John Hamilton Mortimer (1740–1779)
“Richard II”, 1775, from the series, “Twelve
Characters from Shakespeare” (1775–76), etched and published by John Hamilton
Mortimer in London.
Etching on laid paper, trimmed around
the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.
Size: (oval sheet trimmed at the image
borderline) 34.4 x 28.3 cm
The text lettered on the plate but
trimmed off in this impression is offered by the Metropolitan Museum of Art: (titled
above the image borderline): "Richard II"; (below the image
borderline) "For within the hollow crown, / That rounds the mortal temples
of a King, / Keeps Death his court, & there the antick sits / Scoffing his
State & grinning at his pomp, / Allowing him a breath, a little scene / To
monarchize, be feard & kill with looks / Infusing him with self & vain
conceit, / As if this flesh which walls about our life / Were brass impregnable
& humoured thus / Comes at last & with a little pin / Bores thro' his
castle walls & farewell King / Richard II. Act 3, Scene 2 / Published May
20, 1775 by J. Mortimer, Norfolk Street, Strand"
Sunderland 1986.96.2 (John Sunderland
1986, “John Hamilton Mortimer, His Life and Works”, The Walpole Society, vol.
52, cat. no. 96.2”)
The British Museum offers the following
description of this print:
“The character from Shakespeare's
'Richard II', head and shoulders in an oval, directed to right with head turned
to left, looking over right shoulder, eyes wide with fear, wearing crown
surmounted by small figure of death; thin border at edge of plate.”
See also: Benedict Nicholson, 1968, “John
Hamilton Mortimer ARA, 1740-1779”, exh. cat., Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, cat.
no. 79 iv; Tim Clayton 1997, “The English Print 1688”–1802. Yale, p. 237; Marcia
Allentuck 1993, "New John Hamilton Mortimer Drawings of Shakespearean
Characters" Burlington Magazine. vol. 115, no. 845, August 1973, pp. 530
ff.
Condition: crisp, well-inked and
well-printed impression trimmed around the image borderline (with loss of the
lettered text beyond this borderline), backed with a support sheet of archival
(millennium quality) washi paper. There is a small spot of darkening at the top of the sheet, otherwise it is in excellent condition (i.e. there are
no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or foxing).
I am selling this exceptionally rare and
highly sought after etching or AU$420 in total (currently US$306.82/EUR268.77/GBP240.23
at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere
in the world.
If you are interested in purchasing this
large and famous masterpiece showing the skeletal figure of Death wearing a
feather crown about to dispatch the vain and arrogant Richard II with a pin,
please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal
invoice to make the payment easy.
This print has been sold
I don’t imagine that many folk would
have difficulty in reading this remarkable image as a comment on the folly of
kingly power. After all, Richard II is shown with the tiny feather-crowned
skeletal figure of Death lolling within Richard’s crown and about to dispatch
him with a VERY long pin. Certainly, this image of Richard as a vain man—what
the Met describes as “an arrogant potentate, gorgeously dressed in a turban and
jewels” (https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/62.602.162/)
—fits well with Mortimer’s aim for his series of twelve Shakespearean characters
(in which this etching features) as proposed by Constance C. McPhee (2016): to “explore a subtle range of tragic emotions
and use quotes from the plays to point out the instability of royal power and
social position.” (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shaa/hd_shaa.htm)
Regarding Mortimer’s motivation to explore
“tragic emotions”, the following passage is inscribed below the image
borderline (sadly trimmed off in this impression):
"For within the hollow crown,
That rounds the mortal temples of a
King,
Keeps Death his court, & there the
antick sits
Scoffing his State & grinning at his
pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene
To monarchize, be feard & kill with
looks
Infusing him with self & vain
conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our
life
Were brass impregnable & humoured
thus
Comes at last & with a little pin
Bores thro' his castle walls &
farewell King."
(Richard II, act 3, scene 2)
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