PATROL AT SMYRNA

Original 16 1/2 inch x 22 3/4 inch Engraving titled THE PATROL AT SMYRNA.

The picture depicts Turkish military patrols making their rounds at Smyrna, now Izmir, which Decamps visited in 1828.

Engraved by William Biscombe Gardner (1847–1919). A British painter and wood-engraver. Working in both watercolour and oils, he exhibited widely in London in the late 19th century at venues such as the Royal Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery.

However, it was as a fine wood-engraver that he was mainly known, providing illustrations (sometimes large) for British magazines of the day such as The Pall Mall Gazette, The Illustrated London News, The English Illustrated Magazine and The Magazine of Art. He was a firm advocate of traditional wood-engraving considering it to be the most versatile in comparison to the more conventional methods of engraving and etching..

From the painting ‘The Turkish Patrol’ by Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (1803 – 1860). Decamps was the founding father of Orientalism since he revealed everyday Oriental life in the 1831 Salon in Paris. His subjects and style with strong contrast of light and thick material became the reference for painters but also photographers and writers. He was the most influential painter on Orientalism and was proclaimed the chief of the new Orientalist School.

From The Illustrated London News August 29th, 1874

The engraving is in very good condition with one vertical fold.