Skip to Main Content

Richard II

1775
(British, 1740–1779)
England, 18th century
etching in brown ink
Support: Medium-weight laid paper with watermark in the middle of the sheet
Sheet: 57.3 x 40.8 cm (22 9/16 x 16 1/16 in.); Image: 34.1 x 28 cm (13 7/16 x 11 in.); Platemark: 39.9 x 32.4 cm (15 11/16 x 12 3/4 in.)
Gift of various donors to the department of Prints and Drawings 2002.58
Edition: proof impression before borderline was added for the first edition
Location: not on view
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Description

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 is a marvelous example of Mortimer's Romantic sensibility. By the time he was twenty-three years old, Mortimer had won numerous prizes for his drawings and paintings and was considered one of the rising stars of English art. In 1774, he became president of the Society of Artists of Great Britain, to whose annual exhibitions he was a regular contributor. The artist's promising career was cut short by his untimely death at the age of thirty-nine.
Richard II

Richard II

1775

John Hamilton Mortimer

(British, 1740–1779)
England, 18th century

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.