Charles Howard Hodges - large precious mezzotint from 1802.

Large, precious mezzotint:
'The shipbuilder' after Rembrandt van Rijn (1633).
Double portrait of Jan Rijcksen and his wife Griet Jans.

The plate edge is intact, approx. 43x56 cm.

The sheet (approx. 45x60 cm) is lightly placed with 2 stickers behind a passepartout.

In a beautiful wooden frame, gold and white, behind glass.

Listed in the catalogue raisonné, see photo for illustration (not included).

NB: During shipping, glass breakage is at the buyer's risk.

In good used condition. A few spots with backing paper on the back (among others in the hair and the left hand of the man) // light scuff // the edges are irregular.

Charles Howard Hodges was an English-born artist who made a career in the Netherlands after having been a 'child prodigy' in his native country. He lived for a time in 1788 with the painter Tischbein on the Keizersgracht. In 1797 he moved with his family to Amsterdam, where he developed into a much sought-after portrait painter. His work is in the Rijksmuseum, among others.

The mezzotint, also called 'black art', was a new graphic technique around 1650. With the mezzotint, the entire copper plate is first roughened with a so-called cradle iron, an instrument with a fan-shaped, serrated head that leaves rows of holes and burrs on the copper plate. The ink adheres to the rough surface. In order to apply an image, some parts of the roughened plate are smoothed with a scraper. The ink no longer adheres to these places and the light areas are therefore created in the print. By polishing more or less, it is possible to achieve different grey tones, or halftones, hence the name mezzo (half) tint. The technique allows for smooth transitions between the different grey tones. This gives the prints a velvety impression.