A Landscape, with Moses and the Burning Bush - Richard Earlom

A 1776 mezzotint by Richard Earlom, reproducing a classical landscape drawing by Claude Lorrain featuring the biblical scene of Moses and the burning bush.

This print by Richard Earlom is a reproduction of a drawing by the French painter Claude Lorrain. Published in 1776 by John Boydell, the work demonstrates the technical precision Earlom brought to the medium of mezzotint. The composition follows the conventions of the classical landscape, featuring a foreground framed by large, dark trees and a distant, atmospheric horizon.

On the left, a small figure of Moses kneels before the burning bush, a narrative element that provides a sense of scale to the expansive vista. The middle ground contains a bridge and a walled town, elements typical of the idealised Italianate scenery favoured by Claude. Earlom uses a combination of etching for the outlines and mezzotint for the tonal variations, creating a soft, sepia-toned effect that mimics the appearance of an original wash drawing.

The print was part of the Liber Veritatis project, an ambitious undertaking to document the drawings of Claude Lorrain held in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire. By translating these drawings into print, Earlom made the compositions of the French master accessible to a wider audience of collectors and artists in Britain. The work is characterised by its balanced arrangement of light and shadow, which guides the eye from the immediate foreground towards the hazy, distant mountains. The attention to detail in the foliage and the architectural forms reflects the high standards of eighteenth-century British printmaking. This piece offers a glimpse into the historical practice of reproducing master drawings to preserve and disseminate artistic knowledge.