Beatrice Listening to Hero and Ursula. by Henry Fuseli (after)

Mezzotint by John Jones (1745 – London – 1797).

A particularly fine and rich impression of this rare print in very good condition.

Published by John Jones (6 January 1791, 75 Great Portland Street) after the painting which is now in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden. The subject derives from Willliam Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing (Act 3, Scene 1). The scene takes place in Leonato’s garden: ‘Hero and Ursula are plotting to get Benedick and Beatrice to fall in love with each other, so they pretend not to see Beatrice eavesdropping on them, and talk as of poor Benedick is pining for love of the heartless Beatrice’ (Weinglass, p. 123).

In 1790 another large print of the same subject was published by Jean Pierre (Peter) Simon after Rev. Matthew Peters as part of Boydell’s flawed Shakespeare Gallery project – far less striking than Fuseli’s interpretation.

As part of Emanuel von Baeyer Cabinet’s online exhibition ‘British prints from the 17th to the early 19th century. From Southwark Cathedral to the Vitruvian Lodge’, June 2020.