Weymouth Bay1830
Storm clouds pile over a sweeping bay in this mezzotint by David Lucas after a painting by John Constable, made for English Landscape Scenery, the series of prints through which Constable hoped to make his art better known. More about this work
About this work
Storm clouds pile over a sweeping bay in this mezzotint by David Lucas after a painting by John Constable, made for English Landscape Scenery, the series of prints through which Constable hoped to make his art better known. Mezzotint, in which the engraver scrapes and burnishes light out of a darkened copper plate, suited Constable’s dramatic skies perfectly. This is a progress proof, printed while the plate was still being worked so that it could be checked and corrected; Constable scrutinised every stage, and the plates went through many changes.
Written by Ochre Editions.
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.
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 39.68.16
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Prints
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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