Art Institute of Chicago

Lear

Date: March 15, 1776 (originally published); published 1809
Medium: Etching on cream wove paper
Culture: England
Department: Prints and Drawings
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago

Part of the same series of heads that includes the image of Beatrice , this work depicts the crazed King Lear as he gazes skyward. His eyes bulge and his hair whips about his face as he considers his own misdeeds and tragedy. John Hamilton Mortimer expertly captured the despair and loss of control Lear feels in this moment. The old king cries out the monologue quoted below the image.

View at Art Institute of Chicago ↗

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page

See at Art Institute of Chicago

Linked open data

Authority identifiers that link this record into the wider web of cultural data — stable references you can follow to the source.

Object type: AAT300041273

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions.