Portrait of Susanna Lunden, sister of Helena Fourment (1769)
Original title: Portrait of Susanna Lunden, sister of Helena Fourment
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike the other prints after Rubens in this series, this 1769 mezzotint by William Pether does not show Helena Fourment herself but her sister Susanna Lunden. The print was made after a painting by Peter Paul Rubens. It presents a young woman with a pearl headband and lace collar, set against a dark ground.
Description
Curly hair tied to the side frames the young woman's face, held by a headband with pearls. A white collar with lace edging provides a bright accent against her dark bodice. The plain dark background makes the figure stand out. Along the bottom edge runs a text panel inscribed 'HELENA FOREMAN, Wife to Sir Peter Paul Rubens' and the publication line 'London, Published July 1780 by Watson & Dickinson No 158, New Bond Street'.
Context
For this mezzotint, made in 1769, William Pether used as his model a painting by Peter Paul Rubens that depicts Susanna Lunden, the sister of Helena Fourment. The print was not published until 1780 in London by Watson & Dickinson. In eighteenth-century England, mezzotint was highly popular because it allowed paintings to be reproduced and brought to a wider audience.
Impact
Soft tonal transitions and precise rendering of skin and fabrics are due to the mezzotint technique; as a result, the portrait has a painterly quality. The sitter's calm, frontal pose and the dark ground give her a dignified presence.
Technique
Mezzotint is an intaglio process in which the plate is first roughened and then smoothed in places to create tonal values. This makes it possible to achieve fine gradations of light and shadow, which is particularly suitable for reproducing paintings. The trimmed sheet measures 50.8 × 35.9 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)