A Blacksmith's Shop
1771
Medium
Mezzotint in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 61.2 × 43.4 cm (24 1/8 × 17 1/8 in.); Sheet: 62 × 44 cm (24 7/16 × 17 3/8 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
124663
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Working with stunning speed, Richard Earlom produced 200 mezzotint landscapes after Claude Lorrain in three years and made this sizable plate less than three months after Joseph Wright of Derby completed the original painting. This impression is an early proof before letters, but the final published title boasted that “the Right Honorable Lord Melbourne” already owned the painting. He had bought it for 150 guineas directly from the artist’s studio, along with Wright’s Academy by Lamplight. The g...
About the Artist
Richard Earlom · 1728–1794
Richard Earlom (1743–1822) stands as one of the supreme masters of mezzotint engraving in British art history, whose technical virtuosity and dedication to reproductive printmaking brought the works of Old Masters to unprecedented audiences. Born in London on May 14, 1743, Earlom spent his entire career transforming paintings and drawings into prints of extraordinary quality, elevating reproductiv...