing and deepen his knowledge of art.

Jackson’s style was still being formed during his Paris period. Confined
for the most part to initial letters, headbands, and tailpieces, his
work differed from contemporary French cuts only in its technical
handling, which was firmer and broader. Little of a more creative nature
came his way, and the Paris stay therefore served as a useful interim
during which he became adept in his craft. The necessity for keeping
himself alive by cutting on wood developed his powers of invention and
his facility: he became a remarkably rapid and skillful cutter. Jackson
gathered strength in Paris, but it was in Venice that he really came to
maturity as an artist.

    [Illustration:
    TAILPIECE in _Histoire générale de Languedoc_, by Claude Vic and
    J. J. Vaissete, Paris, 1730, vol. 1. Note the even tone and clean
    cutting compared with Papillon’s light-and-dark contrasts and
    dainty cutting.
    Actual size.]


_Venice: The Heroic Effort_

After leaving Paris, Jackson and Lewis journeyed to Marseilles, where
Jackson became seriously ill and remained for six months, while Lewis
continued to Genoa. Regaining his health, Jackson went on to Genoa and
then to Leghorn, Pisa, and Lucca, arriving in Florence in January 1731.
There, during a stay of several months, he discussed with the Grand Duke
of Tuscany a reprinting of Vasari’s _Lives of the Painters_. Jackson was
to make cuts for the headpieces, but the project was eventually dropped,
and he continued to Bologna, where he remained a month chiefly in the
company of the woodcutter G. M. Moretti, who showed him some original
blocks cut by Ugo da Carpi for printing in chiaroscuro. He then
proceeded to Venice, arriving “three Days before the Feast of the
Ascension in 1731, and was highly surprized to find no one Engraver on
Wood capable to do such poor Work, he has seen at Bolonia.” Jackson was
amply supplied with strong recommendations from Florence, and on showing
his work to leading printers was urged to settle in Venice, where a fine
woodcutter capable of both designing and executing cuts was urgently
needed. Here he also met Count Antonio Maria Zanetti, who was well-known
as a chiaroscuro woodcutter besides being a collector and patron of the
arts. Their first meeting is described in the _Enquiry_:

  ... very soon after his [Jackson’s] Arrival he had an Interview with
  Signior _Antonio Maria Zannetti_; from the Accounts he had heard
  from Mr. _Marriette_ in _France_ of this Man’s Work in _Chiaro
  Oscuro_, he expected to see some wonderful Performance, but
  _Parturiunt montes nascetur ridiculus mus_ is a most applicable
  Proverb on this Occasion. I who have perused this grand Raccolta of
  _Zannetti’s_, must acknowledge that they are a trifling Performance,
  inferior to any Attempts of this Kind in our Times; and indeed it is
  no Wonder, when we come to know that this Man never used a Press,
  nor so much as a Hand Roll to print his Works with. Our Countryman
  says he had room to suspect he neither did cut or print these Works,
  which was confirmed by the poor Men who performed both. But such was
  the Vanity of this Author, that he told the Public in his
  Dedications that he was the Restorer of that lost Art, whereas he
  only drawed them on the Blocks, which might have been done as well
  by those that cut and printed them. At this first Interview the low
  Cunning of this Man was discovered....[24]

    [Footnote 24: Zanetti certainly cut many of his own blocks, as the
    prints with the signature “A. M. Zanetti, sculp.” attest. But he
    also made use of craftsmen in the traditional fashion for other
    blocks and for the mechanical phase of printing.]

Jackson undoubtedly disliked Zanetti’s soft and delicate treatment, so
characteristic of 18th-century work, and considered his interpretation
of Parmigianino and Raphael little short of sacrilege. Since Jackson was
incapable of hiding his feelings a quarrel became inevitable. The first
rift came when Zanetti let Jackson have for a few weeks a drawing by
Parmigianino, the _Venus and Cupid with a Bow_, to be executed in four
blocks. The print was done “intirely in _Hugo’s_ [da Carpi’s] manner,
with this Difference, that no _Oscuro_ block has a Contour to resemble
the original Drawing it was done from, which is seldom seen in _Hugo’s_
works....” Zanetti, surprised by the fine quality of the first proof,
proposed to pass it off on Mariette in Paris as an original da Carpi
print. He even stained it and cut holes in it to give the impression of
aged worm-eaten paper. At the same time Jackson executed another
chiaroscuro, also based on a Parmigianino drawing, the _Woman Standing
Holding Jar on her Head_. Zanetti, says the _Enquiry_--

  ... caressed the Author with the highest Expressions of Zeal for his
  Service, protesting he would communicate his Capacity to his
  Correspondents all over _Europe_, which would be the Means to
  advance his Fortune, especially amongst the _English_ Quality and
  Gentry who travelled _Italy_. The intent of all those fine Promises
  was to get the two Sets of Blocks into his Hands, which he expected
  as a Present for the Use of the two original Drawings, from which
  these Prints were taken; but this not being complyed with, the
  _Restaurati_ expressed a Resentment at this Refusal, and took all
  the Opportunities to distress the Undertakings of any Sort performed
  by Mr. _Jackson_, during fourteen Years Residence in _Venice_.

Zanetti was charged, in some obscure way, with obstructing Jackson’s
work in cutting 136 blocks for the _Istoria del Testamento Vecchio e
Nuovo_, popularly known as the _Bibbia del Nicolosi_,[25] published by
G. B. Albrizzi in 1737. We are informed that Filippo Farsetti, one of
Jackson’s patrons, paid him for the whole set of cuts after rebuking
Zanetti for interference.

    [Footnote 25: These cuts were also used for the _Biblia Sacra_,
    published by Hertz in Venice in 1740.]

The Englishman evidently was kept well occupied with preparing cuts for
printers, among them Baglioni and Pezzana. For the latter he made 24
woodcuts for a quarto edition of a _Biblia Sacra_ and an unspecified
number of ornaments for a folio edition. Jackson was given a free hand
to conceive and carry out the cuts as he pleased.

While working on these prints he began--

  to consider on his favourite Work in _Chiaro Oscuro_, and by
  intervals examined what he had projected at _Paris_. He began first
  to make experiments with Tints, and having proved that Four
  Impressions could produce Ten positive Tints, besides _Tratti_ and
  _Lights_; he resolved to try a large Piece from _Rubens’s_ Judgment
  of _Solomon_, with an intent to prove what could be done with the
  Efforts of a Type Press before he launched into greater Expences
  with another Machine.

He wanted this press in his home, where he could experiment as he
pleased without tying up workmen or equipment in Pezzana’s shop. It
might have been professional delicacy that prompted him to ask Pezzana’s
permission to have a private press built, or it might have been a bid
for patronage from the generous and influential printer. In any event,
Pezzana responded by having his carpenters build and install the press
at his own expense. To avoid official registrations or craft suspicions,
he had it registered as his own. The trial proofs of _The Judgment of
Solomon_, printed from four blocks, pleased Jackson in every regard
except vigor of impression. Unfortunately no edition was published,
despite the dedication to Filippo Farsetti.

Finished in 1735, this woodcut was probably the first to translate a
painting in a full range of tones. From the purely technical standpoint
it was an incredible achievement. Jackson created a vivid approximation
of a large and complex painting and at the same time produced a vigorous
woodcut. From four superimposed woodblocks, with almost no linework, he
was able to capture the full-blooded forms of Rubens. By keeping his
means simple Jackson asserted the importance of his cutting and
printing, the expressiveness of his drawing, and the fluidity of his
tones. Obviously such a procedure required major decisions as to what to
omit and what to stress; in other words it required interpretive
abilities of a high order.

Evidently Jackson believed that his new chiaroscuro method required
heavier pressure than the platen press was capable of. (On the usual
wooden screw press the size of the platen never exceeded 13 by 19
inches, because the impressions made with a larger platen would not have
been strong enough; for prints larger than the platen, the bed was moved
and the platen pulled down twice.) He had the press returned to Pezzana
and set out to build a more suitable printing machine.

  He found there were other means to be employed beside a Type Press,
  and having examined the Theory of his Invention put it in Practice,
  by erecting a Rolling Press of another Construction than what is
  used for printing Copper Plates.

    [Illustration:
    ILLUSTRATION in _Biblia Sacra_ published by Hertz, Venice, 1740,
    vol. 1. Originally cut by Jackson for Albrizzi’s _Istoria del
    Testamento Vecchio e Nuovo_, Venice, 1737.
    Actual size.]

In Paris Jackson had suggested using a cylinder press for printing wood
blocks. The gentlemen to whom the suggestion was made, Count de Caylus,
Coypel, and Mariette, were sure that the enormous pressure would split
the blocks. The Englishman, on the contrary, felt that the pressure,
properly controlled by a chase, would hold the blocks together. Printing
would be much more rapid and the exceptional vigor of the impression
would suggest a hand drawing. The use of cylinder presses for
chiaroscuro printing was already well known to experts. George Lallemand
and Ludolph Businck, sometime between 1623 and 1640, had used not one
but a series of six cylinders on three joined presses, with three
printers simultaneously inking separate blocks with different tones.
Impressions were then printed from each block in succession.
Papillon[26] described this press, and also another with a special chase
designed at an unspecified date by Nicolas Le Sueur. Jackson’s prints
show a much stronger impression than those of Businck or Le Sueur. No
details of his press are known, although Thomas Bewick[27] reported that
Jackson as an old man had shown him a drawing of its construction.

    [Footnote 26: Papillon, vol. 2, 1766, pp. 372-373.]

    [Footnote 27: Bewick, 1925, p. 213.]

    [Illustration:
    Illustration for Albrizzi’s _Istoria_, in which it was cut No. 136.
    From Hertz’s _Biblia Sacra_, vol. 1.
    Actual size.]

The cylinder press of Jackson’s design was finished in 1735 and paid for
by the income from prolonged sieges of work for printing offices. But
the overwork and resulting exhaustion laid him low; a serious illness
followed and for several months he was close to death. When he
eventually regained his health he found that his cuts for Baglioni and
Pezzana had been copied and mutilated by an engraver at Ancona. This
pirate was encouraged by the head of a large printing establishment
newly founded in Venice, who thereupon offered Jackson work at greatly
reduced prices. He refused the offer. With hack woodcutters now stealing
both his designs and his manner of cutting, and working at a far lower
rate than he could afford, he found that the market for his higher
priced work had almost entirely disappeared. He still received
occasional commissions, among others the title page to a translation of
Suetonius’ _Lives of the Twelve Caesars_, printed by Piacentini in
Venice in 1738. His splendid design, which shows considerable burin
work, is at odds with the crudity of the remainder of the book. Inferior
hands reproduced in woodcut outline Hubert Goltzius’ medallion portraits
of Roman emperors, originally executed in chiaroscuro (see p. 22).
Stimulated, no doubt, by the combination of chiaroscuro and antiquity,
Jackson produced a portrait of Julius Caesar in four tones of brown
after Egidius Sadeler’s engraving of a subsequently lost painting
attributed to Titian. This was not the only time Jackson translated a
line engraving and added chiaroscuro modeling of his own. He did not
make line-for-line copies. Jackson was interested in broad effects even
when leaning heavily on the delicate linear conventions of line
engraving. The lines, therefore, are firm and widely spaced, like
photographically enlarged details of copper-plate work. Apparently
Jackson felt that the addition of one or two tones from wood blocks
would supply the intermediate tints and at the same time would prevent
the line system from becoming obtrusive.

The decided influence of line engraving was probably the result of his
association in 1731 with G. A. Faldoni in Venice. Influenced by Claude
Mellan, this engraver made use of swelling parallel lines to create
tonal gradations. Jackson had first become interested in this technical
method through Ecman’s woodcuts after Callot, and once Faldoni had
strengthened the attraction he found kindred influences in the
engravings of Villamena and Alberti, particularly the former, from whom
he also acquired design ideas he later put to use in his wallpapers.
Jackson’s discovery that he could to some extent use copper-plate
techniques was not a reversion to the style of the Parisian group of Le
Clerc copyists. Jackson used the line system as a means for creating
forms in conjunction with tones; the Parisian woodcutters used it to
imitate the delicate quality of line engraving. He had a formal
aesthetic end in view; their purpose was to render realistic details in
a decorative framework.

With opportunities for book illustration gone, Jackson was in a
difficult position. His novel chiaroscuro experiments had consumed
valuable time and had lost him his standing as a steady worker for
printers. Near destitution and scouting around for fresh applications of
the woodcut, he decided to make prints for wallpaper on his new press.
It was a logical step for Jackson, not only because he knew something of
the process but also because he could make use of the chiaroscuro blocks
already prepared. Late in 1737 or early in 1738 he had his first samples
ready and sent them to Robert Dunbar in London, together with his
conditions for carrying on the trade in Venice. Negotiations dragged,
and Dunbar died before they could come to terms, but the idea of using
his skill and his machine for turning out wallpaper continued to occupy
his mind as a possibility. But, for the time, the undertaking had to be
laid aside while Jackson looked for more immediate means of employment.

At this juncture Joseph Smith befriended him. A merchant of long
standing in Venice, who became the British consul there in 1745, Smith
was a bibliophile, gem collector, and connoisseur of the arts. In spite
of Walpole’s sneering reference to him as “the merchant of Venice,” it
must be said that he was expert in his fields of interest. He had
excellent taste. His fine collection of books was purchased by George
III in 1765, and the small Rembrandt _Descent from the Cross_ once in
his possession is now in the National Gallery in London.

From Smith’s bronze statuette of Neptune, by Giovanni da Bologna,
Jackson produced a chiaroscuro print in four blocks, in imitation, he
asserted, of the prints of Andrea Andreani.[28] In suggesting the
influence of this master, Jackson did not refer to his technique or
style but to his subject: in 1584-1585 Andreani had produced a
chiaroscuro series after other statues by Giovanni da Bologna (B. XII,
VI, 1-4).

    [Footnote 28: The _Neptune_ was printed on a type press. One of
    the blocks split in printing and Jackson stated that thereafter he
    used the cylinder press exclusively.]

The next work in Smith’s collection to be reproduced in chiaroscuro was
Rembrandt’s _Descent from the Cross_. Jackson was evidently well
satisfied with the results, and with good reason. It is an extremely
effective print, with pale yellow lights and transparent shadows. The
drawing is remarkable in its feeling for the Rembrandtesque style. The
sky and other parts show English white-line burin work of the type found
in Mattaire’s _Latin Classics_ and Croxall’s _Aesop’s Fables_. The
_Enquiry_ says (p. 45):

  As this Painting was extremely favourable for this sort of Printing,
  he endeavoured to display all his Art in this Performance, and the
  Drawing of _Rembrandt’s_ Stile is intirely preserved in this Print;
  it is dedicated to Mr. _Smith_, who generously gave the Prints to
  all Gentlemen who came to _Venice_ at that time in order to
  recommend the Talents of a Man whose Industry might please the
  curious, and at least be of some Use to procure him Encouragement to
  proceed in other Works of that Kind.

Encouragement soon came. Smith interested two of his friends, Charles
Frederick and Smart Lethieullier, and the three proposed in 1739 the
undertaking of a grand project in chiaroscuro, the reproduction of 17
huge paintings by Venetian masters. This was to be financed by
subscription, says the _Enquiry_ (p. 46):

  the Proposals in _French_, and the Conditions expressed therein,
  were drawn up as they thought proper, without consulting the
  Difficulties that must attend an Enterprize that required some years
  to accomplish.

Their own subscriptions were no doubt generous but Jackson found that
his total income from this form of financing, together with possible
future sales, would hardly cover his expenses. Other hazards made his
situation even worse. War broke out in Europe before he was halfway
through, and many English gentlemen, his potential subscribers, left the
country. This exodus meant financial disaster, but Jackson kept at his
task. He should, he said, have gone to England for his own best
interests but felt that he couldn’t disappoint his distinguished
patrons.

The first print completed was after Titian’s _St. Peter Martyr_ at the
Dominican Church of Sts. Giovanni and Paolo. In coloring it is similar
to the Rembrandt print, with gray-green sky, yellow lights, and cool
brown shadows. While attractive and forceful, it is not as effective as
the Rembrandt because Titian, with his greater range of color, presented
a more complex problem. Most of the prints thereafter leaned to
monochromes in either browns or greens. The _St. Peter_ was finished in
1739 and in the same year five more prints were brought to completion.

In 1740 he produced the three sheets which made up Tintoretto’s
_Crucifixion_ in the Scuola di San Rocco.[29] These were intended to be
joined, if desired, to form one long print measuring about 22 × 50
inches.

