Art History and Visual Culture student Izzy Gingell writes about an interesting wood-block engraving by Thomas Bewick which dates to 1789. It depicts an example of a large, bull from the wild Chillingham herd - a herd of cattle which still exists today.

About the artwork

In 1789, engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) was commissioned to create an engraving of cattle from the wild herd at Chillingham, Northumberland by Marmaduke Tunstall, ornithologist and collector, of Wycliffe in North Yorkshire, for a cost of 7 guineas (roughly £1,500 today). The resultant artwork is a striking depiction of a bull, with two other cattle from the Chillingham herd in the background.

The print was made from a woodblock engraving, a process whereby ink is applied to the face of a carved block and printed onto paper. This technique was developed by Bewick himself and differed from previous woodcuts, due to the use of an engraver’s burin which allowed him to create delicate fine lines. Bewick also used the end grain of a piece of wood to enhance the durability and allow for further detail. It wasn’t until the early 19th century that his techniques came to be used more widely in Britain and the USA.

The original block from which the print was made is housed in the Hatton Gallery although in an unusable condition; it is said that the pressmen of this work got drunk and left the block exposed to the sun, causing it to warp and split. Only 6 impressions were made of the print before the block was damaged, however there is a copy block is kept in the Newcastle upon Tyne Central Library.

The print in the University of Exeter Fine Art Collection has very minimal decoration around the border. This is unusual as versions of the print in other collections have extravagant border details such as in the collections of the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). According to the V&A, after the block split, the elaborate border had to be removed.

The Chillingham wild cattle

The Chillingham wild cattle are a breed that live in an enclosed park at Chillingham Castle with a small herd of twenty also existing on Crown Estate in Scotland. The historic habitat of Chillingham features hundreds of oak trees that were mainly planted in the 1780s (around the time Bewick visited). There is a traditional view that the cattle are of completely wild descent, with no domestic intervention. However, it has been found to be likely that they originate from medieval cattle impounded when Chillingham Park was enclosed, possibly in the 13th century. Today the cattle roam in an area of 330 acres.

Simon Schama has written that the Bewick print is “an image of massive power … the great, perhaps the greatest icon of British natural history, one loaded with moral, national and historical sentiment” showing the significance of the herd to society, perhaps the reason Tunstall commissioned a piece of this nature in the first place."

About the artist

Bibliography:

Bewick Society Page

British Museum Item Information

Victoria and Albert Museum Item Information

Digitised Bewick Collection by Thomas Hugo - page 432 -> 440

RSA 'About' Page

Chillingham Cattle Today