John Milton 1760

Editor: This is Giovanni Battista Cipriani's "John Milton," made around 1760. It's a print, an engraving of a drawing actually. I'm immediately drawn to the laurel wreath around Milton's portrait; it feels like an immediate elevation of him. What does this portrait tell you? Curator: It's interesting that you pick up on the laurel wreath. It's a deliberate attempt to create a classical connection. This print exists within a much broader visual culture. Consider how the image of Milton, the radical republican poet, is being packaged here for a specific audience and purpose. How does it portray Milton, and what image does the commissioner of the piece wish to create? Editor: So it's not just about honoring Milton, it's about shaping a narrative? The text underneath seems to hint at struggles and solitude too. Curator: Exactly! The print refers to a specific crayon portrait and booksellers. This positions the work within the literary circles of the time and within a developing commercialized artistic environment. How do we read this image in relation to these historical factors? Who might have purchased it, and why? These details provide insight into how art functioned as a marker of taste and intellectual allegiance in 18th-century Britain. Editor: I never really thought about the consumer. That context changes my perception entirely. It's not just a simple portrait; it’s an object within a cultural and economic network. Curator: Precisely. Thinking about those social contexts adds a new depth. Editor: It definitely makes me want to investigate the original crayon portrait, the booksellers and this Thomas Hollis as well!