George Robertson (1742–1788), United Kingdom, painter
James Mason (1710–1785), United Kingdom, engraver
John Boydell (1719–1804), United Kingdom, publisher
A View in the Island of Jamaica, of the Spring-Head of Roaring River on the Estate of William Beckford Esq., 1778
Line-engraving
Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
This engraving was based on a scene made by the painter George Robertson, featuring inhabitants at work and leisure. Frequently appearing in picturesque landscape compositions, figures were thought to enliven an image by providing anecdotal ornament. In this scene, in which the Creole woman and African man in the foreground are slaves, the artist uses conventions of the picturesque to obscure the brutal reality of plantation life in Jamaica.