John Collet or Collett (1725 – 6 August 1780) was an English satirical artist.

Life

He was born in London about 1725, and son of a gentleman holding a public office. He was a pupil of painter

George Lambert George Lambert may refer to: Politicians *George Lambert, 1st Viscount Lambert (1866–1958), British MP and peer *George Lambert, 2nd Viscount Lambert (1909–1989), his son, also a British MP and peer * George Lambert (Australian politician) ( ...

, and studied at the art school in

St Martin's Lane St Martin's Lane is a street in the City of Westminster, which runs from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, after which it is named, near Trafalgar Square northwards to Long Acre. At its northern end, it becomes Monmouth Street. St Martin ...

. He first exhibited at the exhibition of the

Free Society of Artists The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established ...

in 1761, to which he sent three landscapes. In 1762, he exhibited with the same society ''A Gipsy telling some Country Girls their Fortune.'' From this time, though he occasionally exhibited landscapes, portraits, animals, and other subjects, his pictures are mainly of a humorous description, based on the style of William Hogarth, whose 'comedy in art' he strove to imitate, if not to surpass. There was a large demand for his pictures, and the engravings from them, many by first-class engravers, were published by Carington Bowles, Smith & Sayer, Boydell, and other well-known publishers. Collett continued to exhibit with the Free Society of Artists up to 1783. His pictures give insight into manners at the end of the 18th century. In 1775, Richard Brinsley Sheridan brought out his comedy '' The Duenna'' and Collett drew pictures based on scenes in this play. One of them, representing the drinking scene in the convent (act iii. scene 5), was figured in Thomas Wright's ''History of Caricature and Grotesque in Art''. He inherited a fortune from a relation, and resided in Chelsea, London, where he died, in Cheyne Row, on 6 August 1780, and was buried there on 11 August.

Assessment

Collet represented scenes of debauchery, low life, and social weaknesses and absurdities. He did not possess, however, the force and deep moral of Hogarth's work, and his pictures are often mere plagiarisms, appealing only to a vulgar taste. When, however, he cared to be original, he showed great ability, and his pictures are always carefully executed.

Collections

Two water-colour pictures by Collett, entitled ''The Asylum for the Deaf'' and ''Promenaders in St. James's Park'', went to the

South Kensington Museum South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

. In the print room of the British Museum there is a collection of engravings from his works., most of which are described in the

Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum The twelve-volume ''Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum'' is the primary reference work for the study of British satirical prints of the 18th and 19th century. Most ...

. There is check list of his prints by David Alexander.

John Goldar John Goldar (1729–1795) was an English engraver. Life Born at London in 1738, Goldar resided in Charlotte Street, Blackfriars Road, Southwark. He made a couple of forays into print publishing on his own account (of John Dixon (engraver), John D ...

engraved after him ''The Sacrifice'', ''The Refusal'', ''The Recruiting Sergeant'', exhibited in 1767, ''The Female Bruisers'', exhibited in 1768, and also engraved in mezzotint by

Butler Clowes Butler Clowes (died c.1788) was an English mezzotint-engraver and printseller. Life Clowes lived in Gutter Lane, Cheapside, London where he kept a print-shop, and his address appeared on engravings by James Watson and others. Works Clowes made ...

, ''The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak'', ''The Country Choristers'', ''The Unlucky Attempt'', ''The Discovery'', ''The Mutual Embrace'', and ''Modern Love'', in four scenes, ''Courtship, The Elopement, The Honeymoon, Discordant Matrimony'', painted in 1765, and published in 1782, after his death.

James Caldwall James Caldwall, (1739–1822) was an English draughtsman and engraving, engraver. Life Caldwall was born in London in 1739, and studied under John Keyse Sherwin. He is known mainly for his portraits, although he also engraved genre and milit ...

engraved ''The Gipsies'', ''The Ladies' Disaster'', ''The Bold Attempt'', ''The Unwelcome Customer'', ''The Guards of the Night defeated'', ''A Macaroni taking his Morning Ride in Hyde Park'', ''The Englishman in Paris'', ''High Life below Stairs'', ''The Cotillion Dancers'', exhibited in 1772. Among numerous others were: ''Sweets of Liberty'' and ''The City Chanters'', in mezzotint by

Samuel Okey Samuel Okey (fl. 1765–1780), the younger, was a British mezzotint engraver, in later life an emigrant to British North America. Life Samuel Okey, eldest surviving son of Samuel Okey, a printseller in Fleet Street, London, and his wife Mary Atte ...

; ''A Rescue, or the Tars Triumphant'', and ''Grown Gentlemen taught to dance'', in mezzotint by Butler Clowes; ''The Coaxing Wife'' and ''An Holland Smock to be run for'', by the engraver Thomas Morris; ''January and May'', by Charles Grignion; ''The Frenchman in London'', by C. White; ''A Taylor riding to Brentford'', by T. Stayner; ''Minerva protecting Innocence'', by F. B. Lorieux; and ''A Snare laid by Love'', by Jean-Baptiste Pillement.

References

Attribution: * *

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collett, John 1725 births 1780 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters Painters from London 18th-century English male artists