John Swaine (26 June 1775 – 25 November 1860), was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types o ...

and engraver.

Life and work

Swaine was born at

Stanwell Stanwell is a village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne district, in Surrey, England. It is west of central London. A small corner of its land is used as industrial land for nearby Heathrow Airport. The rest of the village is made up o ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, on 26 June 1775, the son of John and Margaret Swaine, and became a pupil first of

Jacob Schnebbelie Jacob Schnebbelie (30 August 1760 – 21 February 1792) was an English draughtsman, specialising in monuments and other historical subjects. Early life Jacob Schnebbelie was born in Duke's Court, St Martin's Lane, London, on 30 August 1760. His fa ...

and afterwards of

Barak Longmate Barak Longmate (1738 – 23 July 1793) was an English genealogist and editor, heraldic engraver and publisher. Life and work Longmate was born in 1738, son of Barak and Elizabeth Longmate of St James's, Westminster in London. He engraved some to ...

He is best known for his excellent

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...

copies of old prints, of which the most noteworthy are the famous portrait of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Martin Droeshout Martin Droeshout ( ; April 1601 – ) was an English engraver of Flemish people, Flemish descent, who is best known as illustrator of the The Droeshout portrait, title portrait for William Shakespeare's collected works, the First Folio of 162 ...

William Faithorne William Faithorne, often "the Elder" (161613 May 1691), was an English painter and engraver. Life Faithorne was born in London and was apprenticed to William Peake. On the outbreak of the Civil War Faithorne accompanied his master into the k ...

's portrait of Thomas Stanley,

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'') ...

's frontispiece to the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

, and the plates to William Ottley's ‘History of Engraving,’ (1816), and

Singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

's ‘History of Playing Cards,’ 1816. He also engraved many illustrations for various scientific, topographical, and antiquarian works, including the whole series of plates in William Marsden's 'Oriental Coins,’ (1823–5), and many subjects of natural history for the transactions of the Linnean,

Zoological Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

, and

Entomological Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the ...

societies. There are a few contemporary portraits by him, including one of

Marshal Blücher Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...

, after

Friedrich Rehberg Friedrich Rehberg (22 October 1758 – 20 August 1835) was a German Portrait painting, portrait and History painting, historical painter.The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...

’ for fifty years, commencing in 1804. Swaine died in Dean Street,

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

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 ...

, on 25 November 1860. In 1797 he married the daughter of his master, Barak Longmate. She died in October 1822. Swaine taught engraving to his young nephew, James Fahey, who went on to become a notable

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

John Barak Swaine

John Barak Swaine (1815?–1838), his only son, studied in the schools of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, and while still a boy did some good antiquarian work. Drawings by him, illustrating papers by

Alfred John Kempe Alfred John Kempe (1784 – 21 August 1846) was an English antiquary. Life Kempe was born in London, and baptised at the church of St Mary, Newington on 16 July 1784. He was the only son of John Kempe, bullion-porter in the Royal Mint, and his ...

, appeared in '' Archæologia'', 1832 and 1834. In 1833 he was awarded the Isis gold medal of the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

for an

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 type ...

, and in that year drew, etched, and published a large plate of the east window of St. Margaret's, Westminster. In 1834, having taken up oil painting, he visited

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study and copy in the galleries there. He walked from Holland to Paris, making many sketches on the way. In Paris he painted much and also tried his hand successfully at

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image 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 prints using relatively l ...

. He engraved in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the intaglio (printmaking), 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. Mezzo ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

's ‘Spanish Officer,’ also a picture by himself entitled 'The Dutch Governess,’ and a portrait of A. J. Kempe. In 1837 he etched a plate of the altar window at

Hampton Lucy Hampton Lucy is a village and civil parish on the River Avon, northeast of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 566. History The grammar school at Hampton Lucy was ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. Swaine was a versatile artist of great promise, but died young, after a long illness, at the age of 23 in Queen Street,

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and so ...

, London, on 28 March 1838.

References

External links

*
Engravings of portraits
(National Portrait gallery, London) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swaine, John English engravers English draughtsmen People from Stanwell 1775 births 1860 deaths