Bergachtig landschap met jager en herder bij zonsondergang

About this artwork

Vanaf 1774 publiceerde John Boydell tweehonderd prenten naar het tekeningenboek Liber Veritatis van Claude Lorrain, in het bezit van de hertogen van Cavendish. Deze prenten werden vanaf 1777 in twee volumes gebundeld uitgegeven.

Art Historical Context

Richard Earlom's *Bergachtig landschap met j en herder bij zondergang* (Mountain Landscape with Hunter and Shepherd at Sunset), an etching from May 1775 measuring 205 × 257 mm, captures the serene drama of a twilight scene. Figures of a hunter and shepherd dot the rugged terrain under a glowing sky, evoking the idyllic pastoral harmony beloved in 18th-century European. Earlom, a skilled English engraver, masterfully translates the fluid lines and atmospheric depth of an original drawing through etching—a precise intaglio technique using acid to bite intricate designs into a metal plate, allowing for rich tonal variations ideal for landscapes. This print forms part of an ambitious project spearheaded by publisher John Boydell, who from 1774 issued 200 etchings reproducing drawings from Claude Lorrain's *Liber Veritatis*. This renowned sketchbook, owned by the Dukes of Cavendish, served as the 17th-century French master's catalog of his own compositions to authenticate his works against forgers. Earlom's renditions, bundled into two volumes by 1777, made Lorrain's luminous, classical landscapes—pioneers of the idealized Arcadian style—accessible to a wider audience, bridging Baroque mastery with Enlightenment appreciation for nature's poetry. A testament to reproductive printmaking's cultural role, it highlights how etchings democratized high art.

About the Artist

Richard Earlom · 1728–1794

Richard Earlom (1743–1822) stands as one of the supreme masters of mezzotint engraving in British art history, whose technical virtuosity and dedication to reproductive printmaking brought the works of Old Masters to unprecedented audiences. Born in London on May 14, 1743, Earlom spent his entire career transforming paintings and drawings into prints of extraordinary quality, elevating reproductiv...