    [Footnote 29: Jackson mentioned that he was seen drawing the
    blocks in the presence of Sir Roger Newdigate, Sir Bouchier Wrey
    “and other gentlemen of distinction.” The reason for such
    reference was probably some comment that he might have traced his
    outlines from Agostino Carracci’s 1582 engraving of the same
    subject in three large sheets (B. 23), each of which joins the
    others at precisely the same places as Jackson’s sheets. I am
    indebted to Dr. Jakob Rosenberg of the Fogg Museum for pointing
    out these similarities.]

Of the ten remaining subjects, the last, Jacopo Bassano’s _Dives and
Lazarus_, was finished at the end of 1743, and the set of 24 plates
(some paintings, as noted, were reproduced in three sheets and some in
two) was published as a bound volume by J. B. Pasquali in Venice, 1745,
under the title _Titiani Vecelii, Pauli Caliarii, Jacobi Robusti et
Jacobi de Ponte; opera selectiora a Joanne Baptista Jackson, Anglo,
ligno coelata et coloribus adumbrata_.

The Venetian prints were not merely an extension of chiaroscuro, they
represented a daring effort to go beyond line engraving for reproducing
paintings. Justification for this attempt is given in the _Essay_
(p. 6):

  ... and though those delicate Finishings, and minute Strokes, which
  make up great Part of the Merit of engraving on Copper, are not to
  be found in those cut on Wood in _Chiaro Oscuro_; yet there is a
  masterly and free Drawing, a boldness of Engraving and Relief, which
  pleases a true Taste more than all the little Exactness found in the
  Engravings on Copper Plates ... and indeed has an Effect which the
  best Judges very often prefer to any Prints from Engravings, done
  with all that Exactness, minute Strokes of the Graver, and Neatness
  of Work, which is sure to captivate the Minds of those whose Taste
  is formed upon the little Considerations of delicately handling the
  Tools, and not upon the Freedom, Life and Spirit of the separate
  Figures, and indeed the whole Composition.

A novel device, embossing, was employed to give added strength to the
prints. This development had been foreshadowed by earlier prints and
pages of text which showed a slight indentation where the dampened paper
received the impression. Embossing had probably first been used
systematically by Elisha Kirkall in 1722-24, and by Arthur Pond in his
chiaroscuros, made in 1732-36 in conjunction with George Knapton, after
drawings by old masters. Jackson admired Pond’s work even though it
combined etched outlines with two tone blocks printed from wood.[30]
Pond’s embossing was delicate and applied sparely only in certain forms,
such as ruined columns, but Jackson’s sunken areas were heavier and
franker, consciously intended to give an all-over effect. Since the
paper could not be pressed out without weakening the embossing, it often
took on the scarred and buckled look that characterizes the Venetian
chiaroscuros.

    [Footnote 30: _Enquiry_, p. 35. The Japanese began to use
    embossing about 1730. See Reichel, 1926, p. 48.]

The set had occupied him for 4½ years, during which he had planned, cut,
and proofed 94 blocks.

  No sooner was that ended, and a little Breathing required after that
  immense Fatigue, in the Year 1744 he attempted to print in Colours,
  and published six Landskips in Imitation of Painting in Acquarello.

    [Illustration:
    Title page for _Gajo Suetonio tranquillo, le vite de’dodici
    Cesari_, Piacentini, Venice, 1738.]

This new set, dedicated to Robert d’Arcy, British Ambassador to the
Republic of Venice, was based on gouache paintings by Marco Ricci,
probably done on goatskin or leather in his usual manner. For Jackson to
make these color prints was a logical step, since his work had tended
toward the full chromatic range even in the chiaroscuros, which
“adumbrated” color. His new prints were all color-- clear, sensitive,
and tonally just. It is not surprising that he seized upon Ricci’s
opaque watercolors. The paintings of the Venetian masters had darkened
in ill-lit churches, the shadows had become murky, there were too many
figures. But the Ricci paintings were small and clearly patterned, the
color sparkled.

The original gouaches have not been located, but from other examples in
the same manner, in Buckingham Palace and in the Uffizi, it is plain
that Jackson took certain liberties. Ricci’s rather sharp colors were
considerably modified and mellowed when they weren’t changed entirely:
witness the two sets in different harmonies in the British Museum. Peter
A. Wick (1955) believes it most likely that Jackson did not copy
specific paintings, and suggests that details from Ricci’s etchings and
gouaches were combined and freely amended to create Ricci-like designs.

Having determined his color scheme Jackson cut seven to ten blocks, each
designed to bear an individual color which was to combine with others
when necessary to form new colors. No outline block was used. To obtain
variations from light to dark in each pigment Jackson scraped down the
blocks with a knife; he thus lowered the surfaces slightly and created
porous textures which would introduce the white paper or the underlying
color. Examination of the prints clearly shows granular textures in the
light areas. Scraping to lighten impressions was a common procedure in
black-and-white printmaking, and was described by both Papillon and
Bewick. In addition Jackson no doubt used underlays, that is, small
pieces of paper pasted in layers of diminishing size on the backs of the
blocks where the color was most intense. The pressure was therefore
greatest in the deepest notes and lightest in the scraped parts. The
copper plate press enabled Jackson to get good register without making
marks on the blocks. The paper was dampened and fastened to the chase at
one end. After each impression the next inked block was slid into the
chase and printed wet into wet. Problems of register were eliminated
because the sheets were held in place at all times, the blocks fitting
the same form. No doubt the paper was sprinkled with water on the
reverse side after each impression to eliminate shrinking and to keep it
soft for printing. This method would explain Jackson’s transparent
effects.

Although the Ricci prints were certainly the most ambitious and
complexly planned prints of the century, the cutting is crisp and
decisive and the effect fresh and unlabored. As in the Venetian set
embossing is consciously applied. Most likely Jackson impressed the
finished prints, specially redampened for the purpose, with one or two
of the uninked blocks. Jackson interpreted Ricci’s qualities with great
spirit, and in doing so he liberated the color woodcut from its old
conventions. The “true”-color prints he produced in the medium preceded
the Japanese, if not the Chinese.[31] In Japan, it must be remembered,
simple color printing in rose and green supplanted hand coloring in
about 1741, and rudimentary polychrome prints can be dated as early as
1745, but, as Binyon[32] puts it, “it was not until 1764 that the first
rather tentative _nishiki-ye_, or complete colour-prints were produced
in Yedo, and the long reign of the Primitives came to an end.”

    [Footnote 31: Altdorfer’s _Beautiful Virgin of Ratisbon_, about
    1520, (B. 51, vol. 8, p. 78) made use of five colors in some
    impressions (Lippmann describes one with seven colors) but these
    were used primarily for decorative, not naturalistic purposes.]

    [Footnote 32: Laurence Binyon, _A Catalogue of Japanese & Chinese
    Woodcuts in the British Museum_, London, 1916, p. xx,
    introduction.]

In making his Ricci prints Jackson sought a method of color printing
that would overcome the deficiencies of Jacob Christoph Le Blon’s
three-color mezzotint process. Le Blon, a Frenchman born in Germany, had
begun experimenting with color printing as early as 1705. His idea was
to split the chromatic components of a picture into three basic hues--
blue, red, and yellow-- in gradations of intensity so that varying
amounts of color, each on a separate copper plate, could be printed in
superimposition to reconstitute the original picture. This was based
upon a simplification of Newton’s seven primaries. Later, Le Blon added
a fourth, black plate. Incredibly, this is the principle of modern
commercial color printing, the only difference being that Le Blon did
not have a camera, color filters, and the halftone screen at his
disposal and had to make the separations by hand. Le Blon came to London
in 1719, produced an enormous number of color prints, published his
_Coloritto, or the Harmony of Colouring in Painting_ in a very small
edition about 1722 (it is undated), and shortly thereafter failed
disastrously. About 1733 he returned to Paris, where he attracted a few
followers. Most of his prints have disappeared, only about fifty being
known at present.

    [Illustration:
    Trial proof of the key block of center sheet of _The Crucifixion_,
    after Tintoretto. National Gallery of Art (Rosenwald Collection).]

    [Illustration:
    TRIAL PROOF of the key block of _Christ on the Mount of Olives_,
    after Bassano. National Gallery of Art (Rosenwald Collection).]

The idea of full-color printing, then, was in the air, although later,
in the _Enquiry_, Jackson took pains to state that he had not been
following in the footsteps of the Frenchman, who, he claimed, had made
serious mistakes.

  The Curious may think that this Tentamine was taken from the
  celebrated Mr. _le Blond_; I must here take the Liberty to explain
  the Difference.... Numbers are convinced already, that the printing
  Copper-plates done with _Fumo_ or _Mezzotinto_, are the most subject
  to wear out the soonest of any sort of Engraving on that Metal. Had
  this one Article been properly considered, _le Blond_, must have
  seen the impossibility of printing any Quantity from his repeated
  Impressions of Blue, Red, and Yellow Plates, so as to produce only
  Twenty of these printed Pictures to be alike. This is obvious to
  every one who has any Knowledge, or has seen the cleaning of
  Copper-plates after the Colour was laid on; the delicate finishing
  of the Flesh must infallibly wear out every time the Plate is
  cleaned, and all the tender light Shadowing of any Colour must soon
  become white in proportion as the Plate wears. The Nature of
  Impression being overlooked at first, was the principal Cause that
  Undertaking came to nothing, notwithstanding the immense Expence the
  Proprietors were at to have a few imperfect Proofs at best, since it
  is evident they could be no other. The new invented Method of
  printing in Colours by Mr. _Jackson_ is under no Apprehension of
  being wore out so soon.... Whatever has been done by our _English_
  Artist, was all printed with Wood Blocks with a strong Relievo, and
  in Substance sufficient to draw off almost any number that may be
  required.

What Jackson neglected to mention was the difficulty of repeating
transparent color effects with large planks of wood. Few existing
impressions match each other and some prints are off register. What
saved him was his fine color sense, his brilliance as a woodcutter, and
his disinclination to make literal color reproductions.

The work that Jackson left behind became a part of the cultural heritage
of Venice, valued on its own account as well as for its connection with
the city. Zanetti[33] describes the Venetian set and Zanotto,[34] in his
_Guida_ of 1856, urges a visit to the Chiesa Abaziale della
Misericordia, which evidently had on permanent exhibition a “perfectly
unique collection of woodcuts in various colors by Jackson, quite
unmatched.”

    [Footnote 33: Zanetti, 1792, pp. 689, 716.]

    [Footnote 34: Zanotto, 1856, p. 320, note 3.]

Gallo[35] says that some of Jackson’s blocks found their way to the
printing house of the Remondini and were used to strike off new
impressions, after which they became the property of the Typografia
Pozzato in Bassano. This might explain some of the inferior examples of
the Venetian set which could hardly have come from the presses of
Jackson or Pasquali.

    [Footnote 35: Gallo, 1941, pp. 23-23. Jackson’s blocks are not
    listed in the Remondini catalog of 1817.]


_England Again: The Wallpaper Venture_

Jackson was married in Venice-- whether to an Italian we do not know--
and when he left the city in 1745 to return to England he took a family
along. He mentions “an impoverish’d Family” in the _Essay_, but beyond
this we know nothing of his personal life.

As soon as he arrived in England he was invited to work in a calico
establishment, where he remained about six years. But making drawings to
be printed on cloth failed to give him the scope he required. At the
back of his mind was the passion to work with woodblocks in color. This
led him to take a bold and hazardous step-- to leave his position and
attempt, obviously with little capital, the manufacture of wallpaper,
not to please an established taste but to educate the public to a new
type of product.

Wallpaper had come into popular use in England in the late 17th century,
having been obtained from China by the East India Company. These
hand-painted wall hangings, imported at great cost and in small
quantities, were correspondingly expensive. The subjects were gay and
fanciful-- birds, fans, Chinese kiosks, pagodas, and flowers. Highly
desired because they offered an escape from the heavy grandeur of the
Baroque style, they were subsequently imitated by assembly-line methods.
They fitted naturally into the developing _rocaille_ style (corrupted
into Rococo outside of France), and it is not surprising that they were
also produced extensively in Paris. In England these imitations, which
formed a substitute for expensive velvet and damask hangings, completely
dominated the wallpaper field.

The first notice of Jackson’s venture appeared in the _Gentleman’s
Magazine_ of February 1752.[36] A letter signed “Y. D.” praised the
editor “Sylvanus Urban” for attempting to revive the art of cutting on
wood. It mentioned that this art was in decline for more than a century,
but noted that--

  Two of our countrymen, _E. Kirkall_ and _J. B. Jackson_, ought to be
  exempted from this general charge; the former having a few years ago
  introduced the _Chiaro Oscuro_ of _Hugo de Carpi_ into England,
  though he met with no extraordinary encouragement for his ingenuity;
  and the art had died with him had not the latter attempted to revive
  it, but with less encouragement than his predecessor. _Mr. Jackson_,
  however, has lately invented a new method of printing paper hangings
  from blocks, which is very ornamental, and exceeds the common method
  of paper-staining (as it is termed) by the delicacy of his drawings,
  the novelty of his designs, and the masterly arrangement of his
  principal figures.

    [Footnote 36: Vol. 22, pp. 77-79.]

The next notice appeared in the _London Evening Post_ of April 30-May 2,
1752:

  New invented PAPER HANGINGS, printed in Oyl, which prevents the
  fading or changing of the Colours; as also Landscapes printed in
  Colours, by J. B. Jackson, Reviver of the Art of printing in Chiaro
  Oscuro, are to be had at Dunbar’s Warehouse in Aldermanbury, London;
  or Mr. Gibson’s, Bookseller, opposite the St. Alban’s Tavern in
  Charles-street near St. James’s-Square, and no where else.

Several months afterwards, in the September 1752 issue of _Gentleman’s
Magazine_, publication of the _Enquiry into the Origins of Printing in
Europe_ was announced.

The _Enquiry_ is an odd book. It combines rewritten versions of two
Jackson manuscripts, a study of the origins of printing in Europe and an
autobiographical journal covering, we suppose, the years from about 1725
on. The writer, in his introduction, says that he had been attracted by
the two notices mentioned and went to see Jackson, whom he already knew
by reputation. As a “Lover of Art” he considered it his duty to acquaint
the public with Jackson’s ideas concerning the origins of printing.
These ideas, he felt, were an important contribution. After devoting
half the little book to a rambling account of this subject, including a
short history of woodcutting from Dürer onward, the author suddenly
shifts to the journal. It is regrettable that he condensed it because we
do not know what was left out. It is possible that much autobiographical
information was excluded, as well as a picture of woodcutters and
woodcutting of the time. The book concludes with the statement that
Jackson intended to print in October of that year (1752) a paper hanging
in two sheets after an original painting “by _F. Simonnetta_ of
_Parma_”[37] representing the battle fought near that city in 1738.

    [Footnote 37: There is little doubt that Jackson meant Francesco
    Simonini (1686-1753), a painter of battle subjects who was born in
    Parma and lived in Venice in the 1740’s.]

This print was to be in full color, 3 feet 6 inches long by 2 feet high,
and was to serve as a specimen for a series of four of the same size,
the others being “History, Pictures and Landscapes.” They were to be
done by subscription:

  No Money will be required of the Subscribers till the Prints are
  finished, and only at the Delivery. It is to be hoped the Curious
  and the Public will encourage this Undertaking, by a Man who has
  spent the greatest Part of his Life in searching after and improving
  an Art, believed by all to be lost, and has restored it to the
  Condition we now see it in his Works.

The only known copy of this battle picture, made from about seven
blocks, is in the Print Room of the British Museum. It is a magnificent
piece. Probably nothing with this breadth of handling had ever been done
in woodcut before. The color is grave and beautifully harmonized,
although the paper has deteriorated and the colors have darkened
somewhat. The blocks were cut with ardor, almost fury; everything is
brought to life with masterly assurance. Martin Hardie, who made the
only previous comment on this print, which he could only surmise was
Jackson’s, says:[38] “Jackson’s supreme achievement is a large battle
scene, with wonderful masses of rich colour superbly blended,
reminiscent of Velasquez in breadth, in dignity, and in glory of tone.”

    [Footnote 38: Hardie, 1906, p. 23.]

There were competitors in London, among them Matthias Darley, who
produced papers in the Chinese style; Thomas Bromwich, who was
patronized by Walpole; and Robert Dunbar, Jr., of Aldermanbury, who in
addition sold Jackson’s papers. They lacked both Jackson’s gifts and his
unreasonable standards but they produced more generally acceptable
wallpaper with greater facility. These competitors did not work in oil
colors, like Jackson. Transparent tints were too difficult to control,
especially when applied with inking balls (composition rollers did not
come into use until well after 1800), and effects were too heavy. They
used distemper-- powdered color mixed with glue and water, with chalk
added to give body. This was sometimes applied with woodblock or stencil
but most often it was simply painted in by hand over a blockprinted
outline. Often the painting was done directly on the wall after the
paper was hung. These wallpapers were weak when examined critically, but
nobody worried as long as a light bright pastel effect was obtained.
Jackson’s vigorous drawing and woodcutting were out of place in this
field. They were, like his tonal exactitude that made holes in the wall,
a distraction and an offense against interior decoration.

