Rubens with his Wife and Child

Art Historical Context

This mezzotint by Irish engraver James McArdell captures Peter Paul Rubens alongside his second wife, Helena Fourment, and their young son Frans. Created between 1740 and 1765, the print reproduces a celebrated Baroque family portrait by Rubens himself, one of the most influential artists of the seventeenth century. McArdell, renowned for his reproductive prints after Old Master paintings, brought this intimate domestic scene to new audiences in the eighteenth century through the tonal richness of mezzotint. The medium, described here as a first state of two and a proof before letters, highlights the print’s technical sophistication. Mezzotint’s velvety blacks and delicate gradations allowed engravers to emulate the luminous effects of oil painting, making it especially suited to reproducing Rubens’s vibrant color and dramatic light. Issued without lettering, this early impression was prized by collectors for its purity and closeness to the artist’s hand. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the sheet measures roughly 20 by 14 inches and forms part of the Elisha Whittelsey Collection. It exemplifies how reproductive prints extended the reach of Baroque masterpieces, preserving and popularizing Rubens’s legacy for generations beyond his own time.