Portrait of Cornelis de Witt

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Portrait of Cornelis de Witt, bust in an oval frame directed to left, looking towards the viewer, with shoulder-length curling hair, moustache and a stiff, embroidered collar, swathed in a dark cloak, after Caspar Netscher. The inscription reads Natus An[n]o 1623.”, “Sævo Furor Ore Trucidat.” and “Mortuus An[n]o 1672.”. Mezzotint made by William Baillie in 1774. The image is 21 x 17,5 cm in good condition, and comes in a passe-partout.

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Caspar Netscher (Heidelberg, 1639 – The Hague, January 15, 1684) was a Dutch painter, draftsman and miniature painter. He was a member of the Netscher family and a son of the German sculptor Johann Netscher. At a young age he was apprenticed to the painter Hendrick Coster in Arnhem. He completed his education in Gerard ter Borch’s studio in Deventer. In 1658 or 1659 Netscher moved to The Hague. In 1659 he set out for Italy, but came no further than Bordeaux, where he settled. There he met his future wife Margaretha Godijn. In 1662 he returned with his family to The Hague, where he joined the Pictura painters’ guild in The Hague on 25 October. Initially, Netscher painted simple genre pieces of a small size, which betray the influence of Gerard ter Borch. But in the sixties he started painting more important subjects. He also made many portraits in the elegant Hague court style, including of Stadtholder Willem III. In the 1970s, Netscher received high prizes for his work. Because there was a very high demand for his works, he had to hire assistants. Caspar Netscher had a rich fabric suggestion: he was very good at depicting oriental carpets, silks and brocades. History paintings, landscapes and drawings by Netscher have also been preserved. Caspar Netscher’s sons, Theodoor (1660 Bordeaux-1732 Hulst) and Constantijn (1668 The Hague-1723 The Hague), worked in the vein of their father.

Source: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspar_Netscher

William Baillie (1723–1810) often known as “Captain William Baillie” was an Irish printmaker. Baillie was born at Kilbride, County Carlow, on 5 June 1723. He was educated at Dr. Sheridan’s school in Dublin, and at about the age of eighteen his father sent him to London to study law. However he decided to follow the example of a younger brother and join the army. After some opposition from his father, he was allowed to accept of a commission offered to him by Lord Archibald Hamilton, in the 13th Regiment of Foot. He joined the regiment as the senior ensign before the battle of Lafeldt, where he carried the colours. He served with this regiment for many years, and was at the battle of Culloden, and at several engagements in Germany. He then became an officer in the 51st Regiment and was with them as captain of the grenadiers and paymaster at the battle of Minden. He then spent some time in the 17th Light Dragoons before selling his commission. He made his first etchings while still in the army. The earliest dated ones, from 1753, depict soldiers, one a named member of his regiment. He was largely self-taught as an artist, though he had some lessons from his fellow Irishman, Nathaniel Hone. After leaving the army in 1761, Baillie devoted his life to the arts, although from 1773–95 he also held the post of Commissioner of Stamps. He made prints in various styles, first exhibiting his work with the Society of Artists in 1762, but his most notable productions were those in the style of, or directly copied from, the etchings of Rembrandt. To imitate Rembrandt’s effects of chiaoscuro, he used mezzotint, a technique not employed by the Dutch artist. He also obtained the badly worn original plate of Rembrandt’s “Hundred Guilder Print” and reworked it. When a limited number of impressions had been made, the plate was cut into four pieces, and impressions taken from the individual sections.  His main business however was as a picture dealer, acting as agent for the Earl of Bute and Lord Liverpool among others. His works were published in two folio volumes by John Boydell, in 1792,under the title of A Series of 225 Prints and Etchings after Rembrandt, Teniers, G. Dou, Poussin, and others. He died at Paddington, London, on 22 December 1810.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Baillie_(engraver)