Jackson’s business, therefore, did not prosper. In a last effort to stir
up public interest he published, in 1754, his well-known little book,
_An Essay on the Invention of Engraving and Printing in Chiaro Oscuro_,
illustrated with eight prints in “proper colours.” It sold for two
shillings and sixpence. The style was rather florid but his arguments
were presented with such vigor that it is easy to see why critics have
found it difficult to refrain from quoting at length. The main body of
text is only eight pages long, with an additional eight pages of
subsidiary descriptive material attached to the pictures.

On the title page appeared his favorite passage from Pascal, used
previously on the title page of the _Enquiry_: “Ceux qui sont capables
d’inventer sont rares: ceux qui n’inventent point sont en plus grand
nombre, et par conséquent les plus forts.” The first few pages of the
_Essay_ enlarge on this theme:

  It has been too generally the Fate of those who set themselves to
  the Inventing any Thing that requires Talents in the Discovery, to
  apply all their Faculties, exhaust their Fortune, and waste their
  whole Time in bringing that to Perfection, which when obtained, Age,
  Death, or Want of sufficient Supplies, obliges them to relinquish,
  and to yield all the Advantages which their Hopes had flattered them
  with, and which had supported their Spirits during their Fatigues
  and Difficulties, to others; and thus leave behind them an
  impoverish’d Family incapable to carry on their Parent’s Design, and
  too often complaining of the projecting Genius of that Father who
  has ruin’d them, tho’ he has enriched the Nation to which he
  belonged, and to which of Consequence he was a laudable Benefactor.

He proceeds in this bitter vein for a time, then brings into the open
the main purpose of the book:

  Another Reason perhaps is, that the Artist being totally engaged in
  the Pursuit of his Discovery, has but little Time to apply to the
  Lovers and Encouragers of Art for their Patronage, Protection, and
  Supplies necessary for the carrying on such a Design, or he has not
  Powers to set the Advantage which would result from it in a true
  Light; nor communicate in Words what he clearly conceived in Idea:
  for certainly there are Men enough, who from the mere Desire of
  increasing their Wealth, would give him that Assistance, which, like
  the artificial Heat of a Greenhouse, would bring that Art to a
  Ripeness, which would otherwise languish and die under the Coldness
  of the first Designer, and which in this Union of Riches and
  Invention would yield mutual Advantage to both.

  There are besides this amongst the Great, without Doubt, many who
  would gladly lend their Patronage to rising Arts, if they knew their
  Authors....

He gives as example the Duke of Cumberland, who had just sponsored a
tapestry plant at Fulham, and follows with an outline of the honorable
traditions of the woodcut, pointing out that Dürer, Titian, Salviati,
Campagnola, and other painters drew their work on woodblocks to be cut
by woodcutters, and adds that “even _Andrea Vincentino_ did not think it
in the least a Dishonour, though a Painter, to grave on Wood the
Landscapes of _Titian_.” He builds up to the statement that Raphael and
Parmigianino drew on woodblocks to be cut in chiaroscuro by Ugo da
Carpi.

  After having said all this, it may seem highly improper to give to
  Mr. _Jackson_ [he speaks of himself throughout in the third person]
  the Merit of inventing this Art; but let me be permitted to say,
  that an Art recovered is little less than an Art invented. The Works
  of the former Artists remain indeed; but the Manner in which they
  were done, is entirely lost: the inventing then the Manner is really
  due to this latter Undertaker, since no Writings, or other Remains,
  are to be found by which the Method of former Artists can be
  discover’d, or in what Manner they executed their works; nor, in
  Truth, has the _Italian_ Method since the Beginning of the 16th
  Century been attempted by any one except Mr. _Jackson_.

We cannot help concluding that Jackson was falsifying here. Taking
advantage of the public’s ignorance, he was puffing up his historical
importance in order to sell wallpaper. If the _cognoscenti_ complained
that he had buried the chiaroscurists after da Carpi, he always had the
explanation that others did not work in the Italian style, which he
neglected to describe. Jackson knew what he was doing; he was not as
ignorant of art history as Hardie and Burch have surmised, although it
is true that he was not always certain as to dates, since he believed
Andreani worked as a contemporary of da Carpi. In the _Enquiry_,
published only two years earlier, he had shown familiarity with the
prints of Goltzius, Coriolano, Businck, Nicolas and Vincent Le Sueur,
Moretti, and Zanetti, all of whom had worked to some extent in the
Italian manner.

Some writers have reacted strongly to this paragraph. Losing their sense
of proportion, they have been led to the conclusion that Jackson was
little better than a charlatan and that his work as a whole reflected
his low ethics. In some instances his culpability has been magnified:
Bénézit has even charged him with claiming to have invented color
printing.

The worst result of Jackson’s insistence on re-inventing the Italian
manner was that it made a major issue of what was at best a minor honor.
It minimized such technical contributions as the following, which did
not follow traditional recipes:

  ... Mr. _Jackson_ has invented ten positive Tints in _Chiaro
  Oscuro_; whereas Hugo di Carpi knew but four; all of which can be
  taken off by four Impressions only.

This technical system was used for the Venetian chiaroscuros, the
portrait of Algernon Sidney after Justus Verus, and others. He did not
mention that he needed a greater range of tones because he was working
after oil paintings, not drawings. The introduction of full color from a
series of blocks to translate water colors is also mentioned in the
_Essay_, but with no greater emphasis than in the _Enquiry_. Since his
wallpaper was to be done in color as well as in chiaroscuro, and since
the _Essay_ included four plates in color, it is astonishing that
Jackson failed to make stronger claims for his originality in this
development.

He proceeded to describe his plan to replace wallpapers in the Chinese
style with his papers, which, he stated, would have no “...gay glaring
Colours in broad Patches of red, green, yellow, blue &c ... [with] no
true Judgment belonging to it ... Nor are there Lions leaping from Bough
to Bough like Cats, Houses in the Air, Clouds and Sky upon the
Ground....”

He proposed, instead, to use as subjects many of the famous statues of
antiquity; the landscapes of Salvator Rosa, Claude Lorrain, Poussin,
Berghem, Wouwerman, the views of Canaletto, Pannini--

  Copies of the Pictures of all the best Painters of the _Italian_,
  _French_ and _Flemish_ Schools, the fine sculptur’d Vases of the
  Ancients which are now remaining; in short, every Bird that flies,
  every Figure that moves upon the Surface of the Earth from the
  Insect to the human; and every Vegetable that springs from the
  Ground, whatever is of Art or Nature, may be introduced into this
  Design of fitting up and furnishing Rooms, with all the Truth of
  Drawing, Light, and Shadow, and great Perfection of Colouring.

This vast gallery of art and nature was to be printed in “Colours
softening into each other, with Harmony and Repose....”

Even if we feel that Jackson was building up his project to attract
attention, or that he was intoxicated by the idea of creating art on
such a grand scale, there is still something wrong in his conceiving it
in terms of wallpaper. What is certain is that Jackson was desperately
anxious to create color prints. In the absence of art patrons, wallpaper
was his only excuse for continuing as an artist. As a business venture
it was absurd, even tragic. There is good reason to believe that Jackson
lacked capital and rented the quarters for his business: his name does
not appear in the Poor Rate Book of that period in the Borough of
Battersea.

From a certain standpoint, this excursion by Jackson into wallpapers
featuring Roman ruins and classical antiquity appeared to come at an
appropriate time. Marco Ricci’s paintings as well as the somewhat later
work of Pannini and Zuccarelli, and Guardi’s early ruin pieces, were
already known. Ricci had visited England from 1710 to 1716. Zuccarelli
had come twice, once in 1742 and again in 1751 to stay until 1773,
becoming a foundation member of the Royal Academy; his classical
landscapes with their glib charm had a comparatively good reception. But
the strongest influence was undoubtedly that of Piranesi, whose powerful
etchings brought to life as never before the ravaged stones of Imperial
Rome and the _Campagna_. Their effect was widespread and electrifying,
although it was not until the 1760’s that they developed their full
force as an influence on English architecture and furniture design, and
came to supersede the Palladian style brought to England by Inigo Jones
at the beginning of the 17th century.

Jackson was too early; public taste was not yet ready for picturesque
landscape or antique forms in wallpaper. But the style became dominant
in the latter 18th century, particularly in England and France, and was
also exported to America. While it is difficult to estimate the degree
of Jackson’s influence in this development, we know that no scenic
papers can be dated before the Ricci prints, or before Jackson’s
wallpaper venture. Oman[39] comments:

  The use of wall-paper to imitate large architectural designs dates,
  as we have seen, from the days of J. B. Jackson. During the
  remainder of the century this style was used almost exclusively for
  decoration of the halls and staircases of great houses.

    [Footnote 39: Oman, 1929, p. 33.]

These papers covered rooms with landscape panoramas or with landscapes
in Rococo scroll frames, relieved by decorative panels with busts,
statuettes, and floral ornaments. As in preceding work, they were
usually painted in opaque water colors. Most of the landscapes were
loose transcriptions of designs by Pannini, Vernet, Lancret and other
painters of architectural, scenic, and pastoral subjects. The treatment
was generalized and superficial, the touch light and detached.

In this approach to wallpaper we see the basic ideas of Jackson, but
with more emphasis on charm and elegance. Ironically, as years passed
and original sources grew obscure, it became the tendency to attribute
scenic papers in great houses to Jackson.[40] If he was a failure as a
pioneer in the field, he remained its most highly prized legend.

    [Footnote 40: An excellent description of the papers of this type
    imported to America is given by Edna Donnell in _Metropolitan
    Museum Studies 1932_, vol. 4, pp. 77-108.]

The _Essay_ continued with a criticism of the current taste in
wallpaper. Jackson enlarged on the lack of discrimination of persons who
would prefer popular papers to his.

  It seems, also, as if there was great Reason to suspect wherever one
  sees such preposterous Furniture, that the Taste in Literature of
  that Person who directed it was very deficient, and that it would
  prefer _Tom D’Urfy_ to _Shakespear_, _Sir Richard Blackmore_ to
  _Milton_, _Tate_ to _Homer_, an _Anagrammatist_ to _Virgil_,
  _Horace_, or any other Writer of true Wit, either Ancient or Modern.

He added that his prints, made in oil colors, would be permanent
“whereas in that done with Water-Colours, in the common Way, Six Months
makes a very visible Alteration in all that preposterous Glare, which
makes its whole Merit....”

The _Essay_ has eight plates, four of ancient statues in chiaroscuro and
four of plants, animals, and buildings, in probably six colors. They
were hastily done and no doubt had a rather fresh charm when published,
but unfortunately the oil in the pigments was inferior, and every print
in the book has darkened and yellowed badly. The prints and neighboring
pages are heavily spotted and stained. This book which should have been
his vindication became instead an argument for his lack of merit,
especially to those who were not familiar with his other work.

We do not know how large a working force Jackson had or how many of the
projected plates he planned to assign to helpers or to carry out
himself. Some of the decorative borders from four blocks, blue, red,
yellow, and gray-green, he undoubtedly made and printed himself. They
are heavy and rather fruity in effect but are incisively drawn and cut.
Also bearing Jackson’s stamp are some ornamental frames with fruit and
flowers in the same full range of colors.

An album ascribed to him, in the collection of the Victoria and Albert
Museum, contains drawings of flowers, foliage, details of ornament and
hand-colored designs, and a proof of the woodcut for the title page to
the _Suetonius_ of 1738. Five of the drawings are signed or initialed by
Jackson, with dates from 1740 to 1753. The designs, which might have
been intended for calico or wallpaper, are poorly done and not at all in
his style. The drawings are competent but cannot definitely be
considered his, notwithstanding the signatures, since we do not know
Jackson’s handwriting from other sources. The most that can be said for
this album is that it probably comes from his workshop.

While producing wallpaper, Jackson still made efforts to attract
sponsors for full editions of his earlier chiaroscuros. The _Woman
Meditating_ was dedicated to the Antiquarian Society of London. _Christ
Giving the Keys to St. Peter_, rejected by Crozat, we assume, was
dedicated to Thomas Hollis, whom Jackson may have met in Venice. And the
_Venus and Cupid with a Bow_ was inscribed to Thomas Brand, lifelong
companion of Hollis who later added to his name the latter’s patronymic.
The _Algernon Sidney_ has no dedication, but since Hollis was a Sidney
specialist and edited the first one-volume edition of his works in 1769,
there is a strong likelihood that the print had some connection with
this liberal gentleman. Jackson made it either in Venice just before he
left, or in England shortly after his arrival.

Robert Dunbar, Jr., who had inherited the wallpaper manufactory on his
father’s death, went out of business late in 1754. In his possession was
a quantity of Jackson’s papers, for which he was the main outlet. With
this backlog of papers on hand, and no large distributor, Jackson’s
venture collapsed. This happened shortly after the publication of the
_Essay_, and its author was never to have the opportunity to carry out
his grandiose plans.

Jackson appealed to Hollis, who wrote to his former mentor, Dr. John
Ward, professor of rhetoric at Gresham College and the head of a society
founded by noblemen and gentlemen for the encouragement of learning:[41]

  Dear Sir!-- Do Me the Favour to accept these four prints of
  Jackson’s. They are no where sold, & will soon be scarce. When You
  consider their Merit, I am confident You will lament the hard Fate
  of the ingenious Artist; who, at this Time, in his old age, & in his
  own Country is unprotected unnoticed, and can difficultly support
  Himself against immediate distress & Ruin.

  I am, with great Respect,

  Dear Sir!

      Your obliged affect humble Servant

      T. Hollis

  Bedford Street, February 10, 1755

    [Footnote 41: British Museum Add. mss. 6210.]

We do not know the results of this appeal. In any case Jackson seems to
have faded out as an artist. Little is known of his subsequent career up
to the time more than twenty years later, when Bewick mentions meeting
him in advanced age. In 1761 he made a drawing of Salisbury Cathedral
for Edward Eaton, “bookseller at Sarum,” for a line engraving dedicated
by Eaton to the Lord Bishop of Winchester. This large view included
figures in the foreground in an attempt to give animation to the scene.
Unfortunately the engraver, John Fougeron, was little more than an
amateur. His execution was feeble and mechanical: Jackson’s drawing
suffered so badly that its quality cannot be determined. This print was
copied on a smaller scale in a steel engraving by J. B. Swaine,
published by J. B. Nichols & Son in 1843, but it was hardly an
improvement.

Bewick’s recollections of Jackson, written about forty years after their
meeting in Newcastle, imply that Jackson stayed in that city for a
period. The Town Clerk’s Office, however, has no record of his
residence. The following passage from Bewick’s _Memoir_ is the last
evidence[42] bearing on Jackson:

  Several impressions from duplicate or triplicate blocks, printed in
  this way, of a very large size, were also given to me, as well as a
  drawing of the press from which they were printed, many years ago,
  by Jean Baptiste Jackson, who had been patronised by the King of
  France; but, whether these prints had been done with the design of
  embellishing the walls of houses in that country, I know not. They
  had been taken from paintings of eminent old masters, and were
  mostly Scripture pieces. They were well drawn, and perhaps correctly
  copied from the originals, yet in my opinion none of them looked
  well. Jackson left Newcastle quite enfeebled with age, and, it was
  said, ended his days in an asylum, under the protecting care of Sir
  Gilbert Elliot, Bart., at some place on the border near the Teviot,
  or on Tweedside.

    [Footnote 42: Bewick, 1925, pp. 213-214.]

If Bewick was correct in reporting that Jackson died while under the
protection of Sir Gilbert Elliot, probably in a Poor Law institution, it
is unlikely that the date could have been much later than 1777, the year
in which Sir Gilbert died. This would place the meeting of both artists
shortly before this time, when Bewick was in his early twenties (he was
born in 1753). Sir Gilbert lived in Minto House, Roxburghshire,
Scotland, but no evidence can be found for the supposition that Jackson
died in the vicinity. No obituary has been discovered. The record of
Jackson’s death, if it exists, probably lies in a parish register
somewhere on the Scottish border.



_Critical Opinion_


In most histories of prints it was considered sufficient to note that
certain artists worked in woodcut chiaroscuro; the quality of such work
was rarely discussed. But Jackson was an exception: something about his
prints aroused critics to defense or attack. The cleavage is absolute,
strange for one who was presumably a mere reproductive artist. Nothing
could show more clearly the unsettled nature of Jackson’s standing than
a sampling of these opinions.

