Richard Earlom

The Forge

Maker

Richard Earlom (British, 1743-1822), printmaker
After Joseph Wright (English, 1734-1797), designer

Title

The Forge

Year

Published 1773

Medium

mezzotint with burnishing on medium weight cream laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

mezzotint with burnishing on medium weight cream laid paper

Materials

null

Supports

Medium weight cream laid paper

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

Marks: Stamped in brown ink on verso:R.I.S.D./MUSEUM/OF ARTsurrounded by PROVIDENCE/RHODE ISLANDall inscribed in a circle.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

52.309

Type

Prints

Exhibition History

Visions and Revisions

Feb 15, 2019 – Aug 04, 2019

Label copy

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.

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Richard Earlom (British, 1743-1822), printmaker
After Joseph Wright (English, 1734-1797), designer

The Forge, Published 1773

mezzotint with burnishing on medium weight cream laid paper

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

Museum Works of Art Fund 52.309

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