Querulas praetentat pollice cordas (The Lute Player)
1802
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1802
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This print shows a man in old clothes softly holding a lute. His face is half-lit, the rest lost in shadow. Light catches the strings and his gentle grip. Mezzotint was new then. It uses a rocked metal plate to hold ink. That trick gives velvet blacks and smooth light like this. Check out how the paper feels at the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