Horace Walpole in a letter, dated June 12, 1753, to Sir Horace Mann
describing the furnishings in Strawberry Hill, commented:[43]

  The bow window below leads into a little parlour hung with a
  stone-colour Gothic paper and Jackson’s Venetian prints, which I
  could never endure while they pretended, infamous as they are, to be
  after Titian, &c., but when I gave them this air of barbarous
  bas-reliefs, they succeeded to a miracle; it is impossible at first
  sight not to conclude that they contain the history of Attila or
  Tottila done about the very era.

    [Footnote 43: _The Letters of Horace Walpole_, ed. Toynbee, 1903,
    vol. 3, p. 166.]

Von Heinecken[44] says they are “in the manner of Hugo da Carpi but much
inferior in execution.” But Huber, Rost, and Martini[45] noted Jackson’s
independent approach:

  Jackson’s prints, which are certainly not without merit, are in
  general less sought after by collectors than they deserve. His style
  is original and is concerned entirely with broad effects.

    [Footnote 44: Von Heinecken, 1771, p. 94.]

    [Footnote 45: Huber, Rost, and Martini, 1808, vol. 9, pp.
    121-123.]

Baverel[46] also had a high opinion of Jackson’s work. Describing the
Venetian prints, he says that Jackson “had a skillful and daring attack,
and it is regrettable that he did not produce more work.” Nagler’s[47]
criticism typifies the academic preconceptions of some writers on the
subject of chiaroscuro:

  Jackson’s works are not praiseworthy throughout in drawing, and also
  he was not thoroughly able to apply the principles of chiaroscuro
  correctly.... Yet we have several valuable prints from Jackson....

    [Footnote 46: Baverel, 1807, vol. 1, pp. 341-342.]

    [Footnote 47: Künstler-Lexicon, op. cit.]

And Chatto[48] remarks:

  They are very unequal in point of merit; some of them appearing
  harsh and crude, and others flat and spiritless, when compared with
  similar products by the old Italian wood engravers.

    [Footnote 48: Chatto and Jackson, 1861, p. 455.]

With this verdict W. J. Linton[49] disagrees, saying, “...Chatto
underrates him. I find his works very excellent and effective. _The
Finding of Moses_ (2 feet high by 16 inches wide) and _Virgin Climbing
the Steps of the Temple_ (after Veronese), and others, are admirable in
every respect....” Duplessis[50] attacks the Venetian set heatedly and
at length, yet he devotes more space to expounding Jackson’s
deficiencies than to discussing the work of any other woodcut artist,
even Dürer or da Carpi.

    [Footnote 49: Linton, 1889, p. 214. The second print mentioned is
    after Titian, not Veronese.]

    [Footnote 50: Duplessis, 1880, pp. 314-315. Duplessis, who was
    _conservateur-adjoint_ in the Cabinet des Estampes of the
    Bibliothèque Nationale, no doubt based his judgment on the
    impressions in that collection. Certainly few of these were
    printed by either Jackson or Pasquali.]

On the evidence we have, the new conception Jackson brought to
printmaking was not fully understood until the 20th century. Pierre
Gusman[51] in 1916 probably first noted the technical distinction
between Jackson’s work and earlier chiaroscuros.

  He [Jackson] conceived his prints in a different way from the
  Italians, bringing in new aspects in accenting values and planes,
  because he did not reproduce drawings but interpreted paintings. The
  whites even show embossings in the paper to make the light vibrate,
  and a specially cut block is sometimes impressed to help in modeling
  the forms. Jackson, in short, very much the wood carver, combined
  the resources of the cameo with those of the chiaroscuro and
  produced curious works of combined techniques, but without equaling
  his predecessors, who were particularly remarkable for their
  simplicity of style and treatment.

    [Footnote 51: Gusman, 1916, pp. 164, 165.]

One year later, in 1917, Max J. Friedländer[52] commented that relief
effects in block printing were not alien additions but natural
consequences of the method. His main emphasis, we note, is on the Ricci
prints.

  A peculiarity of the color woodcut, which first was put up with as a
  characteristic of the technique but finally was enhanced and
  utilized fully as a means of expression, is the physical relief that
  stands out in thick and soft paper with the sharp pressure of die
  wood-blocks.... No one has employed the relief of the woodcut so
  consciously and artfully as the Englishman John Baptist Jackson in
  the eighteenth century, who, particularly in some landscapes,
  created most effective and richly colored sheets. He has gone so far
  as to express forms in “blind-printing,” entirely without bordering
  lines or contrasting colors, merely through relief pressing.

    [Footnote 52: Friedländer, 1926 (1st ed. 1917), pp. 224-226.]

Anton Reichel’s important history of chiaroscuro, with its magnificent
color plates in facsimile, appeared in 1926.[53] He says of Jackson that
his activity in chiaroscuro was “extraordinarily rich,” that he created
broad approximations of his subjects which made him neglect details, but
that these were “convincingly translated into the language of the
woodcut.”

  Five heroic landscapes after M. Ricci represent the artistic high
  point of his work, having a distinctive richness of color not
  previously attained by any other master of chiaroscuro. Each of the
  prints has a complete harmony of colors; the single color
  blocks-- over ten can be counted in each print-- which show in their
  separate tones the extraordinarily cultivated taste of the artist,
  give the composition a decorative effect far from any realistic
  imitation of nature.... The relief impressed with the blocks is so
  strong that, going beyond all other prior attempts of the kind, it
  represents an essential factor of the composition through its actual
  light-and-shadow effects.

    [Footnote 53: Reichel, 1926, p. 48.]

Although by this time Jackson’s chiaroscuros were regarded with respect
and his color prints were acknowledged to be of prime importance, some
of the conservative wallpaper historians were still repelled by their
vigor, which did not suit genteel notions of interior decoration. Sugden
and Edmondson[54] in 1925 certainly failed to understand both Jackson’s
work and the period in which it was done. They comment:

  Jackson’s bold claims to originality and merit are scarcely borne
  out by anything he is known to have achieved. That he had a vogue,
  however, seems certain, for apart from his “Essay” he has come down
  to us as a historical figure. To modern tastes in art many of his
  productions seem almost monstrous, and yet they were to some extent
  the expression of the time-spirit in which they were born.

    [Footnote 54: Sugden and Edmondson, 1925, p. 71.]


  [Transcriber’s Note:

  The color Plates were printed after the first page of Postscript, at
  the mid-sentence point “they preferred imitations of sentimental, /
  banal, story-telling oil paintings”.]

    [Illustration:
    1. CHRIST GIVING THE KEYS TO ST. PETER, after Raphael]

    [Illustration:
    2. VENUS AND CUPID WITH A BOW, after Parmigianino]

    [Illustration:
    5. WOMAN MEDITATING (ST. THAIS?), after etching by Parmigianino]

    [Illustration:
    13. DESCENT FROM THE CROSS, after Rembrandt]

    [Illustration:
    43. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH WATERING PLACE, RIDERS, AND OBELISK,
    after Marco Ricci]

    [Illustration:
    40. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH FISHERMAN, COWS, AND HORSEMEN,
    after Marco Ricci]

    [Illustration:
    40. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH FISHERMAN, COWS AND HORSEMEN,
    after Marco Ricci, Detail]

    [Illustration:
    49. ORNAMENTAL FRAME WITH FLOWERS AND GIRL’S HEAD
    59. WOMAN STANDING HOLDING APRON]

    [Illustration:
    53. BUILDING AND VEGETABLE]

    [Illustration:
    22. THE CRUCIFIXION, after Tintoretto, left sheet]

    [Illustration:
    22. THE CRUCIFIXION, after Tintoretto, center sheet]

    [Illustration:
    22. THE CRUCIFIXION, after Tintoretto, right sheet]



_Postscript_


While Jackson had an influence on a small coterie, it did not prolong
the life of the color woodcut. In Europe the medium did not survive his
disappearance in 1755; no doubt it seemed to later artists intractable
and lacking in nuance. The black-and-white woodcut, moreover, went into
further decline and was almost entirely disregarded except for the
rudest sort of work. Almost a century and a half were to pass before
Gauguin and Munch swept aside old taboos and found exciting new
possibilities for color in the woodcut process.

The lack of interest in the color woodcut was also the result of new
techniques in the copper-plate media, techniques that could be adapted
to color printing. In 1756 J. C. François introduced the crayon manner,
an etching process that could imitate the effects of chalk and crayon
drawings. During the following decades numerous technical variations
were developed, the most popular being the pastel manner, the stipple,
and the aquatint.

Of these methods only aquatint survived after early years of the 19th
century. It was less limited than its companion processes and had wide
application in rendering the effect of water-color wash. But color work
in this medium, however attractive to a public that appreciated delicacy
and charm, did not have mass appeal. The new audience created by the
advancing Industrial Revolution wanted printed pictures of a less subtle
type; they preferred imitations of sentimental, banal, story-telling oil
paintings with a high, waxy finish. Neither aquatint nor other
copper-plate media were suitable for these products, and color
lithography did not receive serious attention until the late 1830’s. The
wood engraving, which had inherited the function of the woodcut and
which had greater flexibility in rendering tones and details, became the
logical vehicle for the new color picture.

In this situation Jackson suddenly appeared as the pioneer, as the
father of printed pictures based upon paintings in oil or water colors.
His intention had been translation rather than imitation and he would
have abhorred the feeble new product, but this did not concern his
successors-- they were interested only in his technical principles.
Moreover, in their naïveté, they imagined they were improving on Jackson
because their prints were counterfeit paintings while his were not.

The earliest picture printers therefore, used wood engraving. Among them
were Frederich W. Gubitz of Berlin, who began the revival about 1815;
William Savage[55] of London, a printer who published a book describing
his project in 1822; and George Baxter of London, whose work dates from
about 1830. All started with chiaroscuro and moved to full color from a
large number of wood blocks, although in 1836 Baxter began printing his
transparent oil colors over a base of steel engraving reinforced with
aquatint. Only Baxter persevered and was rewarded by sensational popular
success. His glassy and trivial prints with their high sweet finish
enjoyed a vogue among collectors that lasted into the 20th century. In
about 1860, however, he was driven from the market by the rise of a
cheaper medium, chromolithography, which was responsible in the next few
decades for a universal outpouring of popular bathos. This was picture
printing in color geared for the mass audience.

    [Footnote 55: Savage, 1822. Jackson’s pioneer work is
    acknowledged, pp. 15-16.]

It may seem an anticlimax to trace the color woodcut from Jackson to
Baxter, and finally to chromolithography, but it is not irrelevant.
Although spurned by the better artists, color had too popular an appeal
to be ignored. It was inescapable that Jackson’s successful technical
procedures should finally be adopted and corrupted in the area of
commerce.

Woodcut artists up to Jackson, with few exceptions, had used color for
one major purpose, to reproduce drawings in line and tone. By enlarging
the conception of the color woodcut Jackson brought the primitive
chiaroscuro phase of its history to an end. After him, the chiaroscuro
could not be practiced again except as an archaism.[56] The way was open
for the modern woodcut, although it was a long time in coming.

    [Footnote 56: Only one moderately important chiaroscurist can be
    mentioned, John Skippe, who worked in England from the 1770’s to
    about 1810.]

The range of Jackson’s work in tone and color exceeded that of all
previous woodcutters and can be divided as follows: (1) chiaroscuros--
after drawings, after paintings, after his own pen and ink drawings
after paintings, interpretations of engravings and etchings, and
interpretations of sculpture; and (2) full color-- after paintings in
gouache and after his own water colors. In addition he treated pictorial
subjects in flat color areas without a key or outline block, a procedure
used before him only by the 17th-century Chinese; and he combined burin
work with knife cutting.

But Jackson’s reputation, in the long perspective, must rest upon his
qualities as an artist. He had great distinction as a colorist but
lacked originality as a designer and was dependent upon others, for the
most part, for basic compositions. As an interpreter of these
compositions, however, he was imaginative and forceful. He did not
follow the example of most copper plate engravers and reproduce subjects
faithfully; his conception of the woodcut as a frank medium precluded
exact rendition. Except, possibly, for his first chiaroscuro, he always
translated freely, with the aim of making good woodcuts rather than
accurate representations of his subjects. Jackson’s work after others,
in short, was consciously intended as artful approximation. This
emphasis on the spirit rather than the letter, together with his novel
techniques, often gave his prints a somewhat hybrid character-- an
ambiguous look that might serve to explain the uneasy feelings of many
critics. But his largeness of feeling is unmistakable, and this is what
finally places him among the masters.

The color woodcut is now an important form of printmaking. For this
medium in the Western world, Jackson is the main ancestral figure.



CATALOG


Jackson’s chiaroscuros and color woodcuts have been grouped under three
headings. The first and main section includes, besides those of
unquestionable authenticity, prints which can be attributed to Jackson
with some degree of certainty and those actually seen by earlier writers
but which have apparently disappeared. In each case the status of the
print in Jackson’s _oeuvre_ has been noted.

The second section lists pieces believed to be by Jackson’s workshop.
Prints that might have been done independently by close followers have
been included here because we have no evidence that would permit
distinctions to be drawn.

The last section lists unverified subjects attributed to Jackson in a
number of museums but which have been lost through war or other causes,
and doubtful titles found in Nagler and Le Blanc. In each category the
prints have been listed in chronological order as far as this can be
determined. The sequence of the Venetian set follows Jackson’s
description in the _Enquiry_, although the prints themselves are dated
somewhat differently.

One difficulty in cataloging Jackson’s work is the prevailing confusion
in titling, the same prints being listed differently in different
collections. This was to be expected since the artist almost invariably
omitted titles. Nagler’s and Le Blanc’s catalogs are not descriptive and
consequently there has been much guesswork in checking titles,
particularly since the Venetian set and the Ricci prints are only
partially listed by both writers, and not entirely correctly. Where
subjects have not been recorded at all, the variation in titling has
been greater.

The location of prints has been given, with the exception of those in
the Venetian set and in the _Essay_, which are, in part or whole, in too
many collections to make listing feasible. It is not to be taken as
complete. Jackson prints in a number of museums, particularly in
Germany, have disappeared but might turn up again; some are still packed
in boxes and await return to collections. For the sake of simplicity the
names of cities alone have been used with the understanding that the
chief print collection is meant. Exceptions are Boston where the Museum
of Fine Arts is abbreviated to MFA and the Fogg Art Museum is shortened
to Fogg, New York where the Metropolitan Museum of Art is listed as MMA
and the New York Public Library as NYPL, and London where the British
Museum is noted as BM and the Victoria & Albert as V & A.

The woodcuts reproduced are numbered according to this catalog, and
placed as nearly as possible in the same order. When prints have been
listed by Nagler or Le Blanc their corresponding numbers have been
included. Print sizes are given in inches, vertical sides first.


_Prints by Jackson_

  [Transcriber’s Note:

  The “Inscriptions” are shown as nearly as possible as printed.
  Typographic features such as the use of long “s” (ſ) and variation
  between italic and non-italic small capitals are reproductions of the
  original. Some computers may not be able to display italic long “s”.

  Superscript letters are shown in {braces}. Small capitals (non-italic)
  are shown +like this+; italic small capitals ‡like this‡.]


1.

_Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter_, after Raphael    [Le Bl. 7, N. 9]

Dimensions:

  7¼ × 9¾ inches with letters, 6½ × 9¾ inches without letters.

Blocks, 4:

  Light brown, light gray-brown, gray-brown, black.

Inscription, lower left:

  “_Raph. Urb. inv._”

Below, under border:

  “+Tho. Hollis+ _Arm._ Hospit. Lincoln. D. D. D. J. B. Jackſon
  _sculptor_.”

About 1727. The dedication was added about 1750. After a drawing, now in
the Louvre, for Raphael’s tapestry cartoons.

  MFA, BM, Berlin-Dahlem


2.

_Venus and Cupid with a Bow_, after Parmigianino

Dimensions:

  9¾ × 6¼ inches with letters, 8¾ × 6¼ inches without letters.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light brown, terra-cotta red, black.

Inscription, bottom:

  “+Tho. Brand+ _Arm._ Hospit. Temp. D. D. D. / J. B. Jackſon
  _sculptor_.”

Left, running vertically:

  “_F. M. Parm. inv._”

1731.

The dedication was added about 1750. Other impressions occur in a
combination of green and brown and also in gray and green. Five
impressions are in the British Museum including one in which two
slanting vertical lines in the table immediately to the left of Cupid’s
left leg are omitted.

Philadelphia, MFA, BM, V&A, Berlin-Dahlem, Rotterdam, Brussels


3.

_Woman Standing Holding Jar on Her Head_, after Parmigianino

Dimensions:

  6¾ × 3½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Mustard yellow, black.

