Cornelis Bos Engraving from the collection of Sir Joshua Reynolds

Engraving of a dancing couple outside by Cornelis Bos (Flemish, 1506-c.1564).

Cornelis Bos (c.1506/10–1555) was a Flemish engraver, printseller, and publisher celebrated for highly influential engravings after Italian and Northern artists, especially ornamental strapwork, grotesques, and architectural designs.

This is one of a set of 12 and these engravings have an unusually exciting provenance, as they bear the stamp of Sir Joshua Reynolds's (1723-1792) collection on the back.

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) was the leading Georgian portraitist and first President of the Royal Academy, an erudite collector who amassed a vast library and collection of Old Master prints and engravings that he mined as studio reference, many later dispersed in a major posthumous estate sale (the biggest being in 1795) and identifiable today by the distinctive collector’s stamp applied to the versos of his prints and drawings.

Interestingly enough, they were collated on a sheet with 4 other engravings and came with a note mentioning 'Sir Richard Westmacott the Sculptor', so perhaps we can assume they were bought from the studio sale by him, aged approximately 20.

Sir Richard Westmacott (1775–1856) was a leading British Neoclassical sculptor, famed for monumental public works such as the Achilles in Hyde Park and the British Museum pediment, and a prominent Royal Academician and professor of sculpture.

Size approx 4 x 5.3 cm

Frame approx 17.5 x 19 cms

Good condition especially for its age.

If you are interested in buying all three please contact me for a special price.