STEEL ENGRAVING – “THE BRIDGE OF TOLEDO” from the painting by David Roberts, engraved by E. Goodall, printed in 1886.  This engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 6 ¾” x 9 ¾”, and is matted to 12” x 16” for easy framing.

     This picture was one of the results of the artist’s visit to Spain in 1832 and 1833.  It was selected from Spanish sketches by the Queen, and painted by command as a “birthday present” from Her Majesty to the Prince Consort.  A large number of the modern pictures in the Royal Collection are “birthday presents.”  It was the custom of Her Majesty to present to the Prince, on his birthday, a painting either by a British or foreign artist; and the Prince marked in like manner the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.  In the “Landscape Annual,” published in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837, the subject (engraved from a drawing) formed one of a series of illustration of the ancient edifices and picturesque scenery of Spain – a series which gave employment to the best engravers of the period, and which, taken altogether, has never been surpassed, with reference to the work of painter or engraver.

    It was by the advice of his friend Wilkie that Roberts changed his route to Spain from Italy, to visit, which his preparations had been made.  He subsequently journeyed twice through the classic lands of the South; and, as the world knows, he was a traveler into those countries of even deeper interest and loftier renown, the issue of which was his famous volumes that illustrate sacred lore in one of the grandest productions of modern times, “Egypt and the Holy Land.”

     The high position which David Roberts occupied in Art was the result of industry no less than genius.  His knowledge, acquired in no academic school, was obtained by continual intercourse with Nature, and by careful studies of the great masters by whom he had been preceded in those particular “walks” which he preferred to paint.  No artist, not even he who “pictured every inch in Venice” (Canaletto), has been more happy in the combination of fact with the picturesque.  While adhering to truth with great fidelity, his pictures have all the charms, which are derivable from the most brilliant fancy.

     The “Bridge of Toledo” is small work, but luminous under the effect of a lurid evening sun; the bridge itself is of Roman origin, and spans the Tagus a little below the city.  The artist might plainly have chosen a far less successful specimen of a Spanish evening scene, and his work is one on which the eye of the most unpracticed observer will rest some moments before it has exhausted the different points of interest.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes, which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, and lithographs are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated, thus giving the buyer an idea of its age.

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