Jonathan Spilsbury

Jonathan Spilsbury (c. 1737-1812) was a respected British engraver whose focused output contributed to the burgeoning print trade of the Georgian era. Active primarily between 1752 and 1768, Spilsbury’s technique, often leveraging the tonal depth of mezzotint and stipple methods, allowed him to translate complex painted originals into accessible, monochromatic forms. Though his historical identity is sometimes, and perhaps inevitably, obscured by his older brother, John Spilsbury, Jonathan distinguished himself through technical precision and a concentration on high-quality prints for portrait dissemination.

Spilsbury’s surviving oeuvre, represented in institutional collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rijksmuseum, is weighted heavily toward commissioned portraiture, often focusing on affluent, if ultimately unidentified, female sitters. Works such as Portret van een onbekende vrouw met doorzichtige sluier en pareloorbellen showcase his formidable skill in rendering light and shadow, particularly in the meticulous depiction of fine lace and translucent fabrics essential to the period’s fashionable attire. His technical competence is equally evident in slightly more individualized pieces, including Portret van een onbekende vrouw, mogelijk Esther Jacobs and Portret van een vrouw, mogelijk Mary Richards.

The database of his surviving output offers a subtle observation: two of his most accomplished female portraits carry almost identical descriptive titles, suggesting the profitable re-use of established compositional formulas popular in the mid-18th century market. Spilsbury occasionally deviated from strict portraiture, as seen in the print Two Friars of the Order of Saint Anthony, which allows a glimpse into his capacity for narrative character study.

Beyond his professional output, Jonathan Spilsbury established an artistic lineage through his daughter, Maria Spilsbury, who would become a recognized genre painter in the early 19th century. His legacy today rests on these technically superb examples of 18th-century graphic arts. These Jonathan Spilsbury prints are valued as museum-quality documents of their time and, due to their age, are increasingly available as downloadable artwork via public domain archives.