A Seabeach
1830
Medium
Mezzotint on paper
Dimensions
Image: 14 × 21.9 cm (5 9/16 × 8 5/8 in.); Plate: 18.8 × 25.2 cm (7 7/16 × 9 15/16 in.); Sheet: 29.7 × 43.7 cm (11 3/4 × 17 1/4 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
2137
Art Historical Context
David Lucas's *A Seabeach* (1830) captures the dramatic allure of the British coastline in a masterful mezzotint on paper, housed in the Art Institute Chicago's Prints and Drawings Department. Measuring a modest 14 × 21.9 cm in its image area, this intimate print invites viewers into a serene yet evocative seascape, reflecting the Romantic era's fascination with nature's sublime power. Lucas, a prominent British engraver active in the early 19th century, renowned for his ability to translate painterly effects into print, making works like this accessible to a wider audience beyond oil painting...
About the Artist
David Lucas · 1802–1881
**David Lucas (1802–1881)** David Lucas was born in 1802 in Geddington Chase, Northamptonshire, the son of a farmer.) A chance encounter in 1820 led him to become a pupil of the renowned engraver Samuel William Reynolds, under whom he apprenticed in London until 1827, mastering the art of mezzotint engraving.) By 1827, Lucas had published his first mezzotints, showcasing his precocious talent for...