Claude Du Bosc (also spelled Dubosc and DuBosc;
c. 1682–c. or after 1746)[1] was a French
engraver, publisher, and printseller who spent much of his career in London. Associated with French contemporaries such as the painter
Antoine Watteau[2] and the draftsman
Hubert-François Gravelot,[3] Du Bosc belonged to the first wave of skilled engravers to arrive in London during the early 18th century, playing a major part in improving the standard of English printmaking of that era.[4]
Life
Nothing known of Du Bosc's early life and work; it has been usually thought since the late-19th century that Du Bosc was born in France c. 1682,[1] likely of Protestant background.[5] In
Roger Portalis [
fr] and
Henri Béraldi's view, also from the late-19th century, Du Bosc studied engraving under
Bernard Picart;[6] an alternate point supposes him to be an associate of
Gaspard Duchange.[7] The earliest secure mentions of Du Bosc date to c. 1712–1713, when he produced two plates for Duchange's 1714 publication of Recueil de cent estampes représentant différentes nations du Levant after
Jean Baptiste Vanmour.[8] Also published by Duchange are two early prints by Du Bosc, Apollo Visiting Thetis and Leto and the
Lycian peasants, both after
Jean Jouvenet.[9]
At some point c. 1712–1713,[10] Du Bosc and
Charles Dupuis moved to England, requested to assist
Nicholas Dorigny in engraving the
Raphael Cartoons at
Hampton Court.[11] As
George Vertue's notebooks state, Du Bosc and Dupuis quarrelled with Dorigny and left his employ before the work was complete.[12] Later in London, Du Bosc told Dupuis that he would stay for some time before moving to France; actually, Vertue recounts, Du Bosc had decided to settle in England, so he wanted Dupuis, a more capable and thus unlikely engraver to compete with, to depart alone to Paris.[13]
In February 1714, Du Bosc undertook with
Louis Du Guernier to engrave a series of plates illustrative of the battles of the
Duke of Marlborough and
Prince Eugene.[14] He sent to Paris for two more engravers,
Bernard Baron and Beauvais, to assist him on the work, which was completed in 1717.[15]
George Vertue states that towards the end of 1729 Baron and Du Bosc went over to Paris, Du Bosc wishing to arrange matters relating to the trade of print-selling, as he had now set up a shop, and that Vanloo then painted both their portraits, which they brought back to England.[16] From Vertue's notebooks, it is known that in c. 1726, Du Bosc also sat for another portrait, painted by
John Smibert.[17]
In 1733, Dubosc published an English edition of Bernard Picart's Religious Ceremonies of All Nations, some of the plates being engraved by himself; he also invited a younger artist
Hubert-François Gravelot for assistance.[18][19]: 324 His other prints included Apollo and Thetis and The Vengeance of Latona, after Jouvenet; some of the Labours of Hercules and The Sacrifice of Iphigenia, after Louis Cheron; The Head of Pompey brought to Cæsar, after Bernard Picart;[20]The Continence of Scipio,[21][22] after Poussin; The Temple of Solomon, after Parmentière; a portrait of
Bonaventura Giffard,[23] and numerous book illustrations, including numerous plates for Rapin's History of England (1743).[24] By 1743, Du Bosc was said by Vertue to be an associate of the
Rose and Crown Club;[25] according to Timothy Clayton's 2004 entry published in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Du Bosc was last mentioned in the May 1746 issue of the British Magazine, as a publisher for a plan of the
Battle of Culloden.[26]:
126
Later in the 18th century,
Joseph Strutt described him as "an engraver of no great merit", adding that "his style of engraving is coarse and heavy; and the drawing of the naked parts of the figure in his plates is exceedingly defective";[27] Strutt's point has been long reiterated.[28]
Monument to Queen Elizabeth I in the Westminster Abbey, after design by
Hubert-François Gravelot, Wellcome Collection, London
Notes
References
^
abIn a widely represented point,
Cust 1888, p. 80, cited in
Treydel 2001, p. 79, establishes c. 1682 and c. 1745 as respective datings of Du Bosc's birth and death. In a different point,
Herold & Vuaflart 1929, p. 93, states that there are no actual datings for that. In light of the 1746 mention in the British Magazine, recent sources such as
Clayton 2004, p. 17 and
Gatrell 2013, p. 393, date Du Bosc's death c. or after 1746.
