# A Dell at Helmingham Park, Suffolk

**David Lucas** (British, 1802–1881)  
1830  
mezzotint on laid paper  
plate: 17.8 x 22.2 cm (7 x 8 3/4 in.) sheet: 26 x 31 cm (10 1/4 x 12 3/16 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2001.118.21. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.119643.html).

## About this work

A rough wooden footbridge crosses a shadowy ravine in the old woodland of Helmingham Park in Suffolk, with light filtering through the canopy and a path leading on into the trees. John Constable first drew the spot as a young man in 1800 and returned to it in paintings decades later; David Lucas translated the composition into this mezzotint for English Landscape Scenery around 1830. The medium, which works from dark to light, is ideal for the deep gloom of the wood and the few points of brightness that break through it.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

David Lucas made this in 1830, aged 28. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image shows a landscape scene with a frontal view of a dense forest. A wooden bridge spans across a narrow ravine or creek. The painting features vigorous and textural brushstrokes with dark tones creating a shadowy effect. The color palette includes deep blacks, dark browns, and occasional highlights of light filtering through the canopy. In the distance, lighter areas suggest a path leading further into the woods, surrounded by trees and undergrowth.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Mezzotint.** The whole copper plate is roughened with a toothed rocker so it would print solid black. The artist then scrapes and burnishes it smooth where the lights should be, working from dark to light, which gives soft, velvety tones.
- **Laid paper.** Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

### [David Lucas](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/david-lucas)

British, 1802–1881; born in Geddington Chase, Northamptonshire; died in London

Lucas was a mezzotint engraver best known for his long collaboration with John Constable. Between 1830 and 1832 they issued English Landscape Scenery, a series of mezzotints after Constable’s paintings and sketches, with Constable closely correcting the proofs to capture effects of weather and light. Lucas also engraved several larger single plates after Constable. Despite the quality of the work, it brought neither man commercial success.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- The artist was 28
- Real size: about 7 × 8½ in (18 × 22 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Bridge, Tree, Forest, Nature
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1651.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1651/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/a-dell-at-helmingham-park-suffolk-nga-119643).