The Connoisseur and Tired Boy

After Henry Robert Morland British
May 15, 1776
Not on view
This satire contrasts the unflagging attention of a man holding up a candle to examine a painted landscape, with the yawns of a boy who must support the heavy frame. The work belongs to a type of night-piece popular in Europe since the seventeenth century in Europe, where artists depicted forms dramatically lit by a single, often hidden, light source. The Met's collection also includes a larger version of this mezzotint engraved by Philip Dawe published in 1773 (42.16.7).
The artist Henry Morland published a description of his related painting in 1775: "An Italian Connoisseur and tired boy. The connoisseur is an admirer of no pictures but Italian, therefore his taste is greatly affronted on being shown a Dutch picture; nevertheless his attention is engaged by some effect he sees in the landscape - has forgotten the boy, who is tired with holding the picture in a heavy frame, which he is just ready to drop."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Connoisseur and Tired Boy
  • Engraver: Anonymous, British, 18th century
  • Artist: After Henry Robert Morland (British, London (?) 1716?–1797 London)
  • Publisher: Robert Sayer and John Bennett (British, active 1774–83)
  • Date: May 15, 1776
  • Medium: Mezzotint
  • Dimensions: Plate: 13 3/4 × 9 15/16 in. (35 × 25.2 cm)
    Sheet: 14 7/8 × 10 3/4 in. (37.8 × 27.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962
  • Object Number: 62.659.4
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.