John Hamilton Mortimer
English, 1740-1779
Beatrice
INV-1556
John Hamilton Mortimer
English, 1740-1779March 15, 1776 (originally published); published 1809
etchingprint
Date
March 15, 1776 (originally published); published 1809
Medium
Etching on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: 40.2 × 42.4 cm (15 7/8 × 16 3/4 in.); Sheet: 59.6 × 43.7 cm (23 1/2 × 17 1/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Mary S. Adams Endowment
In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick are the leading not-quite-lovers, whose verbal sparring delights both the audience and the other characters as their professed mutual hatred turns to love. In this etching, John Hamilton Mortimer captured both the pride and humor of the female half of this pair. The merry Beatrice seems to be caught in mid-repartee, with her mouth slightly open; Benedick has just inquired if his “dear Lady Disdain” is “yet living.” She laughingly responds with the jab quoted below the image.
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