Frontispiece, to Mr. Constable's English Landscape, East Bergholt, Suffolk 1830

This print of East Bergholt, Suffolk, was made by David Lucas in the 19th century, using a technique called mezzotint. It's an intaglio process, meaning the image is incised into a metal plate, which is then inked and pressed onto paper. Mezzotint is unique because instead of starting with a smooth plate and cutting lines into it, the entire surface is roughened to create a dense, dark tone. The artist then works from dark to light, burnishing or scraping away the burr to create lighter areas. Look closely, and you’ll see a velvety texture in the darker areas, created by the tiny pits in the plate. Lucas was a master of this laborious technique, and his prints after Constable are celebrated for their atmospheric effects and tonal range. The process demanded immense skill and patience, reflecting a pre-industrial sensibility towards labor. It's a testament to the value placed on craft and the handmade, in an era increasingly dominated by mechanization. Appreciating the mezzotint reminds us that the visual arts are always also a matter of skilled making.