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King John Ratifying the Magna Charta

1783
Not on view
Ryland and Bartolozzi's print is based on a painting by Mortimer. The latter artist held radical political views and thus chose to depict a subject that affirms the belief that monarchs were subject to laws, just like their subjects. On June 15, 1215, King John gave in the the demands of his rebellious barons and signed the Magna Carta Libertatum (Great Charter of Liberties). This document outlined restraints on the absolute power of the crown and affirmed independent rights for the church and the nobility, instituting a council of barons to rule on future disputes. Although the king soon failed to honor his promises, the Magna Carta became a founding document in English law, setting precedents that allowed the eventual development of the British system of constitutional monarchy and individual liberties. Mortimer shows King John angrily giving in to the demands of barons and prelates gathered at Runnemede, near Windsor.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: King John Ratifying the Magna Charta
  • Engraver: William Wynne Ryland (British, baptized London 1732–1783 London)
  • Engraver: Finished by Francesco Bartolozzi (Italian, Florence 1728–1815 Lisbon)
  • Artist: After John Hamilton Mortimer (British, Eastbourne 1740–1779 London)
  • Publisher: William Palmer (British, active 1782–94)
  • Published in: London
  • Date: 1783
  • Medium: Stipple engraving
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 19 in. × 24 9/16 in. (48.2 × 62.4 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924
  • Object Number: 24.63.941
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Ophelia: "There's fennel for you, and columbines" (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5), William Wynne Ryland British, Stipple engraving, printed in brown ink
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