Portrait of Helena Fourment, with a young page behind her 1782

This print of Helena Fourment, Rubens’s wife, was made by Richard Earlom around 1743, using a technique called mezzotint. This process involves roughening a copper plate with a tool called a rocker, then smoothing areas to create lighter tones. Looking closely, you'll see a rich range of textures, from the velvety blacks of Helena’s dress to the soft gradations of her skin. This tonal range is what makes mezzotint so distinctive, allowing for subtle and atmospheric effects. Earlom was a master of this painstaking process, and prints like this one were highly valued for their ability to capture the nuances of paintings. In the 18th century, prints like this played a vital role in disseminating images, making art accessible to a wider audience, and connecting the worlds of commerce and culture. The labor involved in creating these prints – the skilled handwork of the engraver – often goes unnoticed. By appreciating the making process, we can better understand the social and economic context in which these images were produced and circulated.