Description:
Framed portrait of John Wilkes (1725-1797) inscribed in black ink on the wooden backboard, "The celebrated John Wilkes Esq.", and the Chinese character "di" meaing earth, which is an example of reverse painting on glass made for the western market. The technique, practiced since the Middle Ages in Europe, was adopted and skillfully developed by Cantonese artists who worked for both Western customers and the Imperial court at Beijing. First introduced by Jesuit artisans during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722), reverse painting on glass involved the application of oil paint to the backside of a glass or mirror where parts of the silvering had been scraped away; the artist then worked backwards, painting the highlights first and the background last. Chinese artisans favored working on mirrored glass imported from Europe because they deemed their own product "thin and brittle," unlike "foreign glass" which was "thick and crystal-like. By the 1780s, Cantonese artists shifted their focus from traditional Chinese subjects to specialize in reverse-painted versions of European prints. In his "Travels in China" (London, 1804) John Barrow wrote, “the coloured prints of Europe that are carried out to Canton are copied there with wonderful fidelity.” This image is based on a circa 1763 English print (see HD 78.029), engraved by Johann Sebastian Müller (known in England as John S. Miller), which inspired decoration on Chinese export porcelain. Miller's engraving depicts Wilkes with his hair dressed with a silken bag and his characteristic crossed eyes, holding back a curtain with his right hand and holding a book in his left hand. Wilkes, an English political reformer and satirist, became a member of Parliament for Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire in 1757. Although considered a radical in England (with a notorious private life), he was honored for his integrity. Throughout his long career both in and out of government, Wilkes advocated for basic civil rights such as free speech, freedom of the press, standardized procedures for police arrests, and colonial rights. In 1761, Wilkes started the periodical, "The North Briton", which satirized the government. The provocative tone of this publication made it an instant hit, selling well over 2,000 copies weekly, nearly ten times the circulation of the government friendly, conservative newspaper, "The Briton." In 1763, "The North Briton" issue "No. 45” said, in effect, that the colonies should be free and satirized King George III’s speech from the throne, which outraged the King and court and lead to his being convicted of libel in 1764 before Lord Mansfield. Cries of “Wilkes and Liberty,” went up from his adoring public in support of his cause, and the “No. 45” represented a movement of revolt against the government. According to Wilkes, his trial would determine whether “English liberty be a reality or a shadow.” Wilkes won his case, claiming Parliamentary privilege exempted him from prosecution; however when he was charged with blasphemous libel after being expelled from parliament, Wilkes fled England, returning in 1768 when he was arrested again, serving 22 months in prison. Eventually he was expelled from Parliament five times between 1764 and 1772, and served as Lord Mayor of London in 1774. Wilkes’ fame resulted in his idolization in England and the American colonies; many commemorative items with Wilkes' image, such as prints and ceramics, were produced for the domestic market and export. Although Wilkes supported the independence of the American colonies, he did have his detractors; Benjamin Franklin called Wilkes “an outlaw …of bad character, not worth a farthing.”
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