^Gouzi, Christine (22 June 2020).
"Les graveurs français face au jansénisme au XVIIIe siècle". Encyclopédie d'histoire numérique de l'Europe (in French). Retrieved 6 February 2022. De plus, le graveur français d'origine protestante Claude Dubosc (1682-1745) avait émigré à Londres en 1712 : devenu libraire et marchand graveur en Angleterre, il était en relation avec Bernard Picart dont il éditait aussi les estampes
^Benard, Pierre Maurice (1810).
Cabinet de M. Paignon Dijonval. Paris: De l'imprimerie de Madame Huzard. p.
274 – via Gallica: "7884. César detournant les yeux de dessus la tête de Pompée que lui présente un soldat: est. en h. Cl. Dubosc sc."{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)
^"List of Books, &c. published May 1746". The British Magazine. May 1746. pp. 124–126 – via the Internet Archive, cited in
Clayton 2004, p. 17: "…A Plan of the Dispofitions of both Armies in that ever memorable Battle and Defeat of the Rebels at Culloden. Du Bosc, 6 d."{{
cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)
Alexander, David (2022). A Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Engravers, 1714-1820. London, New Haven: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art; distributed by Yale University Press. pp. 302–303.
ISBN978-1-913107-21-5.
LCCN2021935706.
OCLC1286378106.
Bignamini, Ilaria (1988). "George Vertue, Art Historian and Art Institutions in London, 1689–1768: A Study of Clubs and Academies". The Walpole Society. 54: 1–148.
ISSN0141-0016.
JSTOR41829562.
OCLC5543511636.
Goulden, R. J. (April 1982). "William Darres, Claude du Bosc and the European Market". Factotum (14). London: British Library: 17–20.
ISSN0141-3635.
OCLC933322566.
Grant, Maurice Harold (1952). A Dictionary of British Etchers. London: Rockliff. p. 68.
OCLC3371226.
Harris, Michael (1997). "Scratching the surface: engravers, printsellers and the London book trade in the mid-18th century". In Hunt, Arnold; Mandelbrote, Giles & Shell, Allison (eds.). The Book Trade & Its Customers, 1450-1900: Historical Essays for Robin Myers. Winchester, New Castle Del.: Oak Knoll Press. pp. 95–114.
ISBN1-884718-34-5.
OCLC901699770.
Nagler, Georg Kaspar (1836).
"Dubosc, Claude". Neues Allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon (in German). Vol. 3. München: E. A. Fleischmann. p. 323 – via Google Books.
Roland Michel, Marianne (1986). "Watteau and England". In Hind, Charles (ed.). The Rococo in England. London: Victoria and Albert Museum. pp. 46–59.
ISBN0-948107-37-5.
OCLC18588917.
Tarantino, Giovanni (2016). "A 'Protestant' Approach to Colonization as Envisaged in John Lockman's Martyrology". In Broomhall, Susan and Finn, Sarah (eds.).
Violence and Emotions in Early Modern Europe. London, New York: Routledge. pp. 185–202.
ISBN978-1-315-68945-6 – via Google Books.
Vertue, George (1932). "The Note-Books of George Vertue Relating to Artists and Collections in England (II)". The Walpole Society. 20. whole issue.
JSTORi40086519.
Vertue, George (1934). "The Note-Books of George Vertue Relating to Artists and Collections in England (III)". The Walpole Society. 22. whole issue.
JSTORi40086509.
Vertue, George (1952). "The Note-Books of George Vertue Relating to Artists and Collections in England (VI)". The Walpole Society. 30. whole issue.
JSTORi40086545.
