Water
Date1760
After work by
Philippe Mercier
1689 - 1760
Engraver
Richard Houston (1721-1775)
Publisher
Robert Sayer (1725-1794)
OriginEngland, London
MediumMezzotint engraving
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1968-458
DescriptionLower margin reads: "Ph: Mercier pinx.t/ Publish'd according to Act of Parliament October 2.st 1760/ Rich/d Houston fecit./ From Noise exempt where streaming Fountains rise. / And Spout their Gushing Torrents to the Skies / There the blest Nymph obeys her Strepbon's call / And sings responsive to the Waters Fall. / London Printed for Rob.t Sayer opposite Fetter Lane Fleet Street."Label TextThis print is part of a set representing the elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth. This print, "Water,” features a fashionably dressed young woman filling a bowl at a fountain. Sets of prints depicting young women as allegorical representations of the seasons, months of the year, times of day, and elements were popular in the eighteenth-century. The see a full Fire, 1952-376,1; Air 1952-376,2; Water 1952-376, 3 and Earth 1952-376, 4.Verse in lower margin reads:
From Noise exempt where streaming Fountains rise.
And Spout their Gushing Torrents to the Skies
There the blest Nymph obeys her Strephon's call
And sings responsive to the Waters Fall.ProvenanceBefore 1968, the Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1968-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).
