Tulips

Set against a Dutch landscape of canals, churches and windmills, this arrangement of tulips recalls the country’s zealous affection for the flower. Richard Earlom used the mezzotint print process to achieve subtle gradations of color. The first tonal method of printmaking, mezzotint was a time-consuming process. The artist would first use sharp tools to fill parts of a copper plate with dense, interlocking lines. These finely incised areas held fields of ink, while those the artist intended to remain blank or white were burnished flat. A separate plate was prepared for each printed color.