An Early Riser

A stag materializes out of a diaphanous haze in Francis Seymour Haden’s atmospheric print. Using mainly mezzotint with etched details, Haden experimented with printing this image in several different colors, including browns and pure blacks. He produced this composition during the Etching Revival, when the medium was experiencing a major surge in amateur and professional interest inspired by James McNeill Whistler. Although mezzotint would not undergo as enthusiastic a return to prominence with amateurs (commercial artists now used the technique on steel), touches of roulette could offer nuance to the volumes and textures of an etching plate.