John Brooks (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1755) was an Irish engraver.

Life

Active initially in

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 1747 he settled in London, managing a business at

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

for the enamelling of china in colours by a process which he had devised. The articles produced were ornamented with subjects chiefly from

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. After a period of success the business folded on the bankruptcy of its chief proprietor,

Stephen Theodore Janssen Sir Stephen Theodore Janssen, 4th Baronet (died 7 April 1777) was an English Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London. He was the 4th son of Sir Theodore Janssen, 1st Baronet and the younger brother of Sir Abraham Janssen, 2nd Baronet. He suc ...

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

for 1754-5. Brooks stayed in London as an engraver and enameller of china. Some of his pupils of Brooks worked as engravers in mezzotint, among them Michael Ford and

James MacArdell James MacArdell (1729?–1765) was an Irish mezzotinter. Life He was born in Cow Lane (later Greek Street), Dublin, around 1729. He learnt mezzotint-engraving from John Brooks. When Brooks moved to London in 1746, MacArdell and other pupils foll ...

Works

Brooks' first known work was executed in line-engraving at Dublin in 1730. The earliest engraved portrait of

Peg Woffington Margaret Woffington (18 October 1720 – 28 March 1760), known professionally as Peg Woffington, was an Irish actress and socialite of the Georgian era. Peg and Peggy were a common pet name for those called Margaret until the late 20th centu ...

is that by Brooks, dated June 1740. Between 1741 and 1746 Brooks produced at Dublin mezzotinto portraits and engravings. A catalogue of his works of Brooks was for the first time published by

John Thomas Gilbert Sir John Thomas Gilbert, LLD, FSA, RIA (born 23 January 1829, Dublin - died 23 May 1898, Dublin) was an Irish archivist, antiquarian and historian. Life John Thomas Gilbert was the second son of John Gilbert, an English Protestant, who was Port ...

, and additions were made by John Chaloner Smith ''British Mezzotinto Portraits'' (1878).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, John Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century Irish people 18th-century engravers Irish engravers 18th-century British artists