Herdersjongen met hond Possibly 1781

This print, Herdersjongen met hond, was made by Richard Earlom using the technique of mezzotint. It’s a tonal method achieved by roughening the entire plate with a tool called a rocker, then smoothing areas to create lighter tones. Mezzotint was popular in the 18th century for its ability to reproduce the nuances of oil paintings, and this print emulates the style of Bartolomé Murillo. The velvety blacks and subtle gradations of light and shadow are characteristic of the medium. Look closely and you can see how the texture of the roughened plate creates a soft, almost hazy effect. But mezzotint also had a commercial dimension. It allowed for the mass production of images, making art more accessible to a wider audience. It's a process that involved skilled labor, and the prints themselves became commodities in a burgeoning art market. So, while this print might seem like a straightforward reproduction, it’s also a product of its time, reflecting the changing relationship between art, labor, and consumption.