Frontispiece (from Fifteen Etchings Dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds), John Hamilton Mortimer

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art; image area is roughly 4 x 10 in. (35 x 25 cm).

Whenever I see etchings like this, I’m reminded how much I love the character of etched lines; though similar in many ways, so different from pen and ink, scratchboard, fine marker or technical pen.

I particularly love the loose, almost scribbled freedom with which Mortimer has rendered the trees.

I did an Eye Candy post about another etching in this series, here.