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View at the museum ↗Edgar
John Hamilton MortimerMay 20, 1775; published 1809
- Attribution
- John Hamilton Mortimer English, 1740-1779
- Medium
- Etching on cream wove paper
- Physical dimensions
- Plate: 40 × 32.1 cm (15 3/4 × 12 11/16 in.); Sheet: 59.6 × 43.8 cm (23 1/2 × 17 1/4 in.)
- Credit line
- Mary S. Adams Endowment
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Source rights statement: Public domain
View the museum record ↗From the museum
John Hamilton Mortimer’s Twelve Heads series of etchings depicting Shakespearian characters exemplifies the subjects’ heightened thought and passion. Three of the Heads include Caliban, a loyal but unruly savage from The Tempest ; Edgar, the son of Gloucester who feigns madness in King Lear ; and the poet played by Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream . Their intense expressions and the oval cropping draw the viewer’s focus into the theatrical action that the prints reference. The accompanying excerpts tie the characters to a particular scene from their respective plays, blending written and visual art.
Description: Art Institute of Chicago · CC BY 4.0