Amelia Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse

Amelia Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse

Ludwig von Siegen

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This accomplished portrait ranks as the first mezzotint ever made. Siegen sent it to the sitter, his former patron Amelia Elizabeth, landgravine of Hesse-Cassel, in August 1642, accompanied by a letter in which he described the technique—and claimed its invention. To roughen the copper printing plate and create the burr that would hold the ink, Siegen used roulettes of various gauges and designs, as well as a dotting tool; their textures remain visible here in the finished work. Although roulettes had been used for centuries by other artisans, working (for example) in leather or metal, Siegen was the first to use them as drawing tools.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Amelia Elizabeth, Landgravine of HesseAmelia Elizabeth, Landgravine of HesseAmelia Elizabeth, Landgravine of HesseAmelia Elizabeth, Landgravine of HesseAmelia Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.