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拍品专文
George Stubbs: Printmaker
George Stubbs (1724-1806) stands as a pivotal figure in British art history whose contributions transcended conventional categorization. Born in Liverpool to a currier, Stubbs developed largely as an autodidact despite brief training under Hamlet Winstanley. His early anatomical teaching at York Hospital established a methodological rigor that would characterize his entire artistic career.
The period 1756-1758 proved transformative when Stubbs rented a Lincolnshire farmhouse in order to conduct systematic equine dissections. This empirical investigation culminated in his seminal publication The Anatomy of the Horse (1766), which brilliantly synthesized artistic representation with scientific inquiry through eighteen meticulously etched plates. These works demonstrate his remarkable development as a printmaker—progressing from fairly crude engravings in 1751 to sophisticated techniques by the time of the Anatomy prints in 1766, likely influenced by his association with engravers from the Society of Artists, particularly William Woollett.
Unlike contemporaries such as John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), the American-born artist who relocated to England in 1774 who prioritized mass production, Stubbs's approach to printmaking was characterized by artistic autonomy rather than commercial imperative, and to this end he made plates, especially after 1780, which did not lend themselves to retouching and could provide far fewer prints. Professional engravers had already established Stubbs's fame, and as a painter with a successful practice he was free from financial pressures typically governing print publishing.
This autonomy manifested in his distribution methods—eschewing conventional merchant networks for direct sales at prices consistently higher than comparable works. The more expensive prints, such as 'Hay-Makers' and 'Reapers' (lot 10), were sold by subscription. This practice not only helped to defray the costs of production, but also afforded incidental publicity for the prints. After the initial subscribers' edition, impressions were probably printed and sold on demand; and it is likely that the plates remained ready for use in Stubbs's studio throughout his lifetime. The prints were marketed efficiently, but without undue ambition, using a strategy which anticipated the sale of reasonable rather than vast numbers of impressions. His marketing targeted discerning collectors and wealthy patrons, particularly in Liverpool and the north Midlands, regions that had previously commissioned his paintings. There is no way of knowing how many impressions of the prints were taken but it is evident that they sold to an appreciative market. Many of Stubbs's regular patrons bought examples and some collections remain with the descendants of other patrons to the present day.
Stubbs's subject selection reveals a deliberate ambition to transcend his reputation as merely a 'horse-painter.' His first separately published print, 'A Horse Affrighted by a Lion,' 1777, established his preeminence in depicting emotion in animals while employing techniques imitating the more prestigious line-engraving associated with history painting. After an interval of eight years, during which Stubbs published nothing, a group of twelve plates (which included lots 3 to 9) appeared simultaneously on 1 May 1788. The series, which must have been years in the making and required considerable effort, conspicuously omitted horse portraiture in favor of wild animals in varied settings and atmospheric conditions. Large plates depicting laborers and pastoral scenes represented strategic attempts to position himself as a history and portrait painter, aligning with the literary tradition of the 'English Georgic' popularized in works like Thomson's The Seasons.
The virtuosic 1788 series displayed Stubbs's technical mastery through innovative combinations of soft-ground etching, roulette, and punch work, achieving remarkable tonal effects. Beyond collector circles, Stubbs envisioned decorative applications for his prints, with worn impressions of popular subjects indicating substantial demand for decorative purposes.
Despite these achievements, Stubbs's relationship with the institutional art world remained complex. The Royal Academy marginalized his work through prejudicial hierarchies of genre - animal painting was considered a lesser genre - reflecting contested boundaries between art and science. After his death in 1806, his plates passed to his mistress Mary Spencer before being sold at auction in 1817, concluding a career characterized by artistic integrity and technical innovation.
Modern scholarship has rectified historical oversights, positioning Stubbs as an exemplar of Enlightenment visual culture. His work synthesized empirical observation with aesthetic sophistication, while his printmaking practice demonstrated a remarkable versatility that achieved tonal subtleties unprecedented among contemporaries. Through these innovations, Stubbs established himself not merely as an animal painter but as a significant contributor to wider artistic discourse whose legacy continues to merit scholarly attention.
