John Condé facts for kids

John Condé (active 1785-1800) was a talented artist who made pictures by engraving them onto metal plates. He was known for his detailed work and for capturing the look of famous people of his time.

Condé is sometimes thought to be English, but he once described himself as a French artist. This was on an engraving he made in 1791. He said he designed it to show "English generosity and French gratitude." This suggests he might have been French, or at least had strong ties to France.

What is an Engraver?

An engraver is an artist who creates images by carving lines into a hard surface, usually a metal plate like copper. These lines hold ink. When paper is pressed onto the inked plate, the image is transferred, making a print. It's a bit like a very detailed stamp!

Condé's Special Style

John Condé was very famous for engraving portraits that were originally drawn by another artist named Richard Cosway. Cosway was known for his elegant and graceful drawings. Condé would then turn these drawings into prints.

He used special techniques to make his engravings look soft and delicate. These included:

• Stipple: This technique uses tiny dots instead of lines to create shading and texture. Imagine drawing with lots of tiny dots!
• Sanguine: This refers to a reddish-brown color, often used in drawings and prints to give a warm, lifelike feel.
• Aquatint: This method creates areas of tone, like washes of color, rather than just lines. It's good for showing different shades.

Condé often made his engravings even more special by adding decorative borders around them. These borders were called "glomisages." They were named after a French engraver, Glomy, who first came up with the idea. These borders made the portraits look like they were framed, adding to their elegance.

Famous Faces He Engraved

Condé created engravings of many important and well-known people. Some of the famous portraits he worked on included:

• Maria Fitzherbert
• Mrs. Tickell
• Mrs. Bouverie
• Madame du Barry
• Horace Beckford

He also made portraits for popular magazines of the time, like the European Magazine. He even engraved pictures of actors for Thespian Magazine, sometimes drawing them himself or working from other artists' designs.

Other notable works by Condé include a portrait of Lord Chancellor Thurlow and a print he designed himself called "The Hobby Horse."

Was He a Father?

It is believed that John Condé was the father of another engraver named Peter Condé. Peter Condé also engraved portraits, including those of Jan Ladislav Dussek and Caleb Whitefoord, also after drawings by Cosway. Peter Condé was also a painter and showed his artwork at the Royal Academy in London between 1806 and 1824.