Salisbury Cathedral

About this work

This print shows Salisbury Cathedral with soft light falling on its spires and walls. The artist used mezzotint, a tricky print method that lets him shade in smooth grays instead of lines. You can see how the sky behind the tower is almost velvety. Mezzotint lets an artist build up dark to light with a rocked metal plate, then smooth parts to leave lighter areas. This version is a “progress proof,” meaning it was pulled early to check the image before final cuts. Compare Lucas’s quiet control with Rembrandt’s darker mezzotints to see how the same tool can feel different. Lucas, David