Portret van Ann Baggaley Bradshaw en Francis Baggaley Bradshaw aan de schoot van hun moeder 1767 - 1783

Valentine Green made this mezzotint portrait of Ann Baggaley Bradshaw, Francis Baggaley Bradshaw, and their mother. Mezzotint is a printmaking process that relies on building up tone, from dark to light. First, the plate is roughened with a tool called a rocker, creating a burr that would print solid black. The printmaker then burnishes or scrapes away the burr to create lighter tones. Here, the soft gradations of tone give the image a painterly quality. Green was a master of this demanding technique, often used for reproducing paintings. But mezzotint could also be used for original compositions, like this one. The textures and tones in the portrait—the sheen of the mother's dress, the softness of the lamb’s wool—speak to a world of material comfort. Yet the process itself is incredibly laborious. This was an era of burgeoning industry, and prints like this played an important role in circulating images and ideas. By exploring the nuances of its making, we see how the artistry of mezzotint intertwines with the social realities of its time.