The ''Great Executioner'' is a
mezzotint by the soldier and amateur artist
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
(1619-1682), finished in 1658.
The subject of the picture is the execution of
John the Baptist, after
Jusepe de Ribera's painting. Rupert had become interested in mezzotint design during his time in Europe during the
Interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
following the
English civil war, and there is an extensive debate over Rupert's role in the invention of the technique itself. Rupert's mezzotint works were popularised by the print collector
John Evelyn after the
Restoration, and became much admired across Europe. The ''Great Executioner'' is generally considered to be one of Rupert's finest works; produced in 1658, it is still regarded by critics as containing 'brilliance and energy', 'superb', 'one of the greatest mezzotints', and 'among the finest
ezzotintsever produced'.
[Hulton, p.9.] Rupert's name can be seen signed along the executioner's blade.
See also
*
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
Notes
References
*Griffiths, Antony. ''Prints and Printmaking: an Introduction to the History and Techniques.'' Berkeley: University of California Press. (1996)
*Hind, Arthur M.
A History of Engraving & Etching: From the 15th Century to the Year 1914'. New York: Dover. (1963 reprint of 1923 ed.)
*Hulton, P. H. ''Prince Rupert: Artist and Patron of the Arts.'' (1960)
*Spencer, Charles. ''Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier.'' London: Phoenix. (2007)
* Zelenková, Petra. ''Prince Rupert, Jusepe de Ribera and the Executioner'' / ''Princ Ruprecht, Jusepe de Ribera a Kat'', Ars Linearis VIII, pp. 45-56; pp. 108-113. (2018)
External links
Metropolitan Museum of ArtBritish Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Executioner, The
Military art
1658 in art
17th-century prints