Bacchanal 1770 - 1775

John Hamilton Mortimer made this etching, Bacchanal, sometime in the 1700s. Mortimer was a history painter, but he was also fascinated by printmaking. Etching allowed him to create multiple originals, as it were, to make his compositions more widely available. The process involves coating a metal plate with wax, drawing through it with a sharp needle, and then bathing the plate in acid. This bites into the metal, leaving an image that can then be inked and printed. The image has a sketchy, immediate quality, and it must have taken real skill to achieve such a loose, energetic effect. There’s a real contrast between the hedonistic subject and the relatively painstaking process used to create the print. It's a great reminder that even the most apparently spontaneous works of art are often the result of considerable labor and expertise. And that combination of discipline and freedom is what makes art so compelling.