Departing Storm
Medium
Mezzotint on chine collé; proof before published state
Dimensions
Image: 2 7/8 × 4 7/16 in. (7.3 × 11.3 cm) Plate: 3 15/16 × 5 1/4 in. (10 × 13.3 cm) Sheet: 11 5/8 × 17 7/16 in. (29.5 × 44.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1939
Accession Number
39.68.2
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Departing Storm" (1829) is a striking mezzotint print created by engraver David Lucas after a composition by the renowned British landscape painter John Constable. proof impression, made before the published state with its final lettering, captures Constable's masterful depiction of nature's drama—a receding storm over a windswept landscape, likely featuring women amid the turbulent scene. Produced during the Romantic era, it reflects Constable's obsession with transient atmospheric effects, translating his oil sketches into the velvety tones of mezzotint, a technique Lucas perfected to evoke deep shadows and luminous skies. Mezzotint on chine collé—thin Oriental paper adhered to a sturdy support—allowed for exceptional richness and subtlety, ideal for Constable's moody weather studies. As part of their collaborative "English Landscapes" series, this print helped popularize Constable's revolutionary naturalism to a wider audience through affordable reproductions. Acquired via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1939, it now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department. This intimate work (image just under 3 by 4 ½ inches) invites visitors to ponder the sublime power of storms and human resilience, blending technical innovation with emotional depth in a quintessential example of early 19th-century British printmaking.
About the Artist
David Lucas|John Constable · 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...