Mrs. Yates in the Characer of Medea 1771

This print of Mrs. Yates in the Character of Medea was made in the late 18th century by William Dickinson, using a technique called mezzotint. Here, the image emerges from the velvety darkness of the ground, achieved by roughening the entire copper plate with a tool called a rocker. The artist then burnishes areas to varying degrees, creating lighter tones. Notice the way the drama of the scene emerges from this process: Medea’s fury, the children’s distress, even the stormy sky, all seem to rise from the darkness. Mezzotint was prized for its tonal range and capacity to capture the nuances of paintings, making it a popular method for reproducing portraits and theatrical scenes. But its reliance on skilled handwork also made it labor-intensive. As printing technologies advanced, mezzotint gradually gave way to cheaper, more mechanized processes. So in looking at this print, we’re seeing not only a dramatic moment, but also a now-vanished world of craft production.