A Fruit Market, from The Houghton Gallery
1775
Medium
Mezzotint with engraving in black ink on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 35.9 × 57.2 cm (14 3/16 × 22 9/16 in.); Plate: 41.5 × 57.6 cm (16 3/8 × 22 11/16 in.); Sheet: 50 × 67.2 cm (19 11/16 × 26 1/2 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
109150
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
John Boydell embarked on a monumental publication documenting the art collection of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first prime minister. Boydell contracted 45 engravers to create 162 prints, of which Richard Earlom’s are considered the most notable. Motivated by nationalistic pride, Boydell sought to broadcast British patronage and connoisseurship of art to an international audience, as well as to encourage Parliament to purchase the collection for the nation from Walpole’s grandson. His efforts...
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...