Sir Joshua Reynolds
1780
Medium
Mezzotint on paper
Dimensions
Image: 45.1 × 38.1 cm (17 13/16 × 15 in.); Plate: 48 × 38.1 cm (18 15/16 × 15 in.); Sheet: 48.3 × 38.3 cm (19 1/16 × 15 1/8 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
6058
Art Historical Context
This mezzotint portrait, created by Valentine Green in 1780, presents Sir Joshua Reynolds in a refined and dignified manner. Measuring roughly 48 by 38 centimeters on paper, the print belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection of Prints and Drawings. As a reproductive medium popular in eighteenth-century Britain, mezzotint allowed skilled engravers like Green to translate painted likenesses into widely distributable images. The technique itself is notable for its distinctive velvety textures and deep tonal gradations, achieved by roughening the copper plate before selective smoothin...