Elisha Kirkall (c.1682–1742) was a prolific English engraver, who made many experiments in printmaking techniques. He was noted for engravings on

type metal In printing, type metal refers to the metal alloys used in traditional typefounding and hot metal typesetting. Historically, type metal was an alloy of lead, tin and antimony in different proportions depending on the application, be it individ ...

that could be set up with letterpress for book illustrations, and was also known as a mezzotint artist.

Life

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, Kirkall was son of a locksmith. Around 1702 he came to London, and found employment in the book trade. He also studied drawing at Great Queen Street Academy. Kirkall married early in life, to Elizabeth; a second wife was called Deborah. He died in Whitefriars in December 1742, leaving a son, Charles, then aged about 22.

Works

As a book illustrator, Kirkall used

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and

metalcut Metalcut was a relief printmaking technique, belonging to the category of old master prints. It was almost entirely restricted to the period from about 1450 to 1540, and mostly to the region around the Rhine in Northern Europe, the Low Countries, ...

, with

line engraving Line engraving is a term for engraved images printed on paper to be used as prints or illustrations. The term is mainly used in connection with 18th- or 19th-century commercial illustrations for magazines and books or reproductions of painting ...

as "white line". From his first times in London, book ornaments he provided as raised metal proved very popular with publishers. In the 1720s he innovated with use of the

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 ...

rocker tool to simulate ''

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

''. A reputation for

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and ...

was apparently based on misapprehensions, and the attribution to him of woodcuts in

Samuel Croxall Samuel Croxall (c. 1690 – 1752) was an Anglican churchman, writer and translator, particularly noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables. Early career Samuel Croxall was born in Walton on Thames, where his father (also called Samuel) was vicar ...

's edition of '' Æsop's Fables'' (1722) was guesswork. Works included: * The frontispiece to William Howell's ''Medulla Historiæ Anglicanæ'' (1712); * Plates for

Michel Maittaire Michel Maittaire (also Michael) (1668 – 7 September 1747) was a French-born classical scholar and bibliographer in England, and a tutor to Lord Philip Stanhope. He edited an edition of Quintus Curtius Rufus, later owned by Thomas Jefferson. His ...

's edition of the works of

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

(1713); * Plates for the Tonson & Watts translation of

Ovid's Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the w ...

(1717); * Plates for Nicholas Rowe's translation of Lucan's ''

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'', is a Roman epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Gr ...

'' (1718); and * For Richard Bradley's ''The Gentleman and Gardener's Kalendar'' (1718). His mezzotint engravings were often printed in green ink, and occasionally printed

à la poupée ''À la poupée'' is a largely historic intaglio (printmaking), intaglio printmaking technique for making colour prints by applying different ink colours to a single printing plate using ball-shaped wads of cloth, one for each colour. The paper ...

in a variety of colours. In this manner he published by subscription sixteen views of shipping by

William Van de Velde the younger Willem van de Velde the Younger (18 December 1633 (baptised)6 April 1707) was a Dutch marine painter, the son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, who also specialised in maritime art. His brother, Adriaen van de Velde, was a landscape painter. ...

, the seven

Raphael cartoons The Raphael Cartoons are seven large cartoons for tapestries, belonging to the British Royal Collection but since 1865 on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, designed by the High Renaissance painter Raphael in 1515–16 and show ...

, hunting scenes by

Johann Elias Ridinger Johann Elias Ridinger (16 February 1698, Ulm – 10 April 1767, Augsburg) was a German painter, engraver, draughtsman and publisher. He is considered one of the most famous German engravers of animals, particularly horses, hounds and h ...

, and other works. Sir Christopher Wren

With his new method of chiaroscuro engraving, Kirkall produced a copy of

Ugo da Carpi Ugo da Carpi ( – ) was an Italian printmaker active between 1502 and 1532 in the cities of Venice, Rome and Bologna. He is known for his technical and stylistic contributions to the chiaroscuro woodcut, a printmaking technique using bloc ...

's chiaroscuro engraving of ''Æneas and Anchises'', after Raphael, and a number of reproductions of drawings by Italian masters. In a similar manner he engraved a portrait of

Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

John Closterman John Closterman (also spelt Cloosterman, Klosterman; 1660 – 24 May 1711 (buried)) was a Westphalian portrait painter of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His subjects were mostly European noblemen and their families. Career Born in Osn ...

, in an architectural frame designed by Henry Cook; and a portrait of William Stukeley for whose antiquarian works he engraved standard copperplates. Later plates for the booksellers included: * Those for Oldsworth and others' translation of Homer's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'' (B. Lintot, 1734); *

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

's translation of the same work (B. Lintot, 1736); * The plates to an edition of Inigo Jones's ''Stonehenge'' (1725); and * For

James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transi ...

's ''A Book of Architecture'' (1728), 73 plates. A portrait by Kirkall of

Eliza Haywood Eliza Haywood (c. 1693 – 25 February 1756), born Elizabeth Fowler, was an English writer, actress and publisher. An increase in interest and recognition of Haywood's literary works began in the 1980s. Described as "prolific even by the standar ...

, prefixed to her ''Works'' in 1724, earned for him a couplet in Pope's ''

Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess Dulness and the progress of her chosen agents as they bring ...

''. After

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...

published in 1732 his major set of engravings '' The Harlot's Progress'', Kirkall made free copies in mezzotint, printed in green, and published from his house in Dockwell's Court, Whitefriars, in November of that year. Other engravings by Kirkall included: * A mezzotint portrait of Senesino the singer, after Joseph Goupy; * A set of thirty plates of flowers after Jacob Van Huysum; * Plates of shipping after Thomas Baston; and * Mezzotint plates after

Peter Monamy Peter Monamy was an English marine painter who lived between 1681 and 1749. Early life and family Peter Monamy was baptised at the church of St Botolph's-without-Aldgate, London, England, on 12 January 1681 (new style). His name seems t ...

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkall, Elisha 1742 deaths English engravers Artists from Sheffield Year of birth uncertain 1682 births