Joseph Carreras

Art Historical Context

This elegant mezzotint portrait, *Joseph Carreras* (1735), captures the likeness of its namesake subject through the masterful collaboration of two 18th-century British artists: Sir Godfrey Kneller the original painter and renowned court portraitist to monarchs like Charles II and Queen Anne, and John Faber the Younger, a leading engraver who translated Kneller's oil painting into print. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this 11 9/16 x 9 13/16-inch sheet exemplifies the era's booming market for affordable reproductions of elite portraits, allowing admirers to own images of notable figures like Carreras—likely a prominent musician or public personality of the time. Mezzotint, the medium here, revolutionized printmaking with its "dark manner" technique: engravers rocked a tool across a copper plate to create a uniform burr, then scraped highlights for dramatic tonal depth, yielding velvety blacks and luminous skin tones unmatched by etching or engraving. Faber's skill in this Baroque-derived method preserved Kneller's fluid brushwork and psychological insight, making the portrait a technical marvel that bridged painting and popular dissemination. In the early Georgian period, such prints democratized portraiture, reflecting Britain's growing cultural fascination with celebrity and individuality. Acquired via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1925, this work invites us to ponder Carreras's enigmatic gaze amid the opulence of 1730s society.

About the Artist

John Faber, the Younger|Sir Godfrey Kneller|Joseph Carreras|John Faber, the Younger (British|German|Spanish|British) · 1695 |1646 |1686 |1695 –1756 |1723 |1686 |1756

British, ca. 1695–1756|German, Lübeck 1646–1723 London|Spanish, active 1686|British, ca. 1695–1756