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George Vertue (1684 – July 24, 1756) was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.
Early years
Vertue was born in 1684 in St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, London. At the age of 13, he was apprenticed to a heraldic engraver of French origin.
Career
As an engraver, Vertue worked seven years under Michael Vandergucht. During this time and later, he executed more than five hundred engraved portraits. In 1711, he was among the first members of Godfrey Kneller's London Academy of Painting. In 1717, he was appointed engraver to the Society of Antiquaries. From 1713 on, Vertue was a keen researcher on details of the history of British art, accumulating about forty volumes of notebooks. Vertue died in London on July 24, 1756, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Legacy
Horace Walpole purchased Vertue's notebooks after his death. Although disorderly and mainly unreflective, Walpole based his Anecdotes of Painting in England (5 vols., 1762-1771) on these notes. The original wording of the manuscripts was only published in the 20th century by the Walpole Society.
References
- George Vertue, "Notebooks", The Volume of the Walpole Society, XVIII (1929-1930), XX (1931-1932), XXII (1933-1934), XXIV (1935-1936), XXVI (1937-1938), XXIV (1947; Index), XXX (1951-1952; Index).
- Ilaria Bignamini, "George Vertue, Art Historian," The Volume of the Walpole Society, 54 (1988), 2-18.
External links
- Images of works
- Portrait of Thomas Sackville Earl of Dorset
- Vertue, G., & Holbein, H. (1700). Edward VI, King of England, half-length portrait, facing slightly left, OCLC 51155119
- Vertue, G., & Honthorst, G. v. (1730). Benjamin Johnson, English actor, head-and-shoulders portrait facing slightly left, OCLC 51134504
See also
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