James McBey. 1883-1959.
A Tartane Leaving Venice. 1928. Etching. Hardie/Carter 240. 6 1/2 x 12 1/2 (sheet 10 1/8 x 14 1/8). Edition 80, #12.A rich impression printed in sepia ink on off-white laid paper from an antique volume. Signed and numbered in ink. and annotated 'Lely' in McBey's hand, and 'paper belonged to Sir P. Lely in 1666' in another hand. $2,500.
Carter writes, "A two-masted ship (tartane), seen against a sunset sky, is sailing towards the spectator. In the distance, on the right, the Campanile, and on the left, San Giorgio Maggiore and the Salute."
Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 - 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin. He was the most popular portrait artist in England from soon after he arrived in the country in the 1640s to his death. He is reputed to have adopted the surname "Lely" (also occasionally spelled Lilly) from a heraldic lily on the gable of the house where his father was born in The Hague. Lely played a significant role in introducing the mezzotint to Britain, as he realized its possibilities for publicising his portraits. He encouraged Dutch mezzotinters to come to Britain to copy his work, laying the foundations for the English mezzotint tradition.
He collected Old Masters during his life, with examples by Veronese, Titian, Claude Lorrain and Rubens, and a fabulous collection of drawings. His collection was broken up and sold after his death, raising the immense sum of £26,000. Some items in it which had been acquired by Lely from the Commonwealth dispersal of Charles I's art collections, such as the Lely Venus, were re-acquired by the royal collection.
Carter writes, "A two-masted ship (tartane), seen against a sunset sky, is sailing towards the spectator. In the distance, on the right, the Campanile, and on the left, San Giorgio Maggiore and the Salute."
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