Anthony Cardon (1772–1813) was a Flemish engraver in chalk or stipple, who made his career in England and became noted for his engravings and book illustrations.
Life
Anthony Cardon was born in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in around 1772. He was the son and pupil of a Flemish painter,
Antoine Alexandre Joseph Cardon (1765- 1822) and took prizes at the Academy in Brussels. During the troubles in the Low Countries preceding the
Flanders Campaign
The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Au ...
of 1793, Cardon, aged 17 years, went to England, with a letter of introduction to
Paul Colnaghi
Colnaghi is an art dealership in St James's, central London, England, which is the oldest commercial art gallery in the world, having been established in 1760.
Foundation
The business that became the Colnaghi gallery was established by ...
, who gave him employment. He received his early art education at the Royal Academy Schools and studied three years under his friend
Luigi Schiavonetti
Luigi Schiavonetti (1 April 1765 – 7 June 1810) was an Italian reproductive engraver and etcher.
Life
Luigi Schiavonetti was born at Bassano in Venetia. He was the maternal nephew of Teodoro Viero. After having studied art for several ...
.
His primary medium was
stipple engraving
Stipple engraving is a technique used to create tone in an intaglio print by distributing a pattern of dots of various sizes and densities across the image. The pattern is created on the printing plate either in engraving by gouging out the dots ...
and he became a leading exponent of the method during his lifetime. He is best remembered for the engravings used in book illustrations.
Some of the titles for which Cardon was the engraver include: ''Essays After Cartoons Raphael Windsor'' by Nicholas Joseph Ruyssen and Anthony Cardon, published in 1798 and an 1811 edition of the ''Book of Common Prayer,'' published by F. & C. Rivington of London. Cardon also engraved portraits of George III and prominent contemporaries.
He was an early member of the Chalcographic Society and a member of the Society of the Encouragement of the Arts and received their gold medal for his ''Battle of Alexandria'' in 1807.
[L.H.W. "Anthony Cardon," ''Arnold's Magazine of the Fine Arts, and Journal of Literature and Science,'' Vol. 4, London, 1834, p. 54]Cardondied on 17 February 1813, in London Street,
Fitzroy Square
Fitzroy Square is a Georgian square in London. It is the only one in the central London area known as Fitzrovia.
The square is one of the area's main features, this once led to the surrounding district to be known as Fitzroy Square or Fitzr ...
. His son, Philip Cardon, was trained as an engraver, drew in Indian work, and died about 1817.
Examples of Cardon's work can be found in the
National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...
, The British Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Morgan Library and Museum and in the books he illustrated, many of which are in museum and library collections.
Gallery
Plates from the ''Cries of London'' series
File:Cries of london plate4 by CARDON, ANTHONY (ANTOINE) - GMII.jpg, "Do you want any Matches?" from ''Cries of London'' by Anthony Cardon, 1794
File:Cries of london plate8 by CARDON, ANTHONY (ANTOINE) - GMII.jpg, "Round & Sound Five Pence Pound Duke Cherries," from ''Cries of London'' by Anthony Cardon, 1794
File:Cries of london plate11 by CARDON, ANTHONY (ANTOINE) - GMII.jpg, "A New Love Song only ha'penny a piece," from ''Cries of London'' by Anthony Cardon, 1796
Works

In 1807 Cardon received the gold medal of the
Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
for his engraving of the ''Battle of Alexandria'', after
Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg
Philip James de Loutherbourg RA (31 October 174011 March 1812), whose name is sometimes given in the French form of Philippe-Jacques, the German form of Philipp Jakob, or with the English-language epithet of the Younger, was a French-born Brit ...
. He also engraved:
* The ''Battle of Maida'', after De Loutherbourg;
* Plates of the ''Campaign against Tippoo Sahib'';
* The ''Presentation of Catharine of France to Henry V of England'', after
Thomas Stothard
Thomas Stothard (17 August 1755 – 27 April 1834) was an English painter, illustrator and engraver.
His son, Robert T. Stothard was a painter ( fl. 1810): he painted the proclamation outside York Minster of Queen Victoria's accession to the t ...
;
* ''Salvator Mundi'', after
Carlo Dolci
Carlo (or Carlino) Dolci (25 May 1616 – 17 January 1686) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence, known for highly finished religious pictures, often repeated in many versions.
Biography
He was born in Florence, ...
;
* ''The Woman taken in Adultery'', after
Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition ...
;
* ''The Rustic Minstrel'', ''Innocent Captivation'', and ''The Storming of Seringapatam'', after
Henry Singleton, c. 1780.
* ''l'Enfant Prodigue Recoit sa Legitime'' (The Prodigal Son Receives his Legitimate Share), 1780
* ''Cries of London'' - a series of engravings of street life and street vendors
External links
World Catalogue, ''Anthony Cardon 1772-1813www.anthonycardon.fr
Notes
Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardon, Anthony
1772 births
1813 deaths
Flemish engravers
British engravers
Artists from Brussels
Street cries