Harris Schrank Fine Prints

John Skippe (1742-1811), St. John holding a Chalice, c. 1780, chiaroscuro woodcut print after Parmigiano. Four color blocks: light green, light brown, medium brown, dark brown. 282 x 154 mm. Signed in the block, with extensive annotations.  Nagler, 17. Le Blanc, 17. Kennedy, 191. In very good condition, tipped to a backing sheet at several places, 10 7/8 x 6 inches.

A fine impression, with the colors registering clearly.

Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Percy Simmons;

Exhibited: Beyond Black and White, Chiaroscuro Prints from Indiana  Collections, 1989-90; Indiana Museum of Art.

Skippe was a “gentleman antiquarian” who traveled widely, collecting drawings which he later used as the basis for his chiaroscuro woodcuts. His intent was to replicate the Italian manner of Ugo da Carpi, and perhaps even encourage a re-birth of chiaroscuro woodcut printing. His prints were a great success, but the re-birth of the medium was not forthcoming. Skippe was not focused on the commercial possibilities of the medium, sharing his prints only with appreciative connoisseurs and colleagues. He created a number of folios of prints; the number is unknown but they are rare, and were of varying sizes. In the United States there are two folios at the Yale Center for British Art (one of 31 prints, the other containing 20); another folio of 42 is at the Cincinnati Museum of Art, and finally a folio of 28 is at the University of Chicago.