This item is a steel engraving from the painting by F. Goodall called “THE HOMELY MEAL - BRITTANY.”  It was engraved by J. Godfrey and published in 1876.  The engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 6 ¾” x 10 ¼”, and is matted to 11” x 14” for easy framing.

‘The Homely Meal-Brittany,’ by Frederick Goodall, R.A., is one of that eminent artist’s most elaborately finished pictures. It is one of his early works, and painted when he was an associate of the British Royal Academy. The scene is drawn, probably, in the kitchen of some grand old chateau, although the diversified costumes of the men are more of the character of those met with at a wayside inn.

    Goodall in his style is much given to over-elaboration, and this may be detected in our engraving, but it is not a serious fault, and it will be overlooked when the earnestness and conscientiousness of the artist are thoroughly understood.  Goodall was born in 1821. He was a pupil of his father in drawing, and at the age of fourteen won the Isis Medal of the Society of Arts, for a drawing of ‘Lambeth Palace,’ and soon afterwards commenced his first picture. ‘Finding the Dead Body of a Miner by Torchlight,’ for which the Society awarded him the large silver medal.

   Early in his career he found a good friend in the poet Rogers, and from that time his rise was rapid. His picture of ‘The Christening’ gained for him a prize of L50 from the British Institute. His ‘Tired Soldier,’ painted in 1842, and, ‘The Village Festival,’ were bought by Mr. Vernon, and were placed in the Vernon Gallery. His other pictures painted previous to 1854 are: ‘The Soldier’s Dream;’ ‘Raisng the May-pole;’ and ‘The swing.’ In the latter year he visited Egypt, and since then has painted ‘Early Morning in the Wilderness of Shur;’ ‘The First-Born;’ ‘Return of Pilgrims fro Mecca;’ ‘The Palm-Offering;’ ‘Arab Messenger;’ ‘Rising of the Nile;’ ‘Hagar and Ishmael;’ and others. Many of his pictures have been engraved.

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.