1909-1910 Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers In Five Volumes

Description

Original Binding

Complete in five volumes. New edition revised and enlarged under the supervision of George C. Williamson. With numerous illustrations. Each volume contains an engraved frontispiece. Michael Bryan (9 April 1757 – 21 March 1821) was an English art historian, art dealer and connoisseur. He was involved in the purchase and resale of the great French Orleans collection of art selling it on to a British syndicate, and owned a fashionable art gallery in Saville Row, London. His book, Biographical and Critical Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, was a standard reference work throughout the 19th century, and was last republished in 1920; however it is now badly outdated. In 1801 Bryan obtained, through the Duke of Bridgewater, the king's permission to visit Paris in order to purchase art from the cabinet of Monsieur Robit to bring back to England. Among other fine pictures, he returned with two by the baroque Spanish artist Murillo - The infant Christ as the Good Shepherd, and The infant St. John with the lamb. In 1804 Bryan retired from the art world, and settled at his brother's home in Yorkshire, where he remained until 1811. In 1812 Bryan again visited London, and commenced writing his "magnum opus" - the Biographical and Critical Dictionary of Painters and Engravers in 2 volumes. The first part appeared in May 1813, and concluded in 1816. He owned a gallery in London's Saville Row, which became a fashionable gathering place for artists and their patrons. In 1818 he became involved with some speculative art purchases which proved a failure.