1778
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Musical Monster is a 1778 ink by John Hamilton Mortimer, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a strange, half-human, half-serpent creature rising from the sea. Its upper body looks like a person playing a violin, while its lower half is a scaly tail. Waves crash around it, and the sky above is wild and stormy. The title at the bottom, *Musical Monster*, hints this was meant as a funny or spooky image. The artist used lines to create texture, making the scales and waves look almost three-dimensional. Next, check out the technique: etching to see how artists like this made detailed prints.
John Hamilton Mortimer (17 September 1740 – 4 February 1779) was a British figure and landscape painter and printmaker, known for romantic paintings set in Italy, works depicting conversations, and works drawn in the…
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