Acquaforte stampata in verde / blu, tratta da The tapestry hangings of the House of Lords: representing the several engagements between the English and Spanish fleets, in the ever memorable year MDLXXXVIII, with the portraits of the Lord High-Admiral, and the other noble commanders, taken from the life. To which are added, from a book entitled, Expeditionis Hispanorum in Angliam Vera Descriptio, A.D. 1588, done, as is supposed, for the said tapestry to be work'd after, ten charts of the sea-coasts of England, and a general one of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, &c. shewing the places of action between the two fleets; ornaments with medals struck upon the occasion, and other suitable devices. Also an historical account of each day's action, collected from the most authentic manuscripts and writers. By John Pine, engraver. London, MDCCXXXIX. Sold by J. Pine in Old Bond Street near Picadilly. Poco dopo la sconfitta dell'armata spagnola del 1588, Lord Howard of Effingham, comandante della flotta britannica, commissionò a Robert Adams la produzione di una serie di disegni che rappresentavano le varie fasi dell'azione; poi commissionò H.C. Vroom la realizzazione di una serie di disegni per arazzi, basati sul lavoro di Adams. Le tele furono tessute da Francis Spiring di Haarlem. Alcuni anni dopo, i disegni furono venduti a Giacomo I e, successivamente, arredarono le pareti della Camera dei Lord. Tutti gli arazzi, tranne uno rubato precedentemente, furono bruciati, insieme a gran parte del Palazzo di Westminster nel 1834. La grande opera di Pine che raffigura questa famosa battaglia navale è, ora, di grande importanza storica. A parte il notevole dettaglio dell'incisione e la ricchezza dell'invenzione nei vari cartigli, l'uso contenuto dell'inchiostro colorato per stampare la superficie della lastra produce un effetto sorprendentemente attraente e rappresenta un importante esempio primordiale della stampa a colori per le illustrazioni. Bellissimo esemplare, stampato su carta vergata coeva, con pieni margini, in ottimo stato di conservazione. Etching printed in green/blue, taken from The tapestry hangings of the House of Lords: representing the several engagements between the English and Spanish fleets, in the ever memorable year MDLXXXVIII, with the portraits of the Lord High-Admiral, and the other noble commanders, taken from the life. To which are added, from a book entitled, Expeditionis Hispanorum in Angliam Vera Descriptio, A.D. 1588, done, as is supposed, for the said tapestry to be work'd after, ten charts of the sea-coasts of England, and a general one of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, &c. shewing the places of action between the two fleets; ornaments with medals struck upon the occasion, and other suitable devices. Also an historical account of each day's action, collected from the most authentic manuscripts and writers. By John Pine, engraver. London, MDCCXXXIX. Sold by J. Pine in Old Bond Street near Picadilly. Shortly after the defeat of the Spanish “Armada” in 1588, Lord Howard of Effingham, commander of the British Fleet, commissioned Robert Adams to produce a series of charts representing the various phases of the action and then H.C. Vroom to produce a series of designs for tapestries, based on the work of Adams. They were woven by Francis Spiring of Haarlem. Some years later, they were sold to James I and eventually came to furnish the walls of the House of Lords. All the tapestries, except one stolen at an earlier date and now lost, were burned in the fire that destroyed most of the Palace of Westminster in 1834. Pine's great work depicting this famous naval battle is therefore now of great historical importance. Apart from the remarkable detail of the engraving and the wealth of invention in the various cartouches, the restrained use of coloured ink to print the plate surface produces a strikingly attractive effect, and represents a very early example of the colour-printing of illustrations. T.Clayton, 'The English Print 1688-1802', New Haven and London, 1997, pp.87; Berlin Catalogue 1677.
