James Basire (1730–1802

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

), also known as James Basire Sr., was a British engraver. He is the most significant of a family of engravers, and noted for his apprenticing of the young

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

Early life

His father was Isaac Basire (1704–1768), a

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

, his son (1769–1822) and grandson (1796–1869) were also named James; these four generations of Basires were all engravers. Their longevity produced overlapping careers, which has led to difficulties in attribution of some works.

Career

A member of the Society of Antiquaries, James Basire specialized in prints depicting architecture. His studio was on Great Queen Street in

. His appointment as engraver to the society, as were all three generations, and much of his finest work is found in '' Vetusta Monumenta''. A major piece was his copperplate for ''Field of the Cloth of Gold'', an exquisitely detailed translation of a watercolour by Edward Edwards; this oversize historical print was issued on 'Antiquarian' paper. Excellent work also appeared in Richard Gough's ''Sepulchral Monuments''.

Legacy and work

Work by Basire is held in museums and galleries around the world, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

, Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand, the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

in Canberra, and the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

, London. On 4 August 1772,

was apprenticed to Basire for the term of seven years. There is no record of any serious disagreement or conflict between the two during the period of Blake's apprenticeship. However,

Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...

's biography notes that Blake was later to add Basire's name to a list of artistic adversaries – and then crossed it out. He assisted in the production of Stuart's ''Athens'' and engraved several good portraits of eminent men. He died in

. Among his other works were: *''Captain Cook''; after Hodges. *''Lady Stanhope, as the Fair Penitent''; after B. Wilson. *''Lord Camden''; after

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

. *''The Field of the Cloth of Gold: Henry VIII and Francis I''; after the picture at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

. *''Interview between Orestes and Pylades before Iphigenia''; after

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 (West painting), The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the ''Treaty of Paris ( ...

. Amongst Basire's apprentices were Thomas Ryder (1746–1810), George Cooke (1781–1834), and John Roffe (1769–1850).

References

External links

Work by Basire
on WorldImages {{DEFAULTSORT:Basire, James English printmakers English engravers English people of French descent 1730 births 1802 deaths Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London

Early life

Career

Legacy and work

References

Further reading

External links