Artist: Clarkson Stanfield (1793–1867), after a sketch by William Page (1794–1872)
Engraver: William Finden (1787–1852)
Technique: Original Antique Steel Engraving, Plate thirty nine
Dimensions: Plate: 10.0x14.5 cm | Page: 15.3x23.4 cm
Status: Authentic 1836 print, explicit text attribution on the lower plate border
Publisher: John Murray, London (Sold also by Charles Tilt)
About the Artwork:
This authentic antique steel engraving, published in 1836, depicts the historic ruins of Miletus (modern-day Turkey), an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Miletus holds high biblical significance as the location where the Apostle Paul met with the elders of the church of Ephesus, as cited on the lower border at Acts chapter twenty, verses fifteen and seventeen. The composition was developed by the noted British marine and landscape painter Clarkson Stanfield, utilizing an accurate on-the-spot field sketch by the traveler William Page. Engraved by William Finden, the print showcases a prominent, ruined stone monument or defensive tower perched on a rocky, debris-strewn hillside on the right. In the middle ground on the left, an early Islamic mosque complex with domes, a minaret, and palm trees stands before a sprawling plain and distant mountains. A group of regional figures in traditional attire populates the center foreground. This plate originates from the publication Landscape Illustrations of the Bible.
About the Artists:
Clarkson Stanfield (1793–1867): A prominent English marine and landscape painter and Royal Academician, highly praised by contemporary critics for his dramatic and accurate renderings of topography and sky.
William Page (1794–1872): A British topographical artist who traveled extensively through Greece, Turkey, and the Near East between 1816 and 1830, compiling precise architectural field studies.
William Finden (1787–1852): A master London line engraver celebrated for translating complex landscape artworks into exquisite fine-line steel engravings for premier publications