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Duke of York, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare"

Subject William Shakespeare British
March 15, 1776
Not on view
Mortimer admired Salvator Rosa, absorbed aspects of his dramatic style, and sought British equivalents for his subjects. This etching comes from a series that Mortimer devoted to leading Shakespearean characters, based on drawings exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1775. Merging the seventeenth-century genres of the character head and tête d'expression (expressive head), Mortimer's designs also incorporate elements of history painting to convey the Bard's inventive range. Attracted mostly to tragic figures, the artist here portrays the Duke of York, leader of one of the rival sides in the Wars of the Roses. After being captured by the Plantagenets, led by the incensed Queen Margaret of Anjou, the duke is forced to wear a mock crown, told that his twelve-year old son has been killed in battle, and offered a cloth stained with the youth's blood to dry his tears.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Duke of York, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare"
  • Series/Portfolio: Twelve Characters from Shakespeare
  • Artist: John Hamilton Mortimer (British, Eastbourne 1740–1779 London)
  • Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Date: March 15, 1776
  • Medium: Etching
  • Dimensions: sheet: 15 3/4 x 12 3/8 in. (40 x 31.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, 2002
  • Object Number: 2002.330.3
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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