Portret van John Montagu 1774

This is an undated mezzotint portrait of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, made by Valentine Green, a leading printmaker in late 18th-century London. Here we see a man who held high office in a Britain consolidating its commercial and military power on a global scale. He is presented as a figure of authority and consequence. Note the trappings of power, the books signifying knowledge, the coat of arms reinforcing aristocratic lineage. But we might also consider the image within the context of the print market, where engraved portraits of leading figures were traded as markers of taste and political allegiance. Mezzotint was particularly prized for its tonal richness, as it offered a simulacrum of painting to a broader public. Historians consult a wide range of sources: letters, diaries, financial records, and printed ephemera, in order to understand the image as a product of social and institutional forces.