Cottagers, with Fireside

Rudolph Ackermann, London|Henri Merke|Thomas Rowlandson

1799 · Etching; proof before aquatint or mezzotint · Drawings and Prints

In the 18th and 19th centuries, magic lanterns entertained viewers by projecting images onto a wall or screen (these box-like devices used a mirror to intensify light and direct it through a tranparent image and lens). The London publisher Rudolph Ackermann produced specially treated prints for use in magic lanterns and this example represents the first stage of such an image. Etched lines, based on a drawing by Rowlandson, have established the design. Next tone would have be added to the printing plate and the resulting images hand-colored and oiled. A finished colored example is in the British Museum.

Artist

Rudolph Ackermann, London|Henri Merke|Thomas Rowlandson

Date

1799

Medium

Etching; proof before aquatint or mezzotint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959