cooljjay

I have a lot of art but nothing old enough to write home about. Today I went to an estate sale to look at something completely different and seen this sitting in the living room. It caught my interest but the price was high for me. I talked to the lady and she said I could have it for half the price, good enough for me. The story goes that her grandmother/parents immigrated from Germany and that this along with a few other pieces was hidden away during the war, to keep Hitler from obtaining it. It appears to be old. There is a description on the back in french and the painting appears to be a print mounted on cloth. I am just seeking any information that I can on it. A valuation is not need but helpful. I know the frame is worth what I paid. I really like it and will find a wall for it soon but would be interested to find out about it.

John

From this page:
Towards A Chronological Catalogue of Print illustrations by Richard Westall R.A.

The Young Corsican convinced by General Paoli of the necessity of his Uncle’s death
Eng. W. Ward Pub J.R. Smith
See Boswell’s account of Corsica

cooljjay

Thanks, do you actually think this one is from 1791? It would just be amazing to have something over 200 years old.

John

Looking at it again, I don't think so. At that time they didn't have the ability to reproduce in colour like this. A print would have had to have very simple hand colouring (think Currier & Ives prints).

I see that there is a watercolor at the British Museum that looks exactly like this. My guess would be that this is a 20th-century photographic reproduction of that painting. However I am no expert, so take it for what it is worth.
http://www.artfund.org/artwork/1469/the-young-corsican-convinced-by-general-paoli-of-the-necessity-of-his-uncles-death

cooljjay

Thanks I seen the water color after you provided the first link. I have a friend who thinks its from around 1850. I still really like it regardless of the age, looks like something that has been around for a very long time. I am still interested on the technique used to make the print. As it looks like paper applied to the cloth but it feels like oil. The idea of a photographic reproduction may be the best answer.

thatcomedian

Could it be an Oleograph?
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/...7491/oleograph

cooljjay

I think you are correct, doing some research on it states that they were done on cloth and that they print was coated with an oil finish to give it the look/feel or an actually painting.