John Swaine (26 June 1775 – 25 November 1860), was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

draughtsman and engraver.

Life and work

Swaine was born at

Stanwell Stanwell is a village close to two of the three main towns in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, about west of central London. A small corner of its land is vital industrial land serving Heathrow Airport – most of the rest is residential ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, on 26 June 1775, the son of John and Margaret Swaine, and became a pupil first of

Jacob Schnebbelie Jacob Schnebbelie (30 August 1760 – 21 February 1792) was an English draughtsman, specialising in monuments and other historical subjects. Early life Jacob Schnebbelie was born in Duke's Court, St Martin's Lane, London, on 30 August 1760. His fa ...

and afterwards of

Barak Longmate Barak Longmate (1738 – 23 July 1793) was an English genealogist and editor, heraldic engraver and publisher. Life and work Longmate was born in 1738, son of Barak and Elizabeth Longmate of St James's, Westminster in London. He engraved some top ...

. He is best known for his excellent

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

copies of old prints, of which the most noteworthy are the famous portrait of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Martin Droeshout Martin Droeshout (; April 1601 – c.1650) was an English engraver of Flemish descent, who is best known as illustrator of the title portrait for William Shakespeare's collected works, the First Folio of 1623, edited by John Heminges and H ...

William Faithorne William Faithorne, often "the Elder" (161613 May 1691), was an English painter and engraver. Life Faithorne was born in London and was apprenticed to William Peake. On the outbreak of the Civil War Faithorne accompanied his master into the ...

's portrait of Thomas Stanley,

David Loggan David Loggan (1634–1692) was an English baroque engraver, draughtsman, and painter. Life He was baptised on 27 August 1634 in Danzig, then a semi-autonomous city (granted by the Danzig law) within Polish Prussia (''Prusy Królewskie'') a ...

's frontispiece to the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

, and the plates to William Ottley's ‘History of Engraving,’ (1816), and Singer's ‘History of Playing Cards,’ 1816. He also engraved many illustrations for various scientific, topographical, and antiquarian works, including the whole series of plates in William Marsden's 'Oriental Coins,’ (1823–5), and many subjects of natural history for the transactions of the Linnean, Zoological, and Entomological societies. There are a few contemporary portraits by him, including one of Marshal Blücher, after Friedrich Rehberg. Swaine contributed engravings to '

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

’ for fifty years, commencing in 1804. Swaine died in Dean Street,

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on 25 November 1860. In 1797 he married the daughter of his master, Barak Longmate. She died in October 1822. Swaine taught engraving to his young nephew, James Fahey, who went on to become a notable landscape painter.

John Barak Swaine

John Barak Swaine (1815?–1838), his only son, studied in the schools of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, and while still a boy did some good antiquarian work. Drawings by him, illustrating papers by Alfred John Kempe, appeared in '' Archæologia'', 1832 and 1834. In 1833 he was awarded the Isis gold medal of the Society of Arts for an etching, and in that year drew, etched, and published a large plate of the east window of

St. Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

. In 1834, having taken up oil painting, he visited

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to study and copy in the galleries there. He walked from Holland to Paris, making many sketches on the way. In Paris he painted much and also tried his hand successfully at

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and ...

. He engraved in mezzotint

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 ...

's ‘Spanish Officer,’ also a picture by himself entitled 'The Dutch Governess,’ and a portrait of A. J. Kempe. In 1837 he etched a plate of the altar window at

Hampton Lucy Hampton Lucy is a village and civil parish on the River Avon, northeast of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 566. History The grammar school at Hampton Lucy was ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. Swaine was a versatile artist of great promise, but died young, after a long illness, at the age of 23 in Queen Street, Golden Square, London, on 28 March 1838.

References

External links

Engravings of portraits
(National Portrait gallery, London) {{DEFAULTSORT:Swaine, John English engravers British draughtsmen People from Stanwell 1775 births 1860 deaths