The Musical Boy
1777
Medium
Mezzotint in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 34.3 × 27.5 cm (13 9/16 × 10 7/8 in.); Sheet: 37 × 27.5 cm (14 5/8 × 10 7/8 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
109096
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The Irish-born mezzotint engraver James Watson reproduced paintings from several British collections with the highlights and soft-focus transitions this relatively new print medium enabled. This mezzotint is an early proof after a painting by the Dutch artist Frans Hals. Later impressions include the completed text, which states that this work was then owned by Lord Mountstuart and notes that it was reproduced at actual size. Watson’s publisher, John Boydell, one of the most active in London, wa...