Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Historical Portraits: Richard II to Henry Wriothesley, 1400 1600; The Lives by C. R. L. Fletcher; The Portraits Chosen by Emery Walker; With an Introduction on the History of Portraiture in England
This collection of Portraits of Persons celebrated in the History of Great Britain and Ireland owes its existence largely to the zeal of Mr. Emery Walker, whose well-known skill as a reproducer of ancient pictures has elevated Photography to the rank of a fine art. It is not possible to guarantee the perfect authenticity of all the portraits reproduced; all that can be said is that no portrait has been admitted which was known to be without serious claims to authenticity. Much must depend in all doubtful cases upon the value attached to family tradition; and every one knows how very readily family tradition goes astray in the matter of pictures. Moreover, the History of the Art of Portrait-painting in Great Britain still remains to be written; and it ought to be written soon, before the details of the almost lost arts of line engraving and mezzo-tint are wholly forgotten. It has been thought best to leave the portraits to speak for themselves, without attempting to point out in the accompanying 'Lives' their respective merits and defects. It is hoped that subsequent volumes may carry the series down to the middle of the nineteenth century; the reason for beginning at the close of the fourteenth will appear obvious to every one who knows anything of the History of Art. It is obviously impossible to begin a series of portraits from a date at which portrait-painting was unknown north of the Alps. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
