{"id":"cma-120070","titulo":{"en":"Lord Nelson","es":"Lord Nelson"},"titulo_original":"Lord Nelson","autor":"Francis Grant (British, 1803–1878)","fecha":"1818–78","cultura":"England","tecnica":"mezzotint, hand colored","fuente":"Cleveland Museum of Art","licencia":"CC0-1.0","licencia_url":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/","credito":"Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of James Parmelee","url_original":"https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.854","imagen_url":"https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.854/1940.854_web.jpg","ficha":{"en":{"titulo":"Lord Nelson","se_ve":"A vertical bust portrait of a white man, placed slightly left of center and turned three-quarters toward the viewer's right, though his face looks almost directly out. He fills most of the frame, from the top of his head to his chest, where the lower edge cuts him off. Behind him the background is very dark, nearly blackish-brown, with no objects or landscape; a faint grayish glow behind his shoulders lifts the figure out of the gloom. His light hair — somewhere between ash blond and gray — is brushed back, falling in waves over his ears and to the nape of his neck. He has a broad forehead, soft brows, a straight nose, and a closed mouth held in a restrained expression, somewhere between serene and melancholy. Soft, diffuse light from the front left catches his forehead, cheek, and nose, leaving the rest in shadow. He wears a dark naval uniform, probably a deep navy muted by the technique, with a high collar, gold-fringed epaulettes fraying softly on both shoulders, and pale braiding. A broad sash crosses his chest diagonally. On it he displays several decorations: two round gold medallions hanging from a pale blue ribbon at his neck, and, on his left side, embroidered stars and insignia in silver and gold tones. The print shows the fine, velvety grain typical of mezzotint, with smooth transitions between shadow and light and faint touches of hand-applied color. The cream paper margin frames the image and preserves barely legible signatures or inscriptions in the lower corners.","contexto":"The source, the Cleveland Museum of Art, titles the work *Lord Nelson*, attributes it to the British artist Francis Grant (1803–1878), and dates it 1818–78 — a range that probably reflects the artist's recorded lifetime or period of activity rather than a precise printing date. It is a hand-colored mezzotint from England, held in the Prints department and credited to the Bequest of James Parmelee. The sitter is Horatio Nelson (1758–1805), the British vice-admiral celebrated for his role in the Napoleonic Wars who died at the Battle of Trafalgar. Because Grant was born shortly before Nelson's death, this portrait cannot have been made from life; it surely derives from earlier portraits, though the source does not say which one.","como_mirarla":"First meet his gaze, held in a soft, almost melancholic expression rather than a triumphant pose. Then move down across his chest: the medals and sash take up almost as much space as his face. Finally, look at the dark background and the velvety grain — with nothing else to see, all authority must come from the uniform and the light on his forehead.","dato_curioso":"Mezzotint works in reverse of most printmaking: the plate is first roughened all over so it would print almost black, and the artist then scrapes and burnishes the lighter areas back in — here, the face quite literally emerges from darkness.","preguntas":["What makes us read this man as a hero: his face, or the medals that cover his chest?","How does the image change when we remember it was made after his death, from other portraits rather than from life?","Why choose such a dark, empty background for a figure meant to be publicly celebrated?"]},"es":{"titulo":"Lord Nelson","se_ve":"Retrato vertical de busto de un hombre blanco, situado ligeramente a la izquierda del centro y girado en tres cuartos hacia la derecha del espectador, aunque su rostro mira casi de frente. Ocupa la mayor parte del encuadre, desde la parte superior de la cabeza hasta el pecho, recortado por el borde inferior. El fondo es muy oscuro, casi negro parduzco, sin objetos ni paisaje; un leve resplandor grisáceo detrás de los hombros hace resaltar la figura. Tiene el cabello claro, entre rubio cenizo y gris, peinado hacia atrás, con ondas que cubren las orejas y llegan a la nuca. La frente es amplia, las cejas suaves, la nariz recta y la boca cerrada, con una expresión contenida, entre serena y melancólica. La luz, suave y difusa, viene del frente izquierdo e ilumina la frente, la mejilla y la nariz, dejando el resto en penumbra. Viste un uniforme naval oscuro, probablemente azul marino muy apagado por la técnica, con cuello alto, charreteras de flecos dorados sobre ambos hombros y bordados claros. Una banda ancha cruza su pecho en diagonal. Sobre el pecho luce varias condecoraciones: dos medallones circulares dorados que cuelgan de una cinta celeste al cuello y, a la izquierda, estrellas e insignias bordadas en tonos plateados y dorados. El grabado muestra el grano fino y aterciopelado propio de la mezzotinta, con transiciones suaves entre sombra y luz y toques tenues de color aplicados a mano. El papel crema del margen enmarca la imagen y conserva firmas o inscripciones poco legibles en las esquinas inferiores.","contexto":"La fuente, el Cleveland Museum of Art, titula la obra *Lord Nelson*, la atribuye al artista británico Francis Grant (1803–1878) y la fecha entre 1818 y 1878, un rango que probablemente corresponde a la vida o los años de actividad del autor registrados por el museo, no a una fecha precisa de impresión. Es una mezzotinta coloreada a mano, procedente de Inglaterra, conservada en el departamento de Estampas gracias al legado de James Parmelee. El personaje es Horatio Nelson (1758–1805), vicealmirante británico célebre por su papel en las guerras napoleónicas, muerto en la batalla de Trafalgar. Como Grant nació poco antes de la muerte de Nelson, este retrato no pudo hacerse del natural; seguramente deriva de retratos