Words of Comfort, from "The Portfolio"
Herkomer was commissioned to produce this full-page plate for the art periodical “The Portfolio," established in 1870. The latter's editor, Philip Gilbert Hamerton, actively promoted an interest in printmaking, especially etching. This work depicts two women seated on a bench with the younger reading aloud, perhaps the Bible. Herkomer had recently returned from his native Germany and the subject reflects his frequent focus in the 1870s on Bavarian subjects, as well as his profound interest in depicting old age. The artist was praised by the "Liverpool Albion" who remarked that the etching was "full of deep pathos, and tells its story with a force rarely equalled."
Artwork Details
- Title: Words of Comfort, from "The Portfolio"
- Series/Portfolio: The Portfolio, vol. 10, edited by P. G. Hamerton
- Artist: Sir Hubert von Herkomer (British, Waal, Bavaria 1849–1914 Budleigh Salterton, Devon)
- Printer: E. Delarue (French, active 1870–1930)
- Date: March 1879
- Medium: Drypoint
- Dimensions: image: 9 5/8 x 6 7/8 in. (24.5 x 17.5 cm)
plate: 11 x 7 15/16 in. (27.9 x 20.2 cm)
sheet: 14 5/16 x 10 3/8 in. (36.3 x 26.3 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.3271
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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after 1879
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