The Mezzotint Man

The 19th century saw an extraordinary transformation in the making and viewing of visual image.


Over a few decades, limited access to displays in the windows of printsellers was replaced by mass production of books, magazines, newspapers and prints in many forms that met a powerful appetite to see pictures. Artists who lived through these years faced exciting opportunities while experiencing constant challenges as the idea of art as a force for improving society struggled with the fact of art as a means of making money

The Mezzotint Man follows the life of one artist – the engraver David Lucas – whose work with the painter John Constable brought him renown without reward, a place in history despite neglect in his own time. The intriguing facts of his life are set against the backdrop of the maelstrom that was Victorian London, as this ‘quiet man’ (to use Constable’s description) pursued the art that he believed in with the hope that it would support the family he loved

The author: Michael Brewer studied history at the University of Oxford and has worked in research across various sectors.