anteriores, aunque la fuente no indica de cuál.","como_mirarla":"Busca primero su mirada, de expresión suave y casi melancólica, lejos de un gesto triunfal. Después baja la vista por el pecho: las medallas y la banda ocupan casi tanto espacio como el rostro. Al final, mira el fondo oscuro y el grano aterciopelado: al no haber nada más, toda la autoridad debe venir del uniforme y de la luz sobre su frente.","dato_curioso":"La mezzotinta funciona al revés que la mayoría de los grabados: primero se rugosifica toda la plancha para que imprima casi en negro, y después el artista raspa y pule las zonas claras; aquí, el rostro literalmente emerge de la oscuridad.","preguntas":["¿Qué nos hace leer a este hombre como héroe: su rostro o las medallas que le cubren el pecho?","¿Cómo cambia la imagen al recordar que se hizo después de su muerte, a partir de otros retratos y no del natural?","¿Por qué elegir un fondo tan oscuro y vacío para una figura destinada a ser celebrada en público?"]}},"etiquetas":{"en":["portrait","printmaking","mezzotint","hand coloring","19th century","england","british navy","military uniform","medals and decorations","naval hero","solemnity","melancholy"],"es":["retrato","grabado","mezzotinta","coloreado a mano","siglo xix","inglaterra","marina británica","uniforme militar","condecoraciones","héroe naval","solemnidad","melancolía"]},"objetos":["hombre","uniforme naval","charreteras","banda diagonal","medallones","insignias","cinta al cuello"],"colores":["#000000"],"animo":["solemne","melancólico"],"epoca":"siglo XIX","certeza":"media","advertencias":[],"capa":{"voces":[{"guia":"la restauradora","en":"If you come closer you will see this is not a photo but a mezzotint, a print made by burnishing a plate so the ink looks velvety. Here the black of the background is very deep and the transition to the light on the face is really soft, with no hard lines. The color was added by hand, so the blue of the uniform looks muted and the gold on the epaulettes and medals barely shines. I love how the cream paper frames everything and how the dim light shapes his calm expression.","es":"Si te acercas verás que esto no es una foto sino una mezzotinta, un grabado que se logra puliendo una plancha para que la tinta quede aterciopelada. Aquí el negro del fondo es muy profundo y el paso a la luz de la cara es suavecito, sin líneas duras. El color está puesto a mano, por eso el azul del uniforme se ve apagado y el dorado de las charreteras y medallas brilla apenas. Me interesa cómo el papel crema enmarca todo y cómo la luz tenue modela su expresión serena."},{"guia":"el astrónomo aficionado","en":"It reminds me of looking at the sky on a moonless night. The background is almost total black, like empty space, and the man emerges lit up like a star. Light comes from one side and leaves half his face in shadow, just like a half moon. He has the solemn air of someone who has sailed a lot under the stars. Although the print is from the nineteenth century, I think of Nelson navigating by constellations and how this soft glow around his shoulders looks like a halo of light lost in darkness.","es":"Me recuerda a mirar el cielo en una noche sin luna. El fondo es casi negro total, como el vacío, y el hombre emerge iluminado como si fuera una estrella. La luz viene de un lado y deja media cara en penumbra, igual que la luna en cuarto creciente. Tiene esa solemnidad de quien ha navegado mucho bajo las estrellas. Aunque el retrato es del siglo diecinueve, pienso en Nelson orientándose por constelaciones y en cómo este brillo suave alrededor de sus hombros parece un halo de luz perdida en la oscuridad."},{"guia":"la niña de ocho años","en":"The gentleman looks serious but a little sad, like he is thinking a lot. He has blond hair covering his ears and a dark blue coat with golden fringed epaulettes that look like little tassels. On his chest he has lots of shiny medals and a sash across it. He is in the middle of all that black and only his face is lit, so he looks important. I like that even though he is very decorated he is not smiling, he seems kind and tired at the same time.","es":"El señor se ve serio pero un poco triste, como si estuviera pensando mucho. Tiene el pelo güero que le tapa las orejas y un traje azul oscuro con hombreras doradas de flecos que parecen borlitas. En el pecho trae muchas medallas brillantes y una banda cruzada. Está en medio de todo negro y solo su cara está iluminada, por eso se ve importante. Me gusta que aunque está muy adornado no está sonriendo, parece amable y cansado a la vez."}],"retos":[{"pregunta":{"en":"What color is the background surrounding the sitter that fills almost all the space behind him?","es":"¿De qué color es el fondo que rodea al retratado y ocupa casi todo el espacio detrás de él?"},"pista":{"en":"Look behind the shoulders and head, it is a very dark tone with no landscape.","es":"Mira detrás de los hombros y la cabeza, es un tono muy oscuro sin paisaje."}},{"pregunta":{"en":"How many golden fringed epaulettes does the uniform have on the shoulders?","es":"¿Cuántas charreteras doradas con flecos lleva el uniforme sobre los hombros?"},"pista":{"en":"Check both shoulders of the dark naval uniform, that is where the golden fringes shine.","es":"Fíjate en ambos hombros del uniforme naval oscuro, ahí brillan los flecos dorados."}},{"pregunta":{"en":"What object hangs from a light blue ribbon around his neck and is visible on his chest?","es":"¿Qué objeto cuelga de una cinta celeste alrededor de su cuello y se ve sobre su pecho?"},"pista":{"en":"Search at the center of the chest, they are two golden circles hanging from a light ribbon.","es":"Busca en el centro del pecho, son dos círculos dorados que cuelgan de una cinta clara."}}],"conexiones":["retrato de héroes y memoria histórica","técnica de grabado mezzotinta y estampas coloreadas a mano","uniformes e insignias militares","iconografía naval británica","uso de la luz y sombra para crear solemnidad","retratos póstumos basados en imágenes anteriores","colecciones de estampas del siglo diecinueve"]},"salas":[],"escrita_por":"muse-wonder-1.0"}