Midsummer Night's Dream, Samuel A. Cousins; Artist: After Sir Edwin Henry Landseer | Mia

blonde woman wearing pink and silver dress (Titania) leaning on a man with the head of a donkey (Bottom), wearing a crown of pink roses; nude Puck at center, seen from back; fairies emerging from behind foliage and two fairies riding on white rabbits at right; winged figure peering over foliage behind woman — Midsummer Night's Dream, 1858
Samuel A. Cousins; Artist: After Sir Edwin Henry Landseer
Hand-colored mezzotint
Gift of Marcus Ryan Sampson 2011.62
Not on View
An accomplished English printmaker, Samuel Cousins (1801–1887) has the distinction of being the first engraver academician in the London Royal Academy, appointed in 1855 and then elevated to a full Royal Academician in 1867. In A Midsummer Night's Dream Cousins reproduces a painting by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802–1873), the widely popular Victorian painter, and is one of seven prints made by him after Landseer's work. From Shakespeare's fantastical comedy, the work depicts Titania, Queen of the Fairies, nestling up to Bottom. Under Puck's spell, the beautiful Titania fell in love with this donkey-headed creature. Puck appears naked in the foreground, watching the hilarious scene unfold, with a group of small winged ferries riding on white rabbits. Cousins exhibited an impression of the print at the Royal Academy in 1858, where it was well received. Upon seeing the print Landseer declared it to be Cousins's greatest work. The present mezzotint was skillfully hand-colored by an unknown hand at a later date.

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Details

Title: Midsummer Night's Dream
Dated: 1858
Artist: Samuel A. Cousins; Artist: After Sir Edwin Henry Landseer
Nationality: British
Artist Life: 1802–1873
Role: Artist
Gallery: Not on View
Department: European Art
Dimension: 21 1/8 x 34 1/8 in. (53.66 x 86.68 cm) (plate)26 7/16 x 37 13/16 in. (67.15 x 96.04 cm) (sheet)
Credit: Gift of Marcus Ryan Sampson
Accession Number: 2011.62
Medium: Hand-colored mezzotint
Country: England
Century: 19th century
Provenance: Olds Collection (by repute). (Beard Gallery, Minneapolis; sold to Sampson); Marcus Sampson, Minneapolis; given to MIA
Rights: Public Domain
Classification: Prints
Object Name: Print
Catalogue Raisonne: Whitman 1904, no. 201 iii/iii
Wikipedia: Cite this information
Metadata: Click here to see the machine readable JSON data that underpins this page.
Curator Approved: This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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