George Stubbs (1724-1806) stands as a pivotal figure in British art history whose contributions transcended conventional categorization. Born in Liverpool to a currier, Stubbs developed largely as an autodidact despite brief training under Hamlet Winstanley. His early anatomical teaching at York Hospital established a methodological rigor that would characterize his entire artistic career.
The period 1756-1758 proved transformative when Stubbs rented a Lincolnshire farmhouse in order to conduct systematic equine dissections. This empirical investigation culminated in his seminal publication The Anatomy of the Horse (1766), which brilliantly synthesized artistic representation with scientific inquiry through eighteen meticulously etched plates. These works demonstrate his remarkable development as a printmaker—progressing from fairly crude engravings in 1751 to sophisticated techniques by the time of the Anatomy prints in 1766, likely influenced by his association with engravers from the Society of Artists, particularly William Woollett.
Unlike contemporaries such as John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), the American-born artist who relocated to England in 1774 who prioritized mass production, Stubbs's approach to printmaking was characterized by artistic autonomy rather than commercial imperative, and to this end he made plates, especially after 1780, which did not lend themselves to retouching and could provide far fewer prints. Professional engravers had already established Stubbs's fame, and as a painter with a successful practice he was free from financial pressures typically governing print publishing.
This autonomy manifested in his distribution methods—eschewing conventional merchant networks for direct sales at prices consistently higher than comparable works. The more expensive prints, such as 'Hay-Makers' and 'Reapers' (lot 10), were sold by subscription. This practice not only helped to defray the costs of production, but also afforded incidental publicity for the prints. After the initial subscribers' edition, impressions were probably printed and sold on demand; and it is likely that the plates remained ready for use in Stubbs's studio throughout his lifetime. The prints were marketed efficiently, but without undue ambition, using a strategy which anticipated the sale of reasonable rather than vast numbers of impressions. His marketing targeted discerning collectors and wealthy patrons, particularly in Liverpool and the north Midlands, regions that had previously commissioned his paintings. There is no way of knowing how many impressions of the prints were taken but it is evident that they sold to an appreciative market. Many of Stubbs's regular patrons bought examples and some collections remain with the descendants of other patrons to the present day.
Stubbs's subject selection reveals a deliberate ambition to transcend his reputation as merely a 'horse-painter.' His first separately published print, 'A Horse Affrighted by a Lion,' 1777, established his preeminence in depicting emotion in animals while employing techniques imitating the more prestigious line-engraving associated with history painting. After an interval of eight years, during which Stubbs published nothing, a group of twelve plates (which included lots 3 to 9) appeared simultaneously on 1 May 1788. The series, which must have been years in the making and required considerable effort, conspicuously omitted horse portraiture in favor of wild animals in varied settings and atmospheric conditions. Large plates depicting laborers and pastoral scenes represented strategic attempts to position himself as a history and portrait painter, aligning with the literary tradition of the 'English Georgic' popularized in works like Thomson's The Seasons.
The virtuosic 1788 series displayed Stubbs's technical mastery through innovative combinations of soft-ground etching, roulette, and punch work, achieving remarkable tonal effects. Beyond collector circles, Stubbs envisioned decorative applications for his prints, with worn impressions of popular subjects indicating substantial demand for decorative purposes.
Despite these achievements, Stubbs's relationship with the institutional art world remained complex. The Royal Academy marginalized his work through prejudicial hierarchies of genre - animal painting was considered a lesser genre - reflecting contested boundaries between art and science. After his death in 1806, his plates passed to his mistress Mary Spencer before being sold at auction in 1817, concluding a career characterized by artistic integrity and technical innovation.
Modern scholarship has rectified historical oversights, positioning Stubbs as an exemplar of Enlightenment visual culture. His work synthesized empirical observation with aesthetic sophistication, while his printmaking practice demonstrated a remarkable versatility that achieved tonal subtleties unprecedented among contemporaries. Through these innovations, Stubbs established himself not merely as an animal painter but as a significant contributor to wider artistic discourse whose legacy continues to merit scholarly attention.