Banditti in a mountainous landscape

1770–79

Not on view

Mortimer’s imagination shaped British art between 1765 and his early death in 1779. During his last decade, he served as President of the Society of Artists, an exhibiting body that preceded the Royal Academy. Here Mortimer’s admiration for Salvator Rosa’s wild sensibility is evident in a strikingly vertical mountain landscape. Blasted trees, a gushing mountain torrent and rocky cliffs frame a ledge occupied by a band of banditti, or outlaws. Such figures were often appeared in Rosa’s paintings and Mortimer first exhibited a bandit subject in 1772, then continued to explore the theme in oil, pen and ink and etching for the remainder of his career.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: Banditti in a mountainous landscape
Artist: John Hamilton Mortimer (British, Eastbourne 1740–1779 London)
Date: 1770–79
Medium: Pen and black ink
Dimensions: Sheet: 20 3/8 × 14 9/16 in. (51.8 × 37 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Ian Woodner Family Collection Fund and Joseph McCrindle Foundation Gift, 2023
Object Number: 2023.97
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By John Hamilton Mortimer

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Banditti Taking His Post, John Hamilton Mortimer British, Etching — Banditti Taking His Post
John Hamilton Mortimer
late 18th century

Lucretia's Dead Body is Carried by her Husband, Led by her Mourning Father, John Hamilton Mortimer British, Pen and ink over traces of graphite or chalk — Lucretia's Dead Body is Carried by her Husband, Led by her Mourning Father
John Hamilton Mortimer
1770–79 (?)

Bardolph, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare", John Hamilton Mortimer British, Etching — Bardolph, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare"
John Hamilton Mortimer
William Shakespeare
May 20, 1775

Shylock, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare", John Hamilton Mortimer British, Etching — Shylock, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare"
John Hamilton Mortimer
William Shakespeare
March 15, 1776

Duke of York, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare", John Hamilton Mortimer British, Etching — Duke of York, from "Twelve Characters from Shakespeare"
John Hamilton Mortimer
William Shakespeare
March 15, 1776

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.