Robert White (1645–1703) was an English draughtsman and engraver. A Londoner, he was a pupil of

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'' ...

, and became a leading portrait engraver. White was celebrated for his original portraits, drawn in pencil on

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

in the manner of Loggan. He died in reduced circumstances in Bloomsbury Market, where he had long resided, in November 1703.

Works

White's plates number about four hundred. They include many of the public and literary characters of the period. A large proportion of them were executed from the life, the rest begin from pictures by Lely, Kneller, Riley, Beale, and others. Among the plates engraved by White from his own drawings are individual portraits of: Prince George of Denmark; the Earl of Athlone; the

Duke of Leeds Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded as ...

; and the

Earl of Seaforth Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781. History The Mackenzies trace their descent to Colin of Kintail (died 1278) ...

. There are also groups of the seven bishops, the bishops' council, the lords justices of England, and the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

captains who declared for King William. White engraved the plates to Francis Sandford's account of the funeral of the

Duke of Albemarle The Dukedom of Albemarle () has been created twice in the Peerage of England, each time ending in extinction. Additionally, the title was created a third time by James II in exile and a fourth time by his son the Old Pretender, in the Jacobite ...

, 1670; the first Oxford ''Almanac'', 1674; a set of portraits of members of the Rawdon family; the plates to

John Guillim John Guillim (c. 1565 – 7 May 1621) of Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, was an antiquarian and officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He is best remembered for his monumental work on heraldry, ''A Display of Heraldry'', first pub ...

's 'Heraldry' and Gilbert Burnet's ''History of the Reformation''; as well as many book-titles and frontispieces. A few

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 tonal ...

portraits of noblemen bear White's name as the publisher, and are assumed to have been executed by him. A portrait of White was engraved by W. H. Worthington for

Ralph Nicholson Wornum Ralph Nicholson Wornum (1812–1877) was a British artist, art historian and administrator. He was Keeper and Secretary of the National Gallery of London from 1855 until his death. Early life He was the son of Robert Wornum the pianoforte make ...

's edition of Horace Walpole's ''Anecdotes''. White was engraver for Andrew Snape's ''The Anatomy of an Horse'' first published in 1683. The images were taken from earlier woodcuts by

Carlo Ruini Carlo Ruini (1530–1598) was one of the most noted anatomists of the horse of the 16th century. He was born into a wealthy family in Bologna, Italy and was privately educated in the style of most upper class children. He did not receive spe ...

Original portraits and White's engravings

File:Cornelius Johnson - Portrait of Susanna Temple, Later Lady Lister - Google Art Project.jpg, Portrait of Susanna Temple, later Lady Lister (1620) by Cornelius Johnson - Google Art Project. File:Susan Lister engraving.jpg, White's engraving of the Johnson portrait

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Robert 1645 births 1703 deaths English engravers Draughtsmen Artists from London