James MacArdell (1729?–1765) was an Irish

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...

er.

Life

He was born in Cow Lane (later Greek Street),

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, around 1729. He learnt mezzotint-engraving from John Brooks. When Brooks moved to London in 1746, MacArdell and other pupils followed him. He opened a print shop at the Golden Head in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, where in 1753 he published six views of Dublin. MacArdell died on 2 June 1765, in his fifty-seventh year, and was buried in the churchyard at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, where a stone bore an inscription to his memory.

Works

His earliest work appears to be a head of Archbishop

Hugh Boulter Hugh Boulter (4 January 1672 – 27 September 1742) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Primate of All Ireland, from 1724 until his death. He also served as the chaplain to George I from 1719. Background and education Boulter was ...

in an engraving, altered from one by Brooks of Bishop

Robert Howard Robert Howard may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Howard (playwright) (1626–1698), English playwright and politician * Robert Boardman Howard (1896–1983), American muralist and sculptor * Robert E. Howard (1906–1936), fantasy writer, crea ...

. A head of Dr. Birch is stated to have been done by MacArdell in London. A portrait of Bishop

Thomas Secker Thomas Secker (21 September 16933 August 1768) was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. Early life and studies Secker was born in Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire. In 1699, he went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield, D ...

, engraved by MacArdell, was published in London in 1767, and also a humorous plate, entitled 'Teague's Ramble.' In 1748 he engraved a portrait of John Cartwright, after S. Elmer, and a small portrait of Charles Bancks, a Swedish painter, for the Chevalier Descazeaux, an eccentric confined in the Fleet Prison, of whose portrait MacArdell made two etchings. In 1749, he engraved the picture of Lady Boyd, after Allan Ramsay, and the portrait by

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...

Thomas Coram Captain Thomas Coram (c. 1668 – 29 March 1751) was an English sea captain and philanthropist who created the London Foundling Hospital in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, to look after abandoned children on the streets of London. It is said ...

in 1750, the

Duke of Dorset Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset. History The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas Sa ...

, after Kneller, and 'The Sons of the Duke of Buckingham,' after

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

. In 1754 he engraved his first plates after

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

; these plates were the Earl and Countess of Kildare, companion plates, published in Dublin by Michael Ford, and Lady Charlotte Fitzwilliam, published by Reynolds himself. Subsequently, MacArdell engraved thirty-four more portraits by Reynolds and twenty-five by Thomas Hudson.Among them, Mary Panton, Duchess of Ancaster, Martin Folkes, and the Earl and Countess of Egmont. He engraved fine portraits of George III, Queen Charlotte, and one of George II on horseback. James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave

After

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

MacArdell engraved 'The Family of Sir Balthasar Gerbier,' and 'Rubens with his Wife and Child,' from the picture once at

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

; after Vandyck, 'Time clipping the Wings of Cupid,' 'The Finding of Moses,' and Lord John and Lord Bernard Stuart; after

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

, 'The Mathematician,' 'Tobit and the Angel,' 'A Dutch Interior', and 'The Tribute Money.' MacArdell engraved numerous other portraits and subject pictures. Some were from his own drawings, such as those of Charles Blakes, an actor, as 'M. le Medecin,' and

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

as 'Peter Puff.'

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:MacArdell, James 1729 births 1765 deaths 18th-century engravers Irish engravers Artists from Dublin (city)