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The Female Consultation on the Blessed Medicine
The Female Consultation on the Blessed Medicine

The Female Consultation on the Blessed Medicine

Primary
NationalityEnglish, Europe
Date1771
MediumMezzotint with burin
DimensionsSheet: 9 1/16 × 6 1/8 in. (23 × 15.5 cm)
Additional Dimension: 7 1/16 × 4 15/16 in. (17.9 × 12.6 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Karen G. and Dr. Elgin W. Ware, Jr. Collection, 2000.51
Collection AreaPrints and Drawings
Object number2000.51
On View
Not on view
Label Text
“Blessed medicine” is a euphemism for the treatment of syphilis, putting the probity of these women into question. Practically from the origin of the medium, anonymous printmakers conveyed subjects of everyday concern using rudimentary techniques. Occasionally, such popular subjects have appeared in “artistic” works. Over the course of the eighteenth-century, and especially in England, this upward migration became more common. This print, done in the most sophisticated technique of the day––mezzotint––is a choice example.