Claude Du Bosc (also spelled Dubosc and DuBosc;
c. 1682–c. or after 1746)[1] was a French
engraver, publisher, and printseller who spent much of his career in London. Associated with French contemporaries such as the painter
Antoine Watteau[2] and the draftsman
Hubert-François Gravelot,[3] Du Bosc belonged to the first wave of skilled engravers to arrive in London during the early 18th century, playing a major part in improving the standard of English printmaking of that era.[4]
Life
Nothing known of Du Bosc's early life and work; it has been usually thought since the late-19th century that Du Bosc was born in France c. 1682,[1] likely of Protestant background.[5] In
Roger Portalis [
fr] and
Henri Béraldi's view, also from the late-19th century, Du Bosc studied engraving under
Bernard Picart;[6] an alternate point supposes him to be an associate of
Gaspard Duchange.[7] The earliest secure mentions of Du Bosc date to c. 1712–1713, when he produced two plates for Duchange's 1714 publication of Recueil de cent estampes représentant différentes nations du Levant after
Jean Baptiste Vanmour.[8] Also published by Duchange are two early prints by Du Bosc, Apollo Visiting Thetis and Leto and the
Lycian peasants, both after
Jean Jouvenet.[9]
At some point c. 1712–1713,[10] Du Bosc and
Charles Dupuis moved to England, requested to assist
Nicholas Dorigny in engraving the
Raphael Cartoons at
Hampton Court.[11] As
George Vertue's notebooks state, Du Bosc and Dupuis quarrelled with Dorigny and left his employ before the work was complete.[12] Later in London, Du Bosc told Dupuis that he would stay for some time before moving to France; actually, Vertue recounts, Du Bosc had decided to settle in England, so he wanted Dupuis, a more capable and thus unlikely engraver to compete with, to depart alone to Paris.[13]
In February 1714, Du Bosc undertook with
Louis Du Guernier to engrave a series of plates illustrative of the battles of the
Duke of Marlborough and
Prince Eugene.[14] He sent to Paris for two more engravers,
Bernard Baron and Beauvais, to assist him on the work, which was completed in 1717.[15]
George Vertue states that towards the end of 1729 Baron and Du Bosc went over to Paris, Du Bosc wishing to arrange matters relating to the trade of print-selling, as he had now set up a shop, and that Vanloo then painted both their portraits, which they brought back to England.[16] From Vertue's notebooks, it is known that in c. 1726, Du Bosc also sat for another portrait, painted by
John Smibert.[17]
In 1733, Dubosc published an English edition of Bernard Picart's Religious Ceremonies of All Nations, some of the plates being engraved by himself; he also invited a younger artist
Hubert-François Gravelot for assistance.[18][19]: 324 His other prints included Apollo and Thetis and The Vengeance of Latona, after Jouvenet; some of the Labours of Hercules and The Sacrifice of Iphigenia, after Louis Cheron; The Head of Pompey brought to Cæsar, after Bernard Picart;[20]The Continence of Scipio,[21][22] after Poussin; The Temple of Solomon, after Parmentière; a portrait of
Bonaventura Giffard,[23] and numerous book illustrations, including numerous plates for Rapin's History of England (1743).[24] By 1743, Du Bosc was said by Vertue to be an associate of the
Rose and Crown Club;[25] according to Timothy Clayton's 2004 entry published in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Du Bosc was last mentioned in the May 1746 issue of the British Magazine, as a publisher for a plan of the
Battle of Culloden.[26]:
126
Later in the 18th century,
Joseph Strutt described him as "an engraver of no great merit", adding that "his style of engraving is coarse and heavy; and the drawing of the naked parts of the figure in his plates is exceedingly defective";[27] Strutt's point has been long reiterated.[28]
Monument to Queen Elizabeth I in the Westminster Abbey, after design by
Hubert-François Gravelot, Wellcome Collection, London
Notes
References
^
abIn a widely represented point,
Cust 1888, p. 80, cited in
Treydel 2001, p. 79, establishes c. 1682 and c. 1745 as respective datings of Du Bosc's birth and death. In a different point,
Herold & Vuaflart 1929, p. 93, states that there are no actual datings for that. In light of the 1746 mention in the British Magazine, recent sources such as
Clayton 2004, p. 17 and
Gatrell 2013, p. 393, date Du Bosc's death c. or after 1746.
