John Smith after Michael Dahl - 1719 Mezzotint, Mr Joseph Martyn

Description

A fine mezzotint portrait of the esteemed London merchant, Joseph Martin. The print has an inscription at the bottom of the plate with the name of the sitter and date of painting and sculpting as well as the names of the original artist, Michael Dhal(1659-1743) and the sculptor John Smith (1652-1742). The lower plate line has been cut off. On laid.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some discolouration. There is light foxing to the surface and the lower plate line has been removed while the others are closely cropped.

Size

28.9 x 23.2cm (11.4" x 9.1")
Sheet: 36.2 x 27.1cm (14.3" x 10.7")

Collection Information

Joseph Martin (c. 1649 - 16 August 1729) was a London merchant and politician who sat in the British House of Commons in 1701 and from 1710 to 1715.
Martin was born about 1649 and became a merchant trading primarily with the Baltic, although he was also a member of the Levant Company and of the New East India Company.
In 1701 Martin was briefly MP for Ipswich before acting as a consul in Moscow from 1702 to 1705. He was returned as MP for Hastings in 1710 but was defeated in 1715 and did not stand for parliament again. From 1710 to 1715, he was a director of the South Sea Company. He was knighted on 22 July 1712 and was Commissary for commercial negotiations with France from 1713 to 1715.

Martin died on 16 August 1729, aged 80. He had married and had 3 sons and 3 daughters.

Artist Biography

Michael Dahl (1659-1743) was a Swedish portrait painter who lived and worked in England most of his career and died there. He was one of the most internationally known Swedish painters of his time. He painted portraits of many aristocrats and some members of royal families, such as Queen Anne of Great Britain, Prince George of Denmark and the exiled Queen Christina of Sweden.