A Blacksmith's Shop 1771

Richard Earlom created this mezzotint, "A Blacksmith's Shop," sometime in the late 18th century after an original painting by Joseph Wright of Derby. Mezzotint was a printmaking process that allowed for rich tonal gradations, and here it captures the dramatic lighting Wright was known for. Wright was from the English Midlands, a region undergoing rapid industrialization. His paintings often depicted scenes of labor and technological innovation. Blacksmiths, like those shown here, were vital to the production of tools and machinery that drove this transformation. This print serves as a record of Wright’s painting, but also makes it accessible to a wider public through the print market. To understand this image fully, we can consult archives of art dealers, biographies, and social histories to connect the image to debates about industrialization and the changing social structure of 18th-century England.