STEEL ENGRAVING – “ST. JOHN AND THE VIRGIN MOTHER” from the painting by E. Armitage, engraved by W. Ridgway, published in 1880.  This engraving is in very good condition.  The actual engraving measures 9 3/4” x 7”, and is matted to 11” x 14” for easy framing.

   A pupil of Paul Delaroche about the same time that John Cross was studying under Picot, Mr. Armitage, the painter of ‘St. John taking home the Virgin after the Crucifixion,’ has inherited much of his master’s loftiness of thought and earnestness of manner. In religious Art, indeed, he is the most successful of all English painters, and in the mural decoration of churches his pencil has been more in request than that of any other.

     Just before the dying Savior exclaimed on the cross, ‘It is finished,’ He “saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom He loved; and “He said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy Son! And the disciple, Behold thy mother! and from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home.’ We see that “beloved” disciple in the act of fulfilling his Master’s request. The Roman soldier and the Jewish rabble beyond John’s little garden wall are returning to the city, for “all things have been accomplished,” and he, with the loving tenderness of a son, is in the act of introducing his divinely given mother to his own home.

      The composition of the two chief figures is at once learned and natural, and the lines in the drapery fall with consummate freedom and grace. The robe of St. John is red, and that of the Virgin blue, and the rest of the picture takes its complexion accordingly. It was exhibited at the London Royal Academy in 1874.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, etchings, 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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