^Gouzi, Christine (22 June 2020).
"Les graveurs français face au jansénisme au XVIIIe siècle". Encyclopédie d'histoire numérique de l'Europe (in French). Retrieved 6 February 2022. De plus, le graveur français d'origine protestante Claude Dubosc (1682-1745) avait émigré à Londres en 1712 : devenu libraire et marchand graveur en Angleterre, il était en relation avec Bernard Picart dont il éditait aussi les estampes
^Benard, Pierre Maurice (1810).
Cabinet de M. Paignon Dijonval. Paris: De l'imprimerie de Madame Huzard. p.
274 – via Gallica: "7884. César detournant les yeux de dessus la tête de Pompée que lui présente un soldat: est. en h. Cl. Dubosc sc."{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)
^"List of Books, &c. published May 1746". The British Magazine. May 1746. pp. 124–126 – via the Internet Archive, cited in
Clayton 2004, p. 17: "…A Plan of the Dispofitions of both Armies in that ever memorable Battle and Defeat of the Rebels at Culloden. Du Bosc, 6 d."{{
cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)
Alexander, David (2022). A Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Engravers, 1714-1820. London, New Haven: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art; distributed by Yale University Press. pp. 302–303.
ISBN978-1-913107-21-5.
LCCN2021935706.
OCLC1286378106.
Bignamini, Ilaria (1988). "George Vertue, Art Historian and Art Institutions in London, 1689–1768: A Study of Clubs and Academies". The Walpole Society. 54: 1–148.
ISSN0141-0016.
JSTOR41829562.
OCLC5543511636.
Goulden, R. J. (April 1982). "William Darres, Claude du Bosc and the European Market". Factotum (14). London: British Library: 17–20.
ISSN0141-3635.
OCLC933322566.
Grant, Maurice Harold (1952). A Dictionary of British Etchers. London: Rockliff. p. 68.
OCLC3371226.
Harris, Michael (1997). "Scratching the surface: engravers, printsellers and the London book trade in the mid-18th century". In Hunt, Arnold; Mandelbrote, Giles & Shell, Allison (eds.). The Book Trade & Its Customers, 1450-1900: Historical Essays for Robin Myers. Winchester, New Castle Del.: Oak Knoll Press. pp. 95–114.
ISBN1-884718-34-5.
OCLC901699770.
Nagler, Georg Kaspar (1836).
"Dubosc, Claude". Neues Allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon (in German). Vol. 3. München: E. A. Fleischmann. p. 323 – via Google Books.
Roland Michel, Marianne (1986). "Watteau and England". In Hind, Charles (ed.). The Rococo in England. London: Victoria and Albert Museum. pp. 46–59.
ISBN0-948107-37-5.
OCLC18588917.
Tarantino, Giovanni (2016). "A 'Protestant' Approach to Colonization as Envisaged in John Lockman's Martyrology". In Broomhall, Susan and Finn, Sarah (eds.).
Violence and Emotions in Early Modern Europe. London, New York: Routledge. pp. 185–202.
ISBN978-1-315-68945-6 – via Google Books.
Vertue, George (1932). "The Note-Books of George Vertue Relating to Artists and Collections in England (II)". The Walpole Society. 20. whole issue.
JSTORi40086519.
Vertue, George (1934). "The Note-Books of George Vertue Relating to Artists and Collections in England (III)". The Walpole Society. 22. whole issue.
JSTORi40086509.
Vertue, George (1952). "The Note-Books of George Vertue Relating to Artists and Collections in England (VI)". The Walpole Society. 30. whole issue.
JSTORi40086545.