Richard II
Medium
etching in brown ink
Dimensions
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Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of various donors to the department of Prints and Drawings
Accession Number
2002.58
Tags
About this artwork
John Hamilton Mortimer supported the prevailing academic doctrine which located history painting at the top of the hierarchy of subject matter. Unlike many of his contemporaries, however, he turned to the great subjects of English literature for themes. From 1775 to 1776, Mortimer produced etchings of twelve Shakespearean characters, including King Lear, Ophelia, and Caliban. In this dramatic composition, the skeletal figure of death looms over the tense King Richard II. This rare signed proof i...