Attributable to John Hamilton Mortimer A.R.A. 1740-1779. 18th.Century English School Pen and ink drawing. Circa 1770. "Banditti" Figures in Armour resting under a Tree. 7.7 x 8.3 cms.
Celebrated English painter and etcher. Mortimer studied under Hudson and was a lifelong friend of his fellow pupil Joseph Wright. His work included portraits, similar in style to those of Wright and conversation pieces in the manner of Zoffany, but he was at his best in historical and imaginative subjects. Among these were pioneering scenes from medieval British history, but he found his true metier in the 1770s with pictures showing the exploits of soldiers and banditti in the ‘savage’ style of Salvator Rosa.