A beggar, seated on the ground holding a stick
ca. 1862
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 18 7/8 × 13 7/8 in. (48 × 35.3 cm) Plate: 5 1/2 × 4 in. (14 × 10.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of M. Knoedler & Co.
Accession Number
19.18.7
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Mariano Fortuny (1838–1874), a masterful Spanish artist renowned for hisist precision and Orientalist themes, this etching around 1862. Titled *A beggar, seated on the holding a stick*, the-scale print (plate: 5½ × 4 in.) a humble human figure in a moment of quiet endurance, evoking the everyday struggles of 19th-century. Etching, Fortuny's favored intaglio technique, enabled him to render intricate textures—from the beggar's ragged clothes to the gnarled stick—with extraordinary finesse. This method, involving acid biting into a metal plate, produced rich, velvety lines that convey both empathy and technical virtuosity, hallmarks of Fortuny's style during his prolific career in Spain, Italy, and North Africa. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of M. Knoedler & Co.), this work exemplifies how prints democratized art, allowing wider audiences to appreciate Fortuny's skill in portraying human figures. It stands as a subtle nod to social realism, inviting visitors to ponder the dignity amid poverty.
About the Artist
Mariano Fortuny, 1838–1874 (Spanish) · 1838 –1874
Spanish, 1838–1874