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Edgar

A work made of etching on cream wove paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching on cream wove paper.

Date:

May 20, 1775; published 1809

Artist:

John Hamilton Mortimer
English, 1740-1779

About this artwork

John Hamilton Mortimer’s Twelve Heads series of etchings depicting Shakespearian characters exemplifies the subjects’ heightened thought and passion. Three of the Heads include Caliban, a loyal but unruly savage from The Tempest; Edgar, the son of Gloucester who feigns madness in King Lear; and the poet played by Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Their intense expressions and the oval cropping draw the viewer’s focus into the theatrical action that the prints reference. The accompanying excerpts tie the characters to a particular scene from their respective plays, blending written and visual art.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

John Hamilton Mortimer

Title

Edgar

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Published 1809

Medium

Etching on cream wove paper

Dimensions

Plate: 40 × 32.1 cm (15 3/4 × 12 11/16 in.); Sheet: 59.6 × 43.8 cm (23 1/2 × 17 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Mary S. Adams Endowment

Reference Number

2001.128

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/155620/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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