Inscription, at bottom:

  “_Per Illustri, ac Præclaro Viro +Joseph Smith+ / J. B. Jackson
  Humiliter Dedicat Donat, et / Sculpsit._ 1731.”

Another state has the following added in small letters:

  “Antonius Ma Zanetti a Jacobo Parmense Delin.”

The block for the tone is in two versions. The one illustrated is dotted
in the jar to show gradations, while the other one is more loosely
handled.

Free copy of line engraving by G. A. Faldoni.

  BM, V&A


4.

_Headpiece with Landscape and Ruins_

This print is listed in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, but has
been lost in the war. No information as to color or size is available.
The card catalogue has the following description:

  “Ruins to the left. In the middle going over a river is a bridge.
  To the right is a city view with campanile, dome and other buildings.
  Dated 1731.”

Probably made for use in a book. This seems to be the print described by
Baverel and the “_petite vue_” Papillon mentioned.


5.

_Woman Meditating_ (_St. Thais?_), after Parmigianino

Dimensions:

  15⅜ × 9¼ inches with letters, 10¾ × 9¼ inches without letters.

Blocks, 2: Pale brown, black. Also in green and blue-green.

  After etching by Parmigianino (B. 10).

Inscription, left near top, running diagonally upward:

  “_F: M: Parmen* / Inventor / J: B: Jackſon Del / Sculp & excudit._”

Bottom, beneath lower border:

  “+Societati Antiquariæ Londinensi+ / _Humillime_ D.D.D. _J.B.J_

  _Certo da cor, ch’ alto deſtin non Scelſe,
  Son l’impreſe magnanime neglette;
  Ma le bell’ alme alle bell’ opre elette
  Sanno gioir nelle fatiche eccelſe;
  Nè biaſmo popular, frale catena,
  Spirto d’onore, il ſuo cammin raffrena.”_

This inscription was added much later, about 1750.

  MFA, MMA, Philadelphia
  BM, Berlin-Dahlem, Vienna, Bremen, Brussels, Amsterdam, Dresden


6.

_Ulysses and Polyphemus_, after Primaticcio

Dimensions:

  7¾ × 10⅛ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Greenish yellow, black.

Inscription, bottom right:

  “J. 9”

Some copies lack the inscription. This is from plate 9 of Theodor Van
Thulden’s 58 etchings reproducing designs by Primaticcio in
Fontainebleau, published as “_Les Travaux d’Ulisse_” by P. Mariette in
Paris, 1633.

These etchings were published again in 1740 as “_Errores Ulyssis_.”
Listed as by Jackson in Weigel’s _Kunstlagercatalog_, 1843, vol. 2., p.
103.

  BM, V&A


7.

_Bookplate_

Dimensions:

  4¼ × 6 inches, approximately.

Blocks, 2:

  Reddish brown, black.

Inscription left and right top, in ribbon:

  “+Litterarum Felicitas+”

  BM


8.

_Judgment of Solomon_, after Rubens

Dimensions:

  17 × 20⅜ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Yellow-buff, light brown, violet-brown, dark brown.

Inscription, lower right:

  “_Ill.{mo} et Exc.{mo} D.D. +Philippo Farsetti+, / Patritio ‡Veneto‡,
  Patrono suo Benefic.{mo}_ / Tabulam _hanc ‡Petri Pauli Rubens‡. / In
  Ligno cœlavit, et in sui Obsequii et grati Animi / Monumentum
  humiliter Devovet J. B. Jackson._”

1735.

  BM, Brussels, Venice


9.

_The Visitation_, after Annibale Carracci

Dimensions:

  14¼ × 10¼ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Light yellow, buff, brown, dark gray.

Inscription, upper right:

  “_[AL]. Caratius Pinx{t}. / J: B: Jackson Fecit / +Venezia+ 1735._”

Weigel described this print as _Der Besuch bei Elisabeth_ in his
_Kunstlagercatalog_, 1843, vol. 2, p. 103.

  Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum)
  MFA, Philadelphia, BM, Dresden


10.

_Julius Caesar_, after Titian

Dimensions:

  12 × 9½ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Tones of brown with dark brown key block.

About 1738.

This is a free translation of an engraving by Egidius Sadeler [Le Bl.
143] after one of a series of Roman emperors attributed to Titian. The
original paintings have been lost.

  BM


11.

_St. Rocco_, after Cherubino Alberti

Dimensions:

  12¼ × 10¼ inches.

Blocks, 3:

  Green, reddish tan, black.

  “S. Rocco” added by another hand.

Some impressions lack the inscription. Also in two colors, mustard
yellow and black.

Free transcription of a line engraving by Cherubino Alberti after an
undetermined painter (Le Bl. 61). A facsimile in grayed chartreuse and
black was published by the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin, about 1925.

  MFA, BM


12.

_Statuette of Neptune_, after Giovanni da Bologna    [Le Bl. 19, N. 8]

Dimensions:

  22½ × 15⅜ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Tones of tan and brown.

Inscription, bottom:

  “_Ex Prototypo Æreo +Joannis· Bolonia+ ‡Duacensis‡ in / Museo ‡D:
  Josephi Smith‡ Venetiis. / J.B. Jackſon Anglus Sculp & exc._”

About 1738.

The first state is without letters. Third state has inscription on top
of statue base,

  “+Gul. Lloyd+ _Arm. D.D.D. J.B.J._”

  Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum)
  MFA, Los Angeles, BM, Paris, Berlin-Dahlem, Wiemar, Amsterdam


13.

_Descent from the Cross_, after Rembrandt    [Le Bl. 10, N. 3]

Dimensions:

  14 × 11 inches (arched print).

Blocks, 4:

  Yellow, gray, light brown, dark violet-brown.

Inscription, bottom left:

  “_Rembrandt pinxit, alt. p. 1. lat. unc x.
  Extat Venetiis in domo +J: Smith+._”

Bottom right:

  “_J: B: Jackson figuras juxta Archetypum Sculp. & excudit. 1738._”

Bottom:

  “Acceperunt ergo Corpus JESU, & ligaverunt illud linteis / cum
  Aromatibus, sicut mos est Judæis sepelire. _S. Joan. Cap. +xix+
  Ver. xi._”/

Lower, with coat of arms:

  “_Perillustri ac Praeclaro Viro ‡D. Josepho Smith‡ / Insigne hoc
  Opus affabre in Ligno coelavit, & in sui / obseqii & grati Animi
  monu-mentum humiliter devovet / J: B: Jackson_”

Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum)

  MFA, Fogg, MMA, NYPL, Chapel Hill, Philadelphia
  BM, Paris, Berlin-Dahlem, Vienna, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Prague


14.

_Christ and the Woman of Samaria_

Dimensions:

  14¼ × 20⅜ inches.

Blocks, 3:

  Buff, greenish yellow, black.

After a Bolognese master. Weigel described this as a “beautiful”
chiaroscuro by Jackson.

  MFA


15.

_Romulus and Remus, Wolf and Sea God_

Dimensions:

  2¾ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Green, black.

Attributed to Jackson. Probably an illustration for a book.

  BM


16.

_The Death of St. Peter Martyr_, after Titian    [Le Bl. 16, N. 10]

Dimensions:

  21¼ × 13½ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, pale greenish gray, brown, dark gray.

Inscription, lower left (inside border):

  “_J: B: Jackson Sculp: & Excudit Venetiis_ 1739.”

Outside bottom frame, center:

  “+Titianus Vecellius Cad. Invenit & Pinxit.+”

The painting was destroyed by fire in 1867.


17.

_The Presentation in the Temple_ (The Circumcision), after Veronese
    [Le Bl. 4, N. 15]

Dimensions:

  21⅛ × 15⅛ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, reddish gray, dark gray, dark brown.

Inscription, bottom:

  “_Illustrissimo, & Erudito Viro +Carolo Frederick+ Armigero,
  liberalium Artium Patrono, / ‡Pauli Cagliari‡ praeclarum hoc Opus
  in Ligno coelatum, in grati animi argumentum humiliter_ D. D. D. /
  _J: B: Jackson_.”

1739.


18.

_The Massacre of the Innocents_, after Tintoretto    [Le Bl. 5]

Dimensions:

  15½ × 21 inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, violet-gray, light brown, dark violet-brown.

Inscription, center bottom:

  “_Illustrissimo, / et Praeclaro Viro Dno. Dno. / +Smart Lethieullier+
  / Eruditæ Antiquitatis Studioso / Investigatori, Tabellam hanc /
  ‡Jacobi Robusti‡_ in sui / obsequium D. D. D. _J: B: Jackson_.”

1739.


19.

_The Entombment_, after Jacopo Bassano    [Le Bl. 12., N. 5]

Dimensions:

  21⅞ × 15¼ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light reddish tan, gray, dark brown.

Inscription on urn, above lower right-hand corner:

  “_J: B: Jackson Delin Sculp & excudit 1739_”

Across bottom:

  “_Insignem hanc Tabulam a +Jacobo de Ponte+ depictam. Clarissimo Viro
  +Jacobo Facciolato+ Seminarii Patavini Præsidi; Archigymnasii
  ornamenta / ingenii doctrinæ, & in primis Latina eloquentia laude
  celeberrimo J B Jackson D. C._”


20.

_Holy Family and Four Saints_, after Veronese

Dimensions:

  22⅛ × 13⅝ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Light yellow, light greenish gray, dark brown, dark gray.

Inscription, bottom center:

  “_Perillustri et Nobili Viro ‡D{no} D{no}‡ / +Bourchier Wrey+
  ‡Barronetto‡ / Generoso Artium Liberalium Fautori / in sui Obsequium_
  D. D. D. _J. B. Jackson / P: C: Veronese Pinxit._”.

1739.


21.

_The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine_, after Veronese
    [Le Bl. 18, N. 4]

Dimensions:

  22 × 15¼ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Pale greenish gray, pale violet-gray, medium greenish gray,
  deep cold gray.

Inscription, lower center:

  “+Gulielmo Windham+ / _Armigero, Artium Elegantiorum / Fautori, hanc
  Tabulam humillime / Dedicat / J. B. Jackson._”

Bottom left:

  “_Paulo Veronese Pinxit J B J f 1740_”

Many impressions are found in brown tones.


22.

_The Crucifixion_, after Tintoretto    [Le Bl. 9, N. 13]

Dimensions:

  21½ × 16¼ inches (left plate), 22¾ × 16⅜ inches (center plate),
  21½ × 16½ inches (right plate).

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light brown, gray, reddish brown.

Inscription, bottom center (center plate):

  “_Illustrissimo & Nob: Viro D{no}: D{no}: / +Richardo Boyle+ Comti de
  Burlington & Cork &c. / Magnæ Britanniæ & Hiberniæ Pari, Hiberniæ
  Archi-thesaurario / Heredetario, Nobilisimi Ordinis Periscelidis
  Equiti &c. / Optimæ Architecturæ Instauratori ac Cæterarum Artium
  Liberalium / Moecenati munificentissimo. / Singolare hoc Opus a
  ‡Jacobo Robusti‡ depictam in Schola S: ‡Rocci‡ Venetiis / adservatum.
  J: B: Jackson Anglus qui Ligno Coelavit humillime D. D. C. 1741._”

On shield, bottom center (center plate):

  “+Honi Soit·Qui·Mal y Pense·+”

Below shield, bottom center (center plate):

  “+Honor· Virtutis· Premium.+”

A bust portrait of a man in 18th-century dress is visible on the right
knee of the woman with a child in the center background of the left
sheet. It is not a likeness of Richard Boyle. Could this be a
self-portrait by Jackson?

A trial proof of the key block, center sheet, is in the Rosenwald
Collection, National Gallery of Art.


23.

_Miracle of St. Mark_, after Tintoretto    [Le Bl. 15, N. 2]

Dimensions:

  22¼ × 17¾ inches (left sheet), 22¼ × 17¾ inches (right sheet).

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light brown, dark brown, dark gray.

Inscription, lower left (left sheet):

  “_Per illustri_ D{no} D{no} / +Eduardo Wright+, / _Armigero, /
  pulcrarum Artium ex-/cultori vel sollertissimo, / hoc_ Jacobi Robusti
  / _(communiter Tintoretto) / præclarum opus in / suæ argumentum ob-/
  servantiæ addicit, et / consecrat J. B. Jackſon._”


24.

_The Marriage at Cana_, after Veronese

Dimensions:

  23 × 16¾ inches (left sheet), 23 × 16¾ inches (right sheet).

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, dark buff, violet-brown, dark brown.

Inscription, lower left (left sheet):

  “_Paulo Cagliari / Veron: Pinxit._”

Lower right (right sheet):

  “Rev{mo.} D{no.} P. / _‡Leopoldo Capello‡ Coenobii ‡D: Georgii‡ / Ord:
  S: Benedict: / +Abbati+ / meritissimo. / J: B: Jackson_ / D. D. D.”

Extreme lower right (right sheet):

  “_J: B: Jackson Delin: Sculp. / & excudit Venetiis 1740._”

Jackson in the _Enquiry_ (p. 48) described this print, and the two
preceding subjects, as being “in _Hugo’s_ Manner with Improvements.”


25.

_Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple_, after Titian
    [Le Bl. 3, N. 18]

Dimensions:

  22 × 15⅜ inches (left sheet), 22 × 17⅞ inches (center sheet),
  22 × 17¼ inches (right sheet).

Blocks, 4:

  Light grayish umber, medium brown, dark gray, dark brown.

Inscription, lower left (left sheet):

  “_Opus hoc admiratione sane dignum, cunctorumq; approbatione /
  commendatum, ac Sacrarii Confratrum Caritatis Venetiarum / potiſſimum
  ornamentum, a_ Titiano Viccellio _Cadorensi, / Viro pingendi arte præ
  cæteris celeberrimo, coloribus quam / fieri potest ad naturale
  expressum, adumbratumq; pro viribus / exscribere studens J: B:
  Jackson delineavit, excudit, et exſculpsit._ 1742.”

Lower right, on streamer (right sheet):

“+Ducit· Amor Patriæ.+”

Lower right, in block (right sheet):

  “Per Illustri, ac Nobili Viro D:{no} D:{no} / +Erasmo Philipps
  Barronetto+ / _Artium zelantissimo Fautori, et de re litteraria /
  optime merito, Tabulam hanc tenue debitæ venerationis / suæ
  argumentum, emeritissimo Patrono, et Mecænati / commendat, et dicat /
  J: B: Jackſon._”


26.

_The Virgin in the Clouds and Six Saints_, after Titian
    [Le Bl. 14, N. 17]

Dimensions:

  23¼ × 14¾ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Buff, black.

Inscription, upper left and right:

  “Ill{mo} atq; Excell:{mo} D:{no} D:{no} +Philippo Farsetti+ Nob. Ven.
  / _Tabellam hanc a _Titiano Viccellio_ jam depictam in / gratissimi
  animi, cultusq; perpetui testimonium, / Mecænati, ac Sospiti
  munificentissimo / humiliat, et consecrat _J. B. Jackſon_._”

Center of picture, on wall:

  “+Titianus Faciebat+”

Bottom center:

  “_J. B. Jackson Del: sculp:&c. 1742._”

Niccolò Boldrini’s woodcut after Titian’s drawing of the lower half of
this subject (Le Bl. 12) evidently inspired Jackson to transcribe the
entire painting as a pen-and-ink drawing in Titian’s style, with a tint
block added.


27.

_The Descent of the Holy Spirit_, after Titian    [Le Bl. 13, N. 1]

Dimensions:

  22⅜ × 15⅛ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light gray-brown, light yellow-brown, dark brown.

Inscription, upper left and right:

  “_Perilluſtri, ac Nobili Viro D:{no} D:{no} +Jacobo Stewart
  Mackinzie+, / Honorabili Magnæ Britan-niæ Conſilii Conſcripto Patri /
  Opus hoc, quod ex_ Titi-ani Viccellii _Pictura, / exſcripsit, in
  humillimi obſequii testi-/monium devo-vebat_ / J. B. Jackſon.”


28.

_The Finding of Moses_, after Veronese    [Le Bl. 2, N.14]

Dimensions:

  22 × 15 inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light brown, light violet-gray, dark gray.

Inscription, lower right:

  “_Ill{mo} et Excell{mo} +D: D: / Everardo Fawkener+ Eq Aur / pro Mag:
  Brit: Rege ad Turc: Imper: / Legato. Elegant: Artium Moecena-/ti
  Munificentis: in sui Obsequii. Ar-/gumentum humill: D: D: / J: B:
  Jackson._”

Lower left:

  “_Ex Tabella / a ‡Paulo Calliari‡ Veron{s}. / depicta penes J: +Smith+
  Ven / J: B: Jackson Del Sculp & excud / 1741._”


29.

