Beatrice
March 15, 1776 (originally published); published 1809
Medium
Etching on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: 40.2 × 42.4 cm (15 7/8 × 16 3/4 in.); Sheet: 59.6 × 43.7 cm (23 1/2 × 17 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
155622
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick are the leading not-quite-lovers, whose verbal sparring delights both the audience and the other characters as their professed mutual hatred turns to love. In this etching, John Hamilton Mortimer captured both the pride and humor of the female half of this pair. The merry Beatrice seems to be caught in mid-repartee, with her mouth slightly open; Benedick has just inquired if his “dear Lady Disdain” is “yet living.” She laughingly res...
About the Artist
John Hamilton Mortimer · 1740–1779
Comment on works: History; Portraits; Genre