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Richard Earlom, printmaker

The Forge, Published 1773

Description

Maker

Title

The Forge

Year

Published 1773

Medium

mezzotint with burnishing on medium weight cream laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 47.9 x 59.5 cm (18 7/8 x 23 7/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Original--Verso:in pencil inscribed, LR:B7114In Plate--Inscribed, LR:Jo Wright Pinx.t 1772/R.d Earlom Sc ; inscribed along bottom edge in LR corner:J Boydell Excudit Publis[h reversed]'d Jan.y 1773

Type

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

52.309

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Visions and Revisions

February 15 - August 4, 2019

In mezzotint, Richard Earlom found the perfect medium for translating Joseph Wright of Derby’s dramatically tonal paintings into black and white prints. While the light and shadow harks back to the strong chiaroscuro effects of 17th-century painting, the subject seems to anticipate the modern age. At the center of the composition, a blacksmith holds a piece of white-hot iron beneath a water-powered hammer. Britain played important roles both in the Industrial Revolution and the
development of mezzotint, making this image well suited to the medium in more than one sense.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is The Forge with the accession number of 52.309. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.