Emily, Countess of Kildare
1754
Medium
Mezzotint in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 31.5 × 24.8 cm (12 7/16 × 9 13/16 in.); Plate: 35 × 25 cm (13 13/16 × 9 7/8 in.); Sheet: 35.6 × 25.6 cm (14 1/16 × 10 1/8 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
46428
Art Historical Context
This striking mezzotint portrait captures Emily, Countess of Kildare, a prominent figure in 18th-century Irish aristocracy. Created by James McArdell in 1754, the work exemplifies the era’s growing fascination with reproductive prints, which allowed aristocratic likenesses to reach wider audiences beyond the original painted canvas. McArdell, an Irish engraver renowned for his skill in mezzotint, specialized in translating the subtle gradations of oil portraits into rich, velvety prints that preserved both status and personality. The medium itself is central to the artwork’s appeal. Mezzotint...