The Connoisseur and Tired Boy
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."
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
- 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
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