William Sharp (29 January 174925 July 1824), was a British engraver and artist.

Life and work

Sharp was the son of a reputable

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...

who lived at Haydon's Yard,

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in central London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. Both are ...

in central

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 ...

. He was apprenticed to the 'bright-cut' engraver and

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...

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 ...

(1738–93), and after marriage to a Frenchwoman, set himself up as a writing engraver in Bartholomew Lane (off

Threadneedle Street Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, England, between Bishopsgate at its northeast end and Bank junction in the southwest. It is one of nine streets that converge at Bank. It lies in the ward of Cornhill. History The stree ...

). His first notable work was an engraving of "Hector", an old lion at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. Around 1782, he sold the shop and moved to

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

, intending to specialise in the higher branches (i.e. engraving for printing) of the engraver's art. Among his earlier plates are some illustrations, after Stothard, for the ''Novelists' Magazine''. He also completed the plate of

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

's "Landing of Charles II" which

William Woollett William Woollett (15 August 173523 May 1785) was an English engraver operating in the 18th century. Life Woolett was born in Maidstone, of a family which came originally from the Netherlands. He was apprenticed to John Tinney, an engraver in F ...

had left unfinished at the time of his death, engraved some of the illustrations by artists who travelled with

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

on his famous voyages, and J. H. Benwell's "Children in the Wood". He finally settled at

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

where he remained for the rest of his life. He engraved the "Doctors Disputing on the Immaculateness of the Virgin" and "Ecce Homo" (after

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious ...

); "King Lear in the Storm" and "The Witch of Endor" (after

); "The sortie from Gibraltar" (after

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...

); the portrait of John Hunter and "The Holy Family" (after

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 ...

); "St Cecilia" (after

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoem ...

) and "Virgin and Child" (after Dolci). Sharp's style of engraving was original, the half-tints rich and full. He became an honorary member of the Imperial Academy in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and 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 ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Sharp's portrait was painted by

George Francis Joseph George Francis Joseph (1764 – 1846) was an English portrait painter. Life He was born 25 November 1764, and became a student at the Royal Academy in 1784. In 1813 he was elected an Associate of the Academy. He practised in London until 1836 ...

(1764–1846) and engraved by Sharp himself, and a 3/4-length portrait was painted by James Lonsdale (illustrated). James Thomson (1788–1850) engraved another portrait. Sharp died in

on 25 July 1824, and was buried in the parish churchyard there.

Politics and religion

Sharpe was a

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and a friend of

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

and

Horne Tooke John Horne Tooke (25 June 1736 – 18 March 1812), known as John Horne until 1782 when he added the surname of his friend William Tooke to his own, was an English clergyman, politician, and philologist. Associated with radical proponents of parl ...

, and became a member of the

Society for Constitutional Information The Society for Constitutional Information was a British activist group founded in 1780 by Major John Cartwright, to promote parliamentary reform. It was an organisation of social reformers, many of whom were drawn from the rational dissenting c ...

. As a result of a legal dispute involving Horne Tooke, Sharp was questioned by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

on charges relating to

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, but was eventually dismissed without punishment as merely an "enthusiast". He became a convert to the teachings of

Mesmer Franz Anton Mesmer (; ; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorised the existence of a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects; this he called "anim ...

and

Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had a ...

and came under the religious influence of would-be visionary Jacob Bryan (who worked for Sharp as a printer for a time), and

millennialist Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years") or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future ...

prophet

Richard Brothers Richard Brothers (25 December 1757 – 25 January 1824) was an early believer and teacher of British Israelism, a theory concerning the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Biography Life Brothers was born in Port Kirwan, Newfoundland (earlier known ...

, engraving the latter as "Prince of the Hebrews". After Brothers' incarceration in an

insane asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, Sharp became an adherent of prophetess

Joanna Southcott Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a self-described religion, religious prophetess from Devon, England. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death; its eighth prophet, Mabel Barltrop, ...

, whom he brought from

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

to London and kept at his own expense for a considerable time; he made a portrait drawing of her which he engraved. Despite her apparently premature death, he never lost faith in her divine mission or the possibility that she would reappear, and wrote a book in her defence: "An answer to the world etc." (London, 1806).Sharp, William.
An answer to the world etc.
' (London, 1806)

References

External links

National Portrait GalleryWilliam Sharp, Thomas Paine, a print after a painting by George Romney
(

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

)
Obituary of William Sharp
(

The New Monthly Magazine ''The New Monthly Magazine'' was a British monthly magazine published from 1814 to 1884. It was founded by Henry Colburn and published by him through to 1845. History Colburn and Frederic Shoberl established ''The New Monthly Magazine and Univer ...

, 1 Sep 1824) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, William 1749 births 1824 deaths English engravers

Life and work

Politics and religion

References

Further reading

External links