Successful Monster (from "Fifteen Etchings Dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds")
December 8, 1778
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 11 5/8 x 7 7/8 in. (29.5 x 20 cm) Sheet: 15 7/8 x 11 1/4 in. (40.4 x 28.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.638.18
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Successful Monster" is a striking etching from John Hamilton Mortimer's *Fifteen Etchings Dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds*, created on December 8, 1778. Mortimer, a British artist celebrated for his dramatic and gothic-inflected history paintings, produced this series as a tribute to Sir Joshua Reynolds, the influential portraitist and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts. The dedication reflects the artistic camaraderie of late 18th-century London, where Mortimer emulated Reynolds' grand manner while infusing his own flair for the fantastical and grotesque. This print features bold...
About the Artist
John Hamilton Mortimer|Sir Joshua Reynolds · 1740–1779
Comment on works: History; Portraits; Genre