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Possibly The Earliest Color Stipple Printed Image of George Washington

This 1798 color stipple printed portrait of President George Washington was created by British engraver William Nutter. The work is based on an original painting by renowned American artist Gilbert Charles Stuart, though the print mistakenly credits the artist as C.G. Stuart.

The portrait was produced shortly after George Washington's presidency, which concluded in 1797. Washington's image had a strong impact not only in the United States but also in Europe, where he was seen as a symbol of revolutionary leadership. Nutter's engraving captures Washington with precise and detailed lines, reflecting both the technical skill of the engraver and the stylistic conventions of late 18th-century portraiture.

This engraving illustrates the international influence of Washington's leadership, as his likeness resonated beyond America. It also reflects the continuing cultural connections between the United States and Britain, despite the political tensions of the preceding decades.

This is the earliest color stipple printed image of Washington we could locate.  There is also rare color mezzotint by Valentine Greene.

Color Stipple Printing

Color stipple printing, which emerged in the late 18th century, evolved from earlier methods of engraving that used dots instead of lines to create tonal effects. Stipple engraving was first refined in the mid-1700s by artists like Jean-Charles François, who developed techniques to replicate the softness of chalk drawings. This method, known as la manière de crayon, laid the groundwork for more detailed tonal prints, but it wasn't until the late 18th century that color was introduced to the process.

The French engraver Jean-François Janinet was a key figure in this development, perfecting a method in the 1770s that used multiple plates, each inked with a different color, to produce multicolored prints directly from the plates, rather than relying on hand-coloring. His technique allowed for more precise and vivid reproductions, particularly of pastels, watercolors, and popular scenes of Parisian life. These innovations made color stipple engravings a popular and highly prized form of printmaking in Europe.

In England, Francesco Bartolozzi became well known for his use of color stipple engraving, particularly in portraits and classical subjects. Working in London, Bartolozzi adopted the technique and became one of the first to use multiple plates to apply color in British printmaking. His work, along with Janinet’s, helped elevate the method, contributing to its widespread popularity by the end of the 18th century in both art and scientific illustration.