Female Lucubration: Study by Candlelight, Mezzotint

A woman in a ruffled cap and dark dress reaches toward a shelf of old books, holding a lit candlestick in her other hand. Her face and raised arm catch the glow, while the surrounding room falls into deep shadow. The softly graded tones are typical of mezzotint engraving on cream paper.

Artist

Philip Dawe

Date

1772

Medium

Mezzotint in black on cream laid paper

Source

Art Institute of Chicago

Size

1686 × 2384 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Langdon Pearse