With the 2012 London Olympics just over half-completed,
Arader Galleries thought it was high time to show our Olympic spirit. Sport,
like art, brings together people of all classes, creeds, and countries to
remind us that at our very core we are the same.
Sir William Hamilton (1731-1803) was sent to Naples as Chief British
Envoy to the Bourbon King Ferdinand IV. Once there, he was inspired by the
cultural heritage of Italy
and began studying archaeology and antiquity; he soon embarked on a project to
publish illustrations of the objects that so fascinated him. Hamilton
assembled perhaps the finest collection of ancient Greek ceramics found in Italy, and then chose the finest examples for
his publication, Collection of Etruscan,
Greek and Roman Antiquities (Naples,
1766-67). Hamilton saw his mission as one to
remind Europe of the beauty of form and lines
and to “annihilate those Gothic forms which habit alone renders supportable.”
Hamilton’s Collection
of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities contained two kinds of
illustrations: First, narrative and pictorial plates, each one with decorative
motifs taken from a vase, cup, or plate; and second, black and white
perspective drawings of the pieces so that artists and craftsmen could recreate
the ancient forms. The narrative plates
exhibit the classical black and terra-cotta color scheme, with touches of
accent coloring on some of the plates. The subject matter ranges - as it did on
the original ceramic pieces - from activities of the mythical gods and creatures,
to feasting and the daily life of ancient peoples. The black–and-white
perspective drawings were intended to provide guidelines to artists “with as
much truth and precision as if he had the Originals themselves in his
possession.”
For his tireless research in the fields of volcanism,
archaeology, antiquity, and Italian geography, Hamilton
was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society as well as awarded the Copley Medal
in 1770 for his paper, An Account of a
Journey to Mount Etna. His book, Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman
Antiquities, became a virtual dictionary of
Classical form throughout the l8th and l9th centuries. His collection became a
cornerstone of the British
Museum’s Department of
Classical Antiquities.
It is in this Grecian spirit that Arader Galleries is
pleased to provide a collection of Hamilton
prints.
For more information or inquiries, please contact the gallery. 
