The Shadow of Death
Medium
Mixed method engraving on ivory chine laid down on off-white plate paper
Dimensions
Chine: 102.3 × 79 cm (40 5/16 × 31 1/8 in.); Sheet, sight: 130 × 100 cm (51 3/16 × 39 3/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
148402
Art Historical Context
William Holman Hunt, a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, created this imposing mixed-method engraving in 1878. The Brotherhood, formed in 1848, championed meticulous detail, moral seriousness, and a return to early Renaissance sincerity. Hunt’s large-scale print demonstrates how Victorian artists used reproductive engraving to extend the reach of their most ambitious compositions beyond gallery walls, allowing wider audiences to encounter religious and symbolic themes. Measuring over a meter in height, the engraving on ivory chine paper laid onto a substantial off-white sheet...