Plate from Illustrations to Popular Songs
1822
Medium
Soft ground etching with hand-coloring and aquatint on paper
Dimensions
Image: 20 × 25.8 cm (7 7/8 × 10 3/16 in.); Plate: 21.1 × 27 cm (8 5/16 × 10 11/16 in.); Sheet: 24.5 × 34 cm (9 11/16 × 13 7/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
128484
Art Historical Context
Henry Alken's *Plate from Illustrations to Popular* (1822) captures the lively spirit of early 19th-century British through a whimsical print. Alken, a renowned sporting artist, was celebrated for his humorous depictions of equestrian life, coaching scenes, and social satire. This etching, produced during the Regency era's transition to Victorian times, likely illustrates a verse from a popular ballad or folk song, blending entertainment with visual storytelling to appeal to a broad audience. Crafted using soft ground etching—a technique allowing fluid, sketch-like lines—aquatint for rich ton...
About the Artist
Henry Alken · 1785–1851
Henry Thomas Alken (1785–1851) was a British sporting artist and illustrator who became the most popular and prolific painter of hunting, racing, and coaching scenes in early nineteenth-century England. Born in London, he was the son of the sporting artist Samuel Henry Alken and received his earliest training from his father. He also studied briefly with the miniaturist John Thomas Barber Beaumont...