_The Raising of Lazarus_, after Leandro Bassano    [Le Bl. 6, N. 7]

Dimensions:

  23½ × 14⅞ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light reddish gray, gray, dark cold brown.

Inscription, upper left and right:

  “_Ill:{mo} D:{no} D:{no} +Vincentio Riccardi+, Marchioni / Florentino,
  amplissimo Senatori, / amœnarum litterarum scientiarumq; excultori /
  peramantissimo, Tabellam hanc a / +Leandro+ de +Ponte+ colori-/bus
  expressam veluti exigu-/um obser-vantiæ suæ / specimen_ D. D. D. /
  J B Jackson”

Center bottom:

  “_J: B: Jackſon Del. Sculp. &c. 1742._”


30.

_Christ on the Mount of Olives_, after Jacopo Bassano
    [Le Bl. 8, N. 6]

Dimensions:

  22 × 15⅛ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, medium brown, gray, dark brown.

Inscription, bottom:

  “Ill:{mæ} atq; Excell:{mæ} D:{næ} D:{næ} / _Paulinæ Contarenæ / ‡Nob:
  Venetæ‡, aviti sanguinis ingenti splendore claræ, sed Virtutum
  nobilitate longe clariori, piissimum / hoc Christianæ Fidei
  monumentum, exiguum obsequentissimæ servitutis suæ signum, quod ex
  pictura / _Jacobi de Ponte_ delineavit, et exſculpsit, generossimæ
  Patronæ, et Auspici dedicabat J: B: Jackson._”.

1743.

A trial proof of the key block is in the Rosenwald Collection, National
Gallery of Art.


31.

_Melchisedech Blessing Abraham_, after Francesco Bassano
    [Le Bl. 1, N. 19]

Dimensions:

  22½ × 15⅛ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, warm gray, brown, dark brown.

Inscription, lower right:

  “_Per-illustri D.{no} D.{no} / +Joanni Reade+ / Tabellam hanc
  in obſe-/quentiſſimæ reverentiæ / specimen D. D. D. / J. B. Jackſon /
  ex Tabella penes / D. Jos{h} Smith._”

1743.


32.

_Dives and Lazarus_ (The Rich Man and Lazarus), after Jacopo Bassano

Dimensions:

  22 × 15 inches (left sheet), 22 × 15 inches (right sheet).

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light brown, light brownish gray, dark brownish gray.

Inscription, lower left of left plate:

  “_Per-illustri, ac Honorabili Viro_ / D:{no} D:{no} +Roberto Hoblyn+,
  / _Armigero, Magnæq; Britan-/niæ Consilii Conscripto Patri, / Artium,
  Scientiarumq; Cultori, / et Mæcenati, sui ergo obsequii / dicabat_ /
  J. B. Jackſon.”

Lower right of left plate:

  “_Ab Exemplari, Jacobi de Ponte, quod Venetiis penes / D. Joſeph Smith
  extat, exſcripſit qui dicabat. / J: Baſan P{x}._”

1743.


33.

_Algernon Sidney_, after Justus Verus    [Le Bl. 20]

Dimensions:

  13⅜ × 8¾ inches with letters, 8½ × 7½ inches (oval portrait only).

Blocks, 4:

  Tan, light brown, light gray, dark gray.

Inscription, left and right under oval:

  “_Zustus Verus, pinx: J: B: J: sculp; et exc:_”

In rectangle at bottom:

  “_At the Time when_ M{r}. +Algernon Sidney+ _was_ Ambaſſador
  _at that Court, Monſieur +Terlon+ the_ French _Ambaſſador,
  had the Confidence to tear out of the Book of_ Mottos
  _in the King’s Library, this Verse, which_ M{r}. Sidney
  _(according to the Liberty allowed to all Noble Strangers)
  had written in it:_/

    “Manus haec inimica Tyrannis
    Enſe petit placidam sub Libertate quietem.

  “_Though Monſieur_ Terlon _underſtood not a word of_
  Latin, _he was told by others the meaning of that Sen-
  tence, which he considered as a_ Libel _upon the_ French
  _Government and upon ſuch as was then setting up in_
  Denmark _by_ French _Aſſistance_ or Example.”

  Pref: to _Acco{t}. of Denmark_ 4{th} _Edit:P:23._

Another version with light red in place of light gray (Philadelphia,
which also has set of progressive proofs).

Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum) Worcester, MFA, Fogg,
Baltimore, MMA, NYPL, Philadelphia BM, Berlin-Dahlem, Brussels,
Frankfurt, Hamburg


34.

_Antique Bust of Woman_

Dimensions:

  14⅞ × 10½ inches (irregular oval).

Blocks, 4:

  Yellow-gray, greenish brown, gray-brown, brown.

  MFA


35.

_Lovers_ (facing right), perhaps after Piazzetta

Dimensions:

  15 × 10½ inches.

Blocks, 5:

  Light brownish gray, darker brownish gray, medium brown, cold gray,
  dark brown.

Attributed to Jackson.

  V&A


36.

_Lovers_ (woman full face), perhaps after Piazzetta

Dimensions:

  15 × 10½ inches.

Blocks, 5:

  Light brownish gray, darker brownish gray, medium brown, cold gray,
  dark brown.

Companion piece to previous print. Attributed to Jackson.

  V&A


37.

_Lamentation Over the Body of Christ_

Dimensions:

  20½ × 13¼ inches.

Blocks, 5 or 6:

  Blue, brown, red, flesh, gray.

Inscription, bottom:

  “_Et tuam ipſius animam pertranſibit gladius,_”

This is probably an experiment in color printing made by Jackson, after
his own design, before attempting the Ricci set.

  BM


38.

_Heroic Landscape With Dedication and Classical Ruins_,
after Marco Ricci    [Le Bl. 21-25, N.20-25a]

Dimensions:

  16⅜ × 23⅛ inches.

Blocks, 7 to 10:

  Tones of blue, buff, gray-violet, green and dark gray.

Inscription in tablet at lower left:

  “_Ill{mo}, atq; Excell{mo} D{no} D{no}_ / +Roberto D’Arcy+, / Comiti
  de Holderneſſe _&c. &c. &c. / Apud Sereniſs Remp: Venetam pro Mag: /
  Britan· Rege Legato Extraordinario. / Hoc noviſſime excogitatum Opus
  in humillimi / obsequii teſtimonium dedicabat_ / J. B. Jackſon.”.

1744.

A copy in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has D’Arcy’s coat-of-arms on
the entablature of the arch to the right with red and blue notes. The
British Museum has a copy with brownish-red touched in with water colors
in the clothing of the men under the arch.

Reichel reproduced this in full size and color (plate 98).

  MFA, MMA, BM, Venice


39.

_Heroic Landscape With Sheep, Statues, and Gentlemen_,
after Marco Ricci    [Le Bl. 21-25, N. 20-25b]

Dimensions:

  16¾ × 23⅛ inches.

Blocks, 7 to 10:

  Colors vary in different impressions.

1744.

Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum)

  MFA, BM, Venice


40.

_Heroic Landscape with Fisherman, Cows, and Horsemen_,
after Marco Ricci    [Le Bl. 21-25, N. 20-25c]

Dimensions:

  16½ × 23 inches.

Blocks, 7 to 10:

  Colors vary in different impressions.

1744.

  MFA, MMA, Worcester, BM, V&A, Berlin-Dahlem, Venice, Brussels


41.

_Heroic Landscape with Cart and Goatherd, with S. Giorgio Maggiore in
Background_, after Marco Ricci    [Le Bl. 21-25, N. 20-25d]

Dimensions:

  16½ × 23 inches.

Blocks, 7 to 10:

  Colors vary in different impressions.

1744.

  MFA, BM, Venice, Dresden


42.

_Heroic Landscape with Women at Brook, Child Fishing, and Herdsmen_,
after Marco Ricci    [Le Bl. 21-25, N. 20-25e]

Dimensions:

  16¾ × 23½ inches.

Blocks, 7 to 10:

  Colors vary in different impressions.

1744.

Reichel reproduced this in full size and color (plate 99).

MMA, MFA, BM, Venice, Milan, Berlin-Dahlem


43.

_Heroic Landscape with Watering Place, Riders, and Obelisk_, after Marco
Ricci

Dimensions:

  16⅝ × 23¼ inches.

Blocks, 7 to 10:

  Colors vary in different impressions.

1744.

  MFA, MMA, BM, V&A, Venice


44.

_Battle near Parma_, after Francesco Simonini

Dimensions:

  20 × 40 inches (two joined sheets)

Blocks, 7 or 8:

  Buff, brown, light green, blue-green, light transparent red, deep red,
  dark gray.

1752.

The only known copy is in the British Museum. Tone has darkened and
paper is torn in parts. This print is described in the _Enquiry_.
Jackson erroneously referred to this artist as “Simonnetta.”

  BM


45.

_Ornamental Border with Fruit; Flowers, and Purple Grapes_

Dimensions:

  6¼ × 25⅞ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Red, blue, yellow, green.

Print for wallpaper.

  BM


46.

_Ornamental Border with Fruit, Flowers, and Green Grapes_

Dimensions:

  6⅜ × 25⅞ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Red, blue, yellow and green.

Print for wallpaper.

  BM


47.

_Ornamental Frame with Flowers and Fruit_

Dimensions:

  24¾ × 18½ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Red, blue, yellow, gray-green.

Print for wallpaper.

  BM


48.

_Ornamental Frame with Fruit_

Dimensions:

  25⅛ × 17¼ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Red, blue, yellow, gray-green.

Print for wallpaper.

  BM


49.

_Ornamental Frame with Flowers and Girl’s Head_

Dimensions:

  26 × 18½ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Red, blue, yellow, green.

Print for wallpaper. Central figure is described under No. 59.

  BM


50.

_Dancing Nymph with Bow and Arrows_

Dimensions:

  11⅛ × 6⅜ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Olive green, black.

Print for wallpaper. Probably cut by Jackson as a guide for his
workshop. See Nos. 59-74.

Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum)


51.

_Bust of Democritus_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches (sheet size).

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, light gray, medium gray, dark gray.

Plate from Jackson, _An Essay on the Invention of Engraving and Printing
in Chiaro Oscuro_, 1754.


52.

_The Lion_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 6:

  Yellow, red, light green, blue-gray, light gray, dark gray-green.

Plate from Jackson, _Essay_..., 1754. This subject was copied from plate
34 of Giorgio Fossati, _Raccolta di varie favole_, Venice, 1744.


53.

_Building and Vegetable_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 6:

  Yellow, light green, light red, crimson, light gray, dark gray.

Plate from Jackson, _Essay_..., 1754.


54.

_Statue of Apollo_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Light buff, medium buff, gray, and dark gray.

Plate from Jackson, _Essay_..., 1754.


55.

_The Farnese Hercules_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, greenish buff, gray, dark greenish gray.

Plate from Jackson, _Essay_..., 1754.


56.

_Antique Bust of a Man_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 4:

  Buff, gray-brown, gray, dark greenish gray.

Plate from Jackson, _Essay_..., 1754.


57.

_Pheasant and Garden Urn_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 7:

  Yellow, light green, warm gray, blue-gray, light red, crimson, dark
  gray-green.

Plate from Jackson, _Essay_..., 1754.


58.

_Ruin of Garden Temple_

Dimensions:

  9¼ × 7½ inches.

Blocks, 7:

  Yellow, light green, warm gray, cold gray, light red, crimson, dark
  gray-green.

Plate from Jackson, _Essay_..., 1754.


_Jackson’s Workshop_


59.

_Woman Standing Holding Apron_, after S. Le Clerc

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches (sheet size).

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and pale green.

Print for wallpaper. This figure appears in the center of the ornamental
frame, No. 49 in this catalog, in the British Museum impression. After a
plate in the series of etchings by Sébastien Le Clerc, _Les Figures à la
mode_, 1685. The figure is reversed.

  BM


60.

_Female Statue with Fruit and Wheat_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper.

  Philadelphia


61.

_Female Statue with Mask_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper.

  Philadelphia


62.

_Queen with Armor and Model of Building_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and pale green.

Print for wallpaper. In the style of Villamena.

  Philadelphia


63.

_Apollo with Lyre_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Green and black. Also deep red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper.

  Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum)
  Philadelphia


64.

_Woman with Shepherd’s Pipe_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper.

  Philadelphia


65.

_Woman with Sheet of Music and Horn_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and pale green. Also red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper.

  Philadelphia


66.

_Woman with Pitcher and Apron_, after S. Le Clerc

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and pale green.

Print for wallpaper. After a plate in the series of 24 etchings by
Sébastien Le Clerc, _Les Figures à la mode_, 1685. The figure is
reversed.

  Philadelphia


67.

_Old Woman Standing_, after S. Le Clerc

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and pale green.

Print for wallpaper. After a plate in the series of 24 etchings by
Sébastien Le Clerc, _Les Figures à la mode_, 1685. The figure is
reversed.

  Philadelphia


68.

_Lady with Staff_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper.

  Philadelphia


69.

_Woman with Fruit and Basket_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and pale green. Also red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper. In the style of Villamena.

  BM


70.

_Woman with Branches and Incense Burner_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and pale green. Also red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper. In the style of Villamena.

  BM


71.

_Woman with Flowers and Vines_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Red and green. Also red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper. In the style of Villamena.

  BM


72.

_Standing Woman, Head Turned to Right_, after Watteau

Dimensions:

  11 × 5 inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Green and black.

Print for wallpaper. After Boucher’s etching after a drawing by Watteau
(plate 216 in Jean de Julienne’s compilation of Watteau’s work, _Figures
de différents caractères_, ca. 1740).

  MMA, Philadelphia, BM


73.

_Lady with Fan_, after S. Le Clerc

Dimensions:

  11 × 4½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Green and black.

Print for wallpaper. After a plate in the series of 24 etchings by
Sébastien Le Clerc, _Les Figures à la mode_, 1685. The figure is
reversed and the fan has been shifted to the upper hand.

  MMA


74.

_Classical Female Statue_

Dimensions:

  11¼ × 6½ inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Deep red and yellow.

Print for wallpaper.

  Philadelphia, MMA


75.

_Boy Looking Down_

Dimensions:

  3 × 2 inches.

Blocks, 2:

  Light brown and black.

Perhaps after Piazzetta.

  MFA, BM


76.

_Lady with a Flower_

Dimensions:

  14⅜ × 11¼ inches.

Blocks, 3:

  Buff, light brown, brown.

Possibly after Kneller. Very weak and crude.

  BM, V&A


_Unverified Subjects_


77.

_The Annunciation_, after Parmigianino

Dimensions:

  6¾ × 4⅝ inches.

Blocks, 3:

  Tones of brown.

This is listed as Jackson’s in Gutekunst & Klipstein’s catalogue 40,
1938. It is described as having “the initials and an engraved letter
border,” but whether the initials are Jackson’s or Parmigianino’s is
uncertain.


78.

_St. Peter and St. Paul Surprised by the Executioner_, after Titian
    [Le Bl. 17, N. 16]

Le Blanc and Nagler list this print in addition to _St. Peter Martyr_,
but most likely it is the same subject. The title might have been taken
from a museum catalogue which listed the identical print under a
different title.


79.

_The Entombment_, after Titian    [Le Bl. 11]

This is included in Le Blanc (_J. C. mis au tombeau_) but it seems
likely that it was confused with Bassano’s identically titled subject.


80.

_Giovanni Gastro I De Medici_

This is listed as a Jackson print in Berlin-Dahlem but has not been
located.


81.

_Elisabeth, Duchess of Hamilton, as a Shepherdess_

This is catalogued as a Jackson print in the Dresden Kunstsammlungen but
was lost in the war.



