Edgar
May 20, 1775; published 1809
Medium
Etching on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: 40 × 32.1 cm (15 3/4 × 12 11/16 in.); Sheet: 59.6 × 43.8 cm (23 1/2 × 17 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
155620
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
John Hamilton Mortimer’s Twelve Heads series of etchings depicting Shakespearian characters exemplifies the subjects’ heightened thought and passion. Three of the Heads include Caliban, a loyal but unruly savage from The Tempest; Edgar, the son of Gloucester who feigns madness in King Lear; and the poet played by Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Their intense expressions and the oval cropping draw the viewer’s focus into the theatrical action that the prints reference. The accompanying exce...
About the Artist
John Hamilton Mortimer · 1740–1779
Comment on works: History; Portraits; Genre