Midsummer Night's Dream 1858
samuelcousins
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expressing emotion
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england
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muted green
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multicultural outfit
green and neutral
warm toned green
Samuel Cousins's 1858 mezzotint "Midsummer Night's Dream" depicts a scene from Shakespeare's play, featuring the character Bottom transformed into a donkey head. The image captures the magical and whimsical nature of the play, with fairies, a rabbit, and a nude figure adding to the fantastical atmosphere. Cousins's meticulous technique, evident in the fine details and delicate shading, brought a sense of realism to the scene. This mezzotint is a popular example of the artist's work, showcasing his mastery of this printing technique.
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An accomplished English printmaker, Samuel Cousins (1801–1887) has the distinction of being the first engraver academician in the London Royal Academy, appointed in 1855 and then elevated to a full Royal Academician in 1867. In A Midsummer Night's Dream Cousins reproduces a painting by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802–1873), the widely popular Victorian painter, and is one of seven prints made by him after Landseer's work. From Shakespeare's fantastical comedy, the work depicts Titania, Queen of the Fairies, nestling up to Bottom. Under Puck's spell, the beautiful Titania fell in love with this donkey-headed creature. Puck appears naked in the foreground, watching the hilarious scene unfold, with a group of small winged ferries riding on white rabbits. Cousins exhibited an impression of the print at the Royal Academy in 1858, where it was well received. Upon seeing the print Landseer declared it to be Cousins's greatest work. The present mezzotint was skillfully hand-colored by an unknown hand at a later date.
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