The _Chiaroscuros_ and _Color Woodcuts_ of John Baptist Jackson


    [Illustration:
    1. CHRIST GIVING THE KEYS TO ST. PETER, after Raphael
    (See also color plate)]

    [Illustration:
    2. VENUS AND CUPID WITH A BOW, after Parmigianino
    (See also color plate)]

    [Illustration:
    3. WOMAN STANDING HOLDING JAR ON HER HEAD, after Parmigianino]

    [Illustration:
    5. WOMAN MEDITATING (ST. THAIS?), after etching by Parmigianino
    (See also color plate)]

    [Illustration:
    7. BOOKPLATE]

    [Illustration:
    6. ULYSSES AND POLYPHEMUS, after Primaticcio]

    [Illustration:
    8. JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON, after Rubens]

    [Illustration:
    9. THE VISITATION, after Annibale Carracci]

    [Illustration:
    10. JULIUS CAESAR, after Titian]

    [Illustration:
    11. ST. ROCCO, after Cherubino Alberti]

    [Illustration:
    12. STATUETTE OF NEPTUNE, after Giovanni da Bologna]

    [Illustration:
    14. CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA]

    [Illustration:
    15. ROMULUS AND REMUS, WOLF, AND SEA GOD]

    [Illustration:
    13. DESCENT FROM THE CROSS, after Rembrandt (See also color plate)]

    [Illustration:
    16. THE DEATH OF ST. PETER MARTYR, after Titian]

    [Illustration:
    17. THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE (THE CIRCUMCISION),
    after Veronese]

    [Illustration:
    18. THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS, after Tintoretto]

    [Illustration:
    22. THE CRUCIFIXION, AFTER TINTORETTO, left sheet
    (See also color plates)]

    [Illustration:
    22. THE CRUCIFIXION, after Tintoretto, center sheet
    (See also color plates)]

    [Illustration:
    22. THE CRUCIFIXION, after Tintoretto, right sheet
    (See also color plates)]

    [Illustration:
    19. THE ENTOMBMENT, after Jacopo Bassano]

    [Illustration:
    20. HOLY FAMILY AND FOUR SAINTS, after Veronese]

    [Illustration:
    21. THE MYSTIC MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE, after Veronese]

    [Illustration:
    26. THE VIRGIN IN THE CLOUDS AND SIX SAINTS, after Titian]

    [Illustration:
    23. MIRACLE OF ST. MARK, after Tintoretto, left sheet]

    [Illustration:
    23. MIRACLE OF ST. MARK, after Tintoretto, right sheet]

    [Illustration:
    24. THE MARRIAGE AT CANA, after Veronese, left sheet]

    [Illustration:
    24. THE MARRIAGE AT CANA, after Veronese, right sheet]

  [Transcriber’s Note:
  The left and right halves of Plate 24 appear to be mislabeled in the
  original. See the html file for combined version.]

    [Illustration:
    27. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, after Titian]

    [Illustration:
    28. THE FINDING OF MOSES, after Veronese]

    [Illustration:
    29. THE RAISING OF LAZARUS, after Leandro Bassano]

    [Illustration:
    31. MELCHISEDECH BLESSING ABRAHAM, after Francesco Bassano]

    [Illustration:
    32. DIVES AND LAZARUS (THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS),
    after Jacopo Bassano, left sheet]

    [Illustration:
    32. DIVES AND LAZARUS (THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS),
    after Jacopo Bassano, right sheet]

    [Illustration:
    30. CHRIST ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, after Jacopo Bassano]

    [Illustration:
    37. LAMENTATION OVER THE BODY OF CHRIST]

    [Illustration:
    33. ALGERNON SIDNEY, after Justus Verus]

    [Illustration:
    34. ANTIQUE BUST OF WOMAN]

    [Illustration:
    25. PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN IN THE TEMPLE, after Titian,
    left sheet]

    [Illustration:
    25. PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN IN THE TEMPLE, after Titian,
    center sheet]

    [Illustration:
    25. PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN IN THE TEMPLE, after Titian,
    right sheet]

    [Illustration:
    35. LOVERS (facing right), perhaps after Piazzetta]

    [Illustration:
    36. LOVERS (woman full face), perhaps after Piazzetta]

    [Illustration:
    38. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH DEDICATION AND CLASSICAL RUINS,
    after Marco Ricci]

    [Illustration:
    39. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH SHEEP, STATUES, AND GENTLEMEN,
    after Marco Ricci]

    [Illustration:
    40. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH FISHERMAN, COWS, AND HORSEMEN,
    after Marco Ricci (See also color plates)]

    [Illustration:
    41. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH CART AND GOATHERD, AND WITH
    S. GIORGIO MAGGIORE IN BACKGROUND, after Marco Ricci]

    [Illustration:
    42. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH WOMEN AT BROOK, CHILD FISHING
    AND HERDSMEN, after Marco Ricci]

    [Illustration:
    43. HEROIC LANDSCAPE WITH WATERING PLACE, RIDERS AND OBELISK,
    after Marco Ricci (See also color plate)]

    [Illustration:
    44. BATTLE NEAR PARMA, after Francesco Simonini]

    [Illustration:
    44. BATTLE NEAR PARMA, after Francesco Simonini, detail]

    [Illustration:
    45. ORNAMENTAL BORDER WITH FRUIT, FLOWERS AND PURPLE GRAPES]

    [Illustration:
    46. ORNAMENTAL BORDER WITH FRUIT, FLOWERS, AND GREEN GRAPES]

    [Illustration:
    47. ORNAMENTAL FRAME WITH FLOWERS AND FRUIT]

    [Illustration:
    48. ORNAMENTAL FRAME WITH FRUIT]

    [Illustration:
    49. ORNAMENTAL FRAME WITH FLOWERS AND GIRL’S HEAD
    (See also color plate)]

    [Illustration:
    59. WOMAN STANDING HOLDING APRON, after S. Le Clerc]

    [Illustration:
    50. DANCING NYMPH WITH BOW AND ARROWS]

    [Illustration:
    51. BUST OF DEMOCRITUS]

    [Illustration:
    52. THE LION]

    [Illustration:
    53. BUILDING AND VEGETABLE (See also color plate)]

    [Illustration:
    54. STATUE OF APOLLO]

    [Illustration:
    55. THE FARNESE HERCULES]

    [Illustration:
    56. ANTIQUE BUST OF A MAN]

    [Illustration:
    57. PHEASANT AND GARDEN URN]

    [Illustration:
    58. RUIN OF GARDEN TEMPLE]

    [Illustration:
    60. FEMALE STATUE WITH FRUIT AND WHEAT]

    [Illustration:
    61. FEMALE STATUE WITH MASK]

    [Illustration:
    62. QUEEN WITH ARMOR AND MODEL OF BUILDING]

    [Illustration:
    63. APOLLO WITH LYRE]

    [Illustration:
    64. WOMAN WITH SHEPHERD’S PIPE]

    [Illustration:
    65. WOMAN WITH SHEET OF MUSIC AND HORN]

    [Illustration:
    66. WOMAN WITH PITCHER AND APRON, after S. Le Clerc]

    [Illustration:
    67. OLD WOMAN STANDING, after S. Le Clerc]

    [Illustration:
    68. LADY WITH STAFF]

    [Illustration:
    69. WOMAN WITH FRUIT AND BASKET]

    [Illustration:
    70. WOMAN WITH BRANCHES AND INCENSE BURNER]

    [Illustration:
    71. WOMAN WITH FLOWERS AND VINES]

    [Illustration:
    72. STANDING WOMAN, HEAD TURNED TO RIGHT, after Watteau]

    [Illustration:
    73. LADY WITH FAN, after S. Le Clerc]

    [Illustration:
    74. CLASSICAL FEMALE STATUE]

    [Illustration:
    76. LADY WITH A FLOWER]

    [Illustration:
    75. BOY LOOKING DOWN]



BIBLIOGRAPHY


ANONYMOUS. _An Enquiry into the Origins of Printing in Europe, by a
Lover of Art._ London, 1752.

  A rewrite of Jackson’s manuscript journal, with some sections quoted
  verbatim. The artist’s career from about 1725 to 1752 is described.
  The most important biographical source and a rare book.

AUDIN, M. _Essai sur les graveurs de bois en France au dix-huitième
siècle._ Paris, 1925, pp. 99-102.

  Contains a section listing many books illustrated by Jackson in
  Paris, mostly in later editions.

BAVEREL, P. _Notices sur les graveurs_, Besançon, 1807, vol. 1, pp.
341-342.

BÉNÉZIT, E. _Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs, &
graveurs._ Paris, 1924 (1st ed. 1913), vol. 2, p. 693.

BEWICK, THOMAS. _Memoir of Thomas Bewick, Written by Himself_,
1822-1828. New York, 1925 (1st ed., 1862), pp. 213-214.

  Mentions meeting Jackson in advanced age, about 1777. The book
  contains much personal reminiscence and observation on life but
  little concrete detail for the student.

BIGMORE, E. C. and WYMAN, C. W. H. _A Bibliography of Printing._ London,
1880-1886, vol. 1, pp. 201, 365.

  The most extensive annotated listing of books relating to printing.
  Has a description of Jackson’s _Essay_.

BRULLIOT, F. _Dictionnaire des monogrammes._ Munich, 1832-1834, vol. 2,
Nos. 1288, 1352, 1535.

BRYAN, M. _Dictionary of Painters and Engravers._ London and New York,
1904 (1st ed. 1816), vol. 3, p. 99.

  The most comprehensive biographical dictionary of artists in the
  English language.

BURCH, R. M. _Colour Printing and Colour Printers._ London, 1910, pp.
72-77.

  The most comprehensive general survey, but with more than occasional
  inaccuracies. There is a lack of sensitivity in art matters. These
  comments apply also to the section on Jackson.

CHATTO, W., and JACKSON, J. _A Treatise on Wood-Engraving._ London, 1861
(1st. ed. 1839), pp. 453-457.

  The classic work on the subject; scholarly, objective, and
  voluminously illustrated. Has the fullest early account of Jackson
  and is the basis for most later studies of the artist.

CUST, L. “John Baptist Jackson,” _Dictionary of National Biography._ New
York and London, 1885-1900, vol. 29, p. 100.

DE BONI, F. _Biografia degli artisti._ Venice, 1840, p. 499.

DONNELL, EDNA. “The Van Rensselaer Wall Paper and J. B. Jackson-- A
Study in Disassociation.” _Metropolitan Museum Studies_, 1932, vol. 4,
pp. 77-108.

  The most scholarly study of Jackson’s wallpaper career. Shows, by an
  examination of styles, that Jackson could not have made the
  wallpapers indiscriminately attributed to him.

DUPLESSIS, G. Histoire de la gravure. Paris, 1880, pp. 314-315.

ENTWISLE, E. A. _The Book of Wallpaper._ London, 1954, pp. 65-67, 76.

  Contains new information on wallpaper manufacturers in London during
  the 18th century, some of it bearing on Jackson.

FRANKAU, J. _Eighteenth-Century Colour-Prints._ London, 1907, pp. 42-46.

  Has an appreciative section on Jackson, highly romanticized.

FRIEDLÄNDER, M. J. _Der Holzschnitt: Handbücher der Staatlichen Museen
zu Berlin._ Berlin and Leipzig, 1926 (1st ed. 1917), pp. 224-226.

FUESSLI, J. C. _Raisonirendes Verzeichniss der vornehmsten
Kupferstecher._ Zurich, 1771, pp. 353-354.

FURST, H. _The Modern Woodcut._ New York, 1924, pp. 88, 99.

  A fine general survey, although judgments are occasionally dogmatic.

GALLO, R. _L’Incisioni nel ’700 a Venezia e a Bassano._ Venice, 1941,
pp. 22-23.

  A solid study containing some new material on the artists of the
  period.

GORI GANDELLINI, G. _Notizie Istoriche degl’ Intagliatori._ Siena, 1771,
vol. 2, p. 156.

GUSMAN, P. _La Gravure sur bois et d’epargne sur metal du XIVe au XXe
siècle._ Paris, 1916, pp. 32, 164-165, 193, 252.

HARDIE, MARTIN. _English Coloured Books._ New York and London, 1906, pp.
19-27.

  While a brief but sensitive account of Jackson is given, the main
  emphasis is on the _Essay_ as an illustrated book.

HEINECKEN, C. H. VON. _Idée générale d’une collection complette
d’estampes._ Leipzig and Vienna, 1771, p. 94.

HELLER, J. _Geschichte der Holzschneidekunst._ Bamberg, 1823, pp.
295-296. _Praktisches Handbuch für Kupferstichsammler._ Leipzig, 1850,
p. 334.

  Lists 10 chiaroscuros by Jackson.

HELLER, J., and ANDRESEN, A. _Handbuch für Kupferstichsammler._ Leipzig,
1870, vol. 1, pp. 706-707.

  Lists 11 prints by Jackson.

HUBER, M. _Notices générales des graveurs et des peintres._ Dresden,
1787, pp. 676, 698.

HUBER, M., and ROST, C. C. _Handbuch für Kunstliebhaber und Sammler._
Zurich, 1808, vol. 9, pp. 129-131.

HUBER, M., ROST, C. C., and MARTINI, C. G. _Manuel des curieux et des
amateurs d’art._ Zurich, 1797-1808, vol. 9, pp. 121-123.

  First catalog of Jackson’s work; lists 10 titles.

JACKSON, JOHN BAPTIST. _An Essay on the Invention of Engraving and
Printing in Chiaro Oscuro, as Practised by Albert Durer, Hugo di Carpi,
&c., and the Application of It to the Making Paper Hangings of Taste,
Duration, and Elegance._ London, 1754.

  Written by Jackson to promote his wallpapers, it repeats some of his
  assertions in the _Enquiry_ but gives little detail concerning his
  career. It is important as an illustrated book and as an early
  document in the history of wallpaper. The prints have suffered from
  the use of an inferior oil vehicle.

KAINEN, JACOB. “John Baptist Jackson and his Chiaroscuros.” _Printing
and Graphic Arts_, vol. 4, no. 4, 1956, pp. 85-92.

  An excerpt from the present work, then in progress, in a different
  version.

KREPLIN, B. C. “John Baptist Jackson,” in Thieme, U., and Becker, F.,
_Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler._ Leipzig, 1907-1950, vol.
18, pp. 224-225.

  The most comprehensive biographical dictionary of artists. Has a
  good article on Jackson and a small bibliography.

LE BLANC, C. _Manuel de l’amateur d’estampes._ Paris, 1854-1888, vol. 2,
p. 416.

  Particularly valuable for its catalogs of the work of engravers.
  With Nagler, contains the largest listing of Jackson’s prints.

LEVIS, H. C. _A Descriptive Bibliography of Books in English Relating to
Engraving and the Collection of Prints._ London, 1912, pp. 182-184.

LEWIS, C. T. C. _The Story of Picture Printing in England During the
19th Century; or Forty Years of Wood and Stone._ London, 1928, pp. 2,
21, 26, 34, 40, 43, 195.

  Written in an oppressively popular style with emphasis on Baxter and
  Le Blond. Jackson is mentioned often but sketchily as the distant
  ancestor of “picture printing.”

LINTON, W. _The Masters of Wood Engraving._ London, 1889, p. 214.

  Discusses the subject from the standpoint of a late-19th-century
  technician. Nevertheless is open-minded, if slightly superior, about
  the chiaroscuro woodcut.

LONGHI, G. _Catalogo dei più celebri intagliatori in legno ed in rame._
Milan, 1821, p. 51.

MABERLY, J. _The Print Collector._ London, 1844, p. 130.

  The first American edition, New York, 1880, edited by Robert Hoe,
  copies the annotated description of the _Essay_ from Bigmore and
  Wyman.

MCCLELLAND, N. _Historic Wall-Papers._ Philadelphia and London, 1924,
pp. 47, 79, 141-154, 165, 324-329, 423.

  Makes many references to Jackson, largely inaccurate.

MIREUR, H. _Dictionnaire des ventes d’art fait en France._ Paris,
1911-1912, vol. 4, p. 23.

MÜLLER, F., and KLUNZINGER, K. _Die Künstler Aller Zeiten und Völker._
1857-1864, vol. 2, p. 430.

MÜLLER, H. A., MÜLLER, H. W., and SINGER, H. W. _Allgemeines
Künstler-Lexicon._ Frankfurt, 1895-1901, vol. 2, p. 240.

NAGLER, G. K. _Allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon._ Munich. 1835-51, vol. 6,
pp. 383-384.

  The most extensive of all dictionaries of artists up to the time of
  Thieme and Becker, _q.v._ With Le Blanc, has the fullest catalog of
  Jackson’s prints.

_Die Monogrammisten_, Munich, 1858-1879, vol. 3, pp. 730, 836.

OMAN, C. C. _Catalogue of Wall-Papers._ London, Victoria and Albert
Museum, 1929, pp. 24-25, 33.

  A good historical account which includes Jackson’s contributions to
  the rise of scenic wallpaper.

PALLUCCHINI, RODOLFO. _Mostra degli incisori Veneti del settecento._
Venice, 1941, ed. 2, pp. 16, 103-104.

  Catalog of the exhibition held in Venice in 1941.

PAPILLON, J. M. _Traité historique et pratique de la gravure en bois._
Paris, 1766, vol. 1, pp. 323-324, 327-329, 415.

  Contains personal recollections of Jackson and his career in France.
  The book is valuable as the first technical treatise on the woodcut,
  but the historical section is notoriously inaccurate and heavily
  weighted with Papillon’s prejudices.

PERCIVAL, MACIVER. “Jackson of Battersea and his Wall Papers.” _The
Connoisseur_, 1922, vol. 62, pp. 25-36.

REDGRAVE, S. _Dictionary of Artists of the English School._ London,
1874, p. 227.

