Peasant and Pigs
Medium
Mezzotint on off-white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 44.4 × 55.4 cm (17 1/2 × 21 13/16 in.); Plate: 47.2 × 55.5 cm (18 5/8 × 21 7/8 in.); Sheet: 59.6 × 89 cm (23 1/2 × 35 1/16 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
31953
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In the late 18th century John Raphael Smith persuaded his drinking companion George Morland to give him control over the reproduction of his pastoral paintings. Smith created a profitable market for these prints and even paid James Ward, a pupil of his and brother-in-law to Morland, to paint copies of Morland’s pictures to sell alongside the prints in the gallery. Most of Morland’s pastorals feature rustic country settings. This may reflect his frequent excursions to rural England to escape cre...