After Wright of Derby mezzotint Widow

After JOSEPH WRIGHT OF DERBY             Derby 1734 – 1797

The Widow of an Indian Chief Watching the Arms of her Deceas’d Husband.

Mezzotint, after Wright of Derby by John Raphael Smith (1751-1812); 1789.  D’Oench 301. Undescribed by Chaloner Smith. Egerton P31: ii/II. The painting is at the Derby Art Gallery.

A very fine, atmospheric impression with margins. The surfaces very fresh.

Wright of Derby’s painting of 1785, the source for John Raphael Smith’s mezzotint of 1789,  carried a slightly different title in Wright’s account book, where it was called “an Indian Chief’s Widdow”. The difference of title suggests an interesting perception of the subject. The idea of watching the arms of a deceased warrior represented a frequent topos of Antique art and literature, in which mourners watching over his arms and armor pay tribute to the achievements of a dead hero. The British Museum impression of this mezzotint adds an important detail of the significance of the print:

“The solemn treatment of the subject recalls the sculpture of contemporary tombs showing British heroes mourned by their widows, or by personifications of Britannia representing their country. The widow portrayed here embodies America, exemplifying the idealised view from across the Atlantic of a glorious "new world" with none of the faults of the "old world" of Europe.”

455 x 557 mm    18 15/16 x 21 15/16 inches

1. British Museum inv (1850,1014.894)