REICHEL, ANTON. _Die Clair-Obscur-Schnitte des XVI., XVII. und XVIII.
Jahrhunderts._ Zurich, Leipzig, and Vienna, 1926, p. 48.

  The finest work on chiaroscuro, with 100 magnificent facsimile
  illustrations in color, fully described, and black-and-white
  illustrations in the text. Reproduces two of Jackson’s Ricci prints
  in actual size and color.

SAVAGE, W. _Practical Hints on Decorative Printing._ London, 1822, pp.
15-16.

  Savage was the first writer to acknowledge Jackson’s contributions
  to color printing, although he was critical of his inks. The book
  attempts to show, through examples, that color printing from
  woodblocks is practical for a variety of purposes.

SMITH, J. _The Printers Grammar._ London, 1755, p. 136.

SPOONER, S. _Dictionary of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors & Architects._
New York, 1853, vol. 1, pp. 420-421.

STRUTT, J. _Dictionary of Engravers._ London, 1785-86, vol. 2, p. 41.

SUGDEN, A. V., and EDMONDSON, J. L. _A History of English Wallpaper._
New York and London, 1925, pp. 61-71.

  The most thorough book on the subject although the treatment of
  Jackson is narrowly confined, like most wallpaper books, to his
  shortcomings as a decorator for elegant homes.

WALPOLE, HORACE. _Anecdotes of Painting in England. A Catalogue of
Engravers who Have Been Born, or Resided in England. Digested from the
Manuscript of George Vertue._ London, 1765 (1st ed. 1762), p. 3.

  Important as the first compilation on this subject.

_The Letters of Horace Walpole._ Edited by Mrs. Paget Toynbee, Oxford,
1903-05, vol. 3, p. 166.

WEIGEL, R. _Kunstlagercatalog._ Leipzig, 1837-1866, vol. 2, pp. 103,
105; vol. 4, p. 52.

WICK, PETER A. _Suite of Six Color Woodcuts of Heroic Landscapes by John
Baptist Jackson after Marco Ricci._ 1955, 12 pp.

  Manuscript read at the XVIII Congres International d’Histoire de
  L’Art, Venice, Sept. 12-18, 1955. The first good, scholarly study of
  the Ricci prints. Traces Jackson’s career briefly but accurately.

Y. D. Historical Remarks on Cutting in Wood. _The Gentleman’s Magazine_,
February 1752, vol. 22, pp. 78-79.

  The first published statement of Jackson’s contribution as a
  woodcutter.

ZANETTI, A. M. _Della pittura veneziana._ Venice, 1792. (1st ed. 1771),
vol. 2, pp. 689, 716. Zanetti was the librarian of St. Mark’s and the
nephew of the famous chiaroscurist.

ZANI, D. P. _Enciclopedia metodica delle belle arti._ Parma, 1817-24,
vol. 11, p. 47.

ZANOTTO, F. _Nuovissimo guida di Venezia._ Venice, 1856, p. 320, note 3.



INDEX TO PLATES


  1. _Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter_, after Raphael,
        55 (color), 99
  2. _Venus and Cupid with a Bow_, after Parmigianino, 56 (color), 100
  3. _Woman Standing Holding Jar on Her Head_, after Parmigianino, 101
  5. _Woman Meditating_ (_St. Thais?_), after Parmigianino,
        57 (color), 102
  6. _Ulysses and Polyphemus_, after Primaticcio, 104
  7. _Bookplate_, 103
  8. _Judgment of Solomon_, after Rubens, 105
  9. _The Visitation_, after Annibale Carracci, 106
  10. _Julius Caesar_, after Titian, 107
  11. _St. Rocco_, after Cherubino Alberti, 108
  12. _Statuette of Neptune_, after Giovanni da Bologna, 109
  13. _Descent from the Cross_, after Rembrandt, 58 (color), 112
  14. _Christ and the Woman of Samaria_, 110
  15. _Romulus and Remus, Wolf and Sea God_, 111
  16. _The Death of St. Peter Martyr_, after Titian, 113
  17. _The Presentation in the Temple_ (The Circumcision),
        after Veronese, 114
  18. _The Massacre of the Innocents_, after Tintoretto, 115
  19. _The Entombment_, after Jacopo Bassano, 118
  20. _Holy Family and Four Saints_, after Veronese, 119
  21. _The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine_, after Veronese, 120
  22. _The Crucifixion_, after Tintoretto,
      left sheet, 64 (color), 116
      center sheet, 37 (proof of key block), 64 (color), 116
      right sheet, 65 (color), 117
  23. _Miracle of St. Mark_, after Tintoretto,
      left sheet, 122
      right sheet, 123
  24. _The Marriage at Cana_, after Veronese,
      left sheet, 124
      right sheet, 125
  25. _Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple_, after Titian,
      left sheet, 136
      center sheet, 136
      right sheet, 137
  26. _The Virgin in the Clouds and Six Saints_, after Titian, 121
  27. _The Descent of the Holy Spirit_, after Titian, 126
  28. _The Finding of Moses_, after Veronese, 127
  29. _The Raising of Lazarus_, after Leandro Bassano, 128
  30. _Christ on the Mount of Olives_, after Jacopo Bassano,
        38 (key block), 132
  31. _Melchisedech Blessing Abraham_, after Francesco Bassano, 129
  32. _Dives and Lazarus_ (The Rich Man and Lazarus),
        after Jacopo Bassano,
      left sheet, 130
      right sheet, 131
  33. _Algernon Sidney_, after Justus Verus, 134
  34. _Antique Bust of Woman_, 135
  35. _Lovers_ (facing right), perhaps after Piazzetta, 138
  36. _Lovers_ (woman full face), perhaps after Piazzetta, 139
  37. _Lamentation Over the Body of Christ_, 133
  38. _Heroic Landscape With Dedication and Classical Ruins_,
        after Marco Ricci, 140
  39. _Heroic Landscape With Sheep, Statues, and Gentlemen_,
        after Marco Ricci, 141
  40. _Heroic Landscape With Fisherman, Cows, and Horsemen_,
        after Marco Ricci, 40 (color), 41 (color, detail), 142
  41. _Heroic Landscape with Cart and Goatherd, with
        S. Giorgio Maggiore in Background_, after Marco Ricci, 143
  42. _Heroic Landscape with Women at Brook, Child Fishing,
        and Herdsmen_, after Marco Ricci, 144
  43. _Heroic Landscape with Watering Place, Riders, and Obelisk_,
        after Marco Ricci, 59 (color), 145
  44. _Battle near Parma_, after Francesco Simonini, 146, 147 (detail)
  45. _Ornamental Border with Fruit, Flowers, and Purple Grapes_, 148
  46. _Ornamental Border with Fruit, Flowers, and Green Grapes_, 148
  47. _Ornamental Frame with Flowers and Fruit_, 149
  48. _Ornamental Frame with Fruit_, 150
  49. _Ornamental Frame with Flowers and Girl’s Head_,
        62 (color), 151
  50. _Dancing Nymph with Bow and Arrows_, 152
  51. _Bust of Democritus_, 153
  52. _The Lion_, 154
  53. _Building and Vegetable_, 63 (color), 155
  54. _Statue of Apollo_, 156
  55. _The Farnese Hercules_, 157
  56. _Antique Bust of a Man_, 158
  57. _Pheasant and Garden Urn_, 159
  58. _Ruin of Garden Temple_, 160
  59. _Woman Standing Holding Apron_, after S. Le Clerc,
        62 (color), 151
  60. _Female Statue with Fruit and Wheat_, 161
  61. _Female Statue with Mask_, 161
  62. _Queen with Armor and Model of Building_, 162
  63. _Apollo with Lyre_, 162
  64. _Woman with Shepherd’s Pipe_, 163
  65. _Woman with Sheet of Music and Horn_, 163
  66. _Woman with Pitcher and Apron_, after S. Le Clerc, 164
  67. _Old Woman Standing_, after S. Le Clerc, 164
  68. _Lady with Staff_, 165
  69. _Woman with Fruit and Basket_, 165
  70. _Woman with Branches and Incense Burner_, 166
  71. _Woman with Flowers and Vines_, 166
  72. _Standing Woman, Head Turned to Right_, after Watteau, 167
  73. _Lady with Fan_, after S. Le Clerc, 167
  74. _Classical Female Statue_, 168
  75. _Boy Looking Down_, 170
  76. _Lady with a Flower_, 169



_INDEX_


  Alberti, Cherubino, 30
  Albrizzi, G. B., 26, 28, 29
  Altdorfer, Albrecht, 36n
  Andreani, Andrea, 10, 11, 12n, 31, 45
  Annison, M., 22

  Baglioni, 27, 29
  Baldung, Hans, 10
  Bartolozzi, Francesco, 4
  Bassano, Jacopo, 32
  Baxter, George, 67
  Beccafumi, Domenico, 10
  Berghem, Nicolaes, 45
  Bewick, Thomas, 5, 9n, 16, 17, 28, 35, 49, 50
  _Bibbia del Nicolosi_, 26
  _Biblia Sacra_ (published by Hertz), 28
  Bloemart, Abraham, 22
    Cornelius, 22
    Frederick, 22
  Boldrini, Niccolò, 11
  Bologna, Giovanni da, 31
  _Book of St. Albans_, 7
  Brand, Thomas, 48
  Bromwich, Thomas, 42
  Burgkmair, Hans, 10
  Businck, Ludolph, 11, 28, 45

  Cabinet Crozart, 22, 23
  Callot, Jacques, 4, 18, 30
  Campagnola, Domenico, 44
  Canaletto, 45
  Carpi, Ugo da, 10, 11, 25, 26, 41, 44, 45, 51, 52
  Carracci, Agostino, 32n
  Caslon, William, 16
  Caylus, Anne Claude Phillipe, Count de, 22, 23, 28
  Chinese woodcuts, 36, 68
  Coriolano, Bartolomeo, 11, 45
    Giovanni Battista, 11
  Coypel, Charles, 28
  Cranach, Lucas, 9
  Croxall’s _Aesop’s Fables_, 14, 15, 31
  Crozat, Pierre, 22, 23, 48

  D’Arcy, Robert, 35
  Darley, Matthias, 42
  Dunbar, Robert, 30
    Robert, Jr., 42, 48
  Dürer, Albrecht, 4, 9n, 41, 44, 52

  Eaton, Edward, 49
  Ecman, Edouard, 30
  Edwards, George, 5n
  “Ekwitz,” 14
  Elliot, Sir Gilbert, 50
  _Enquiry into the Origins of Printing in Europe_ (publication), 41
  _Essay on the Invention of Engraving and Printing
    in Chiaro Oscuro_ (publication), 43

  Faldoni, Giovanni Antonio, 30
  Farsetti, Filippo, 26, 27
  François, J. C., 54
  Frederick, Charles, 31
  Fougeron, John, 49

  Gauguin, Paul, 4, 54
  George III, 31
  Goltzius, Hendrick, 11
    Hubert, 22, 29, 45
  Goya, Francesco, 4
  Guardi, Francesco, 46
  Gubitz, Frederich W., 67

  Hogarth, William, 17
  Hollis, Thomas, 48, 49

  _Istoria del Testamento Vecchio e Nuovo_, 26

  Jackson, John Baptist
    contributions to chiaroscuro and color woodcut, 5, 6, 12, 68
    critical opinions of his work, 7, 51-54
    first work in chiaroscuro, 11, 12, 23
    birth, 14
    training, 14, 15
    early work in London, 15, 17
    arrival in Paris, 17
    association with Papillon, 18-22
    association with de Caylus and Crozat, 22, 23
    Papillon’s criticism of Jackson, 19, 20
    arrival in Venice, 25
    association with Zanetti, 25, 26
    first chiaroscuros in Venice, 26
    first chiaroscuro reproducing a painting, 27
    early plans for wallpaper, 30
    influence of line engraving, 29, 30
    association with Joseph Smith, 30, 31, 32
    production of the Venetian set, 31, 32, 33
    production of the Ricci set,
      his first prints in full color, 33, 35, 36
    use of embossing, 33, 36
    marriage, 40
    return to England, 40
    designs for calico, 40
    career as a maker of wallpaper, 40-50
    publication of _An Enquiry into the Origins
      of Printing in Europe_, 41
    publication of _An Essay on the Invention of Engraving
      and Printing in Chiaro Oscuro_, 43
    pioneer of scenic wallpaper, 46, 47
    album ascribed to him, 48
    collapse of wallpaper venture, 48, 49
    meeting with Bewick, 49, 59
    last days, 50
    Walpole’s criticism, 51
  Janinet, Jean François, 4
  Japanese woodcuts, 4, 33n, 36
  Jegher, Christoffel, 11
  Jones, Inigo, 46

  Kirkall, Elisha, 5, 11, 14, 15, 22, 33, 41
  Knapton, George, 33

  Lallemand, George, 11, 28
  Lancret, Nicolas, 47
  Le Blon, Jacob Christoph, 36, 39
  Le Clerc, Sébastien, 18, 19, 30
  Le Sueur, Nicolas, 11, 22, 23, 28, 45
    Vincent, 11, 18, 23, 45
  Lethieullier, Smart, 31
  Lewis, John, 23, 25
  _Liber selectarum cantionum_, Senfel, 7n
  Lorrain, Claude, 45

  Mantegna, Andrea, 12n
  Mariette, Pierre-Jean, 25, 26, 28
  Mattaire’s _Latin Classics_, 14, 31
  Mellan, Claude, 30
  Moreelse, Paulus, 11
  Moretti, Giuseppe Maria, 25, 45
  Munch, Edvard, 4, 54

  Negker, Jost de, 10
  Newdigate, Sir Roger, 32n

  Pannini, Giovanni Paolo, 45, 46, 47
  Papillon, Jean (father of J. M.), 19, 21, 22
    Jean Michel, 6, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 35
  Parmigianino, 10, 22, 26, 44
  Pasquali, J. B., 32, 40
  Pezzana, 27, 28, 29
  Piranesi, Giovanni Battista, 46
  Pond, Arthur, 33
  Poussin, Nicolas, 45

  Raphael, 10, 11, 22, 23, 44
  Ratdolt, Erhard, 7n
  Rembrandt, 4, 31, 32
  Ricci, Marco, 6, 35, 36, 46, 47, 53
  Robert, P. P. A., 22
  Romano, Giulio, 11, 23
  Rosa, Salvator, 45
  Rubens, Peter Paul, 27

  Sadeler, Egidius, 29
  Salviati, Francesco, 44
  Savage, William, 67
  Simonini, Francesco (erroneously called “Simonnetta”), 42
  Skippe, John, 68n
  Smith, Joseph, 30, 31
  Suetonius’ _Lives of the Twelve Caesars_, 29, 34, 48
  Swaine, J. B., 49

  Tintoretto, 32
  Titian, 11, 29, 32, 44
  _Traité historique et pratique
    de la gravure en bois_, 6, 14, 19, 20, 21
  Trento, Antonio da, 10

  “Urban, Sylvanus,” 41

  Vallotton, Felix, 4
  Velasquez, 42
  Vernet, Claude Joseph, 47
  Veronese, 52
  Verus, Justus, 45
  Vicentino, Giuseppe Niccolò, 10, 44
  Villamena, Francesco, 30
  Vouet, Simon, 11

  Wallpaper, first use in England, 40
  Walpole, Horace, 8, 31, 51
  Ward, Dr. John, 49
  Wechtlin, Hans, 10
  Weiditz, Hans, 7n
  Whistler, James M., 5n
  Wouwerman, Philips, 45
  Wrey, Sir Bouchier, 32n

  Zanetti, Count Antonio Maria, 11, 25, 26, 45
  Zuccarelli, Francesco, 46

       *       *       *       *       *
           *       *       *       *
       *       *       *       *       *

Errors and Inconsistencies

  pretentions to literary culture [spelling unchanged]
  also a woodcutter who copied Le Clerc [name printed without space]

Catalog:

  Punctuation in the Inscriptions is unchanged.
  5, Inscription: F: M: Parmen* / Inventor [partially illegible]
  9, Inscription: [AL] [A+L ligature sharing vertical line]
  13, Inscription: Perillustri ac Praeclaro Viro ‡D. Josepho Smith‡
    [printed as “‡Viro D. Josepho‡” Smith with misplaced small capitals,
    but see Plate 13]
  16, St. Peter; 21, St. Catherine
    [period after “St.” invisible, but see Plate captions]
  39: Lines “1744” and “Colors vary...” reversed in printed text.

Bibliography:

  [J. B. Jackson] ... as Practised by Albert Durer [no umlaut]

Index to Plates:

  16, _The Death of St. Peter Martyr_, after Titian
    [printed with italic “after”]





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