Portrait of Grinling Gibbons
1690
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1690
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Portrait of Grinling Gibbons is a 1690 by John Smith, a Baroque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This drawing shows a man sitting with one leg crossed, dressed in a long coat with ruffled cuffs and a high collar. His curly wig is neatly styled, and he holds a piece of paper or a small object in his right hand. The background is plain and dark, focusing all attention on him. The artist used fine lines to create shadows and texture, giving the drawing a detailed, almost sculpted look. This technique makes the fabric and hair look three-dimensional. Try looking up cross-hatching to see how artists build depth with lines.
A 1690 Indian ink portrait by John Smith shows the sculptor and wood-carver Grinling Gibbons, created as a preliminary study for a mezzotint and inscribed with his name and the erroneous attribution “Drawing by Kneller.”
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Smith drew the person who carved the limewood cherubs above London’s Whitehall Banqueting House doors.
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