Portrait of Susanna Lunden, sister of Helena Fourment (1763–66)
Original title: Portrait of Susanna Lunden, sister of Helena Fourment
kurzbeschreibung
Susanna Lunden, sister of Helena Fourment, is shown standing upright with a calm demeanor. William Elliot engraved her portrait between 1763 and 1766. The print on paper presents the sitter enclosed within an ornamental frame.
Description
A frame surrounds the figure, reminiscent of a window or portal. On her head she wears an elaborate headdress with flowers and foliage, along with a dress featuring distinctly worked sleeves. Her right hand clasps a rod-like object, perhaps a book. The face, with its striking features, appears serene. The layout is symmetrical, the rendering monochrome in shades of gray, using fine lines and hatching.
Context
In the 18th century, copper engravings were widely used to reproduce paintings and famous individuals, and this print belongs to that tradition. Susanna Lunden was the sister of Helena Fourment, the wife of Peter Paul Rubens. Elliot engraved the portrait after an earlier model, presumably a painting by Rubens himself. A dedication and details of the artist and source appear in the lower part of the image, as was customary for reproductive prints of the period.
Impact
The portrait emerges calm and balanced, owing in part to the symmetrical arrangement and evenly distributed light. The precisely guided lines give the sheet an elegant appearance that matches the classical style of the 18th century.
Technique
For copper engraving, lines are incised into a copper plate and then printed on paper. Tonal gradations are achieved here through fine hatching, which also models the forms. Trimmed, the sheet measures 23.7 × 16.6 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)