Labourers
Medium
Mezzotint; second state of four
Dimensions
plate: 17 3/8 x 25 7/8 in. (44.2 x 65.7 cm) sheet: 18 1/4 x 26 15/16 in. (46.4 x 68.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1973
Accession Number
1973.507.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Labourers," a captivating mezzotint print from 25, 1790, brings together the talents of British artist George Stubbs—renowned for his precise depictions of horses and anatomy—with engravers Amos Greene, Richard Earlom Robert Laurie, and Benjaminale Evans. This second state of four captures a bustling scene of working men tending to horses and carriages, evoking the rhythms of late 18th-century rural in Britain. Measuring a generous plate size of 17 3/8 x 25 7/8 inches, it exemplifies the print's role in democratizing art, allowing wider audiences to own reproductions of Stubbs' original compo...
About the Artist
George Stubbs|Amos Greene|Richard Earlom|Robert Laurie|Benjamin Beale Evans · 1724–1806
Stubbs was a popular painter of horses and dogs who enjoyed many commissions in London throughout the second half of the 18th century. He was elected R.A. in 1781, but this title was removed as he declined to submit a diploma picture. Comment on works: Animals, Sporting