John Simon
(1675-1751), Mezzotint engraverArtist associated with 213 portraits
Born in France, John Simon trained in Paris as a line engraver before moving to London and working as a mezzotint engraver. Simon's work came to the attention of Sir Godfrey Kneller who, in about 1708-9 had argued with his principal engraver, John Smith. In the period before the dispute was settled, Simon obtained several of Kneller's commissions, which gained him a wider reputation. Simon was a prolific engraver, particularly noted for his portraits after Kneller and Dahl, but also after Gibson, Murray, Mercier and Seeman. His subjects represented all points of the political spectrum.
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