His holiness Pope Pius IX / painted by Joseph Ames ; engraved by H. W. Smith. – Historic Reproduction
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
A window into the past: His holiness Pope Pius IX / painted by Joseph Ames ; engraved by H. W. Smith., preserved in this historic print. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
His holiness Pope Pius IX / painted by Joseph Ames ; engraved by H. W. Smith.
Order a print
Thank you. Your order went through, and a receipt is on its way by email.
Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal
Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.
Painted in Rome in 1848 by Joseph Ames and engraved in mezzotint by H. W. Smith, this portrait shows Pius IX as his papacy entered its most turbulent years. Elected in 1846, the pope was first welcomed as a reformer, but the revolutions of 1848 drove him from Rome that November, and he did not return until 1850. The caption dedicates the print to the Catholics of America, and the 1851 copyright notice names Ames in Massachusetts, which suggests a reproduction aimed at an American audience. Mezzotint's soft, tonal build of light and shadow gives the face a painterly warmth typical of engraved likenesses of the period.
| Created / published | c1851 ( E.H. Ball, printer) |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : mezzotint. |
| Genre | Portrait paintings 1840-1850 Reproductions 1850-1860.Mezzotints 1850-1860. |
| Notes | Title from item. Caption continues: This print engraved from the original picture painted at Rome AD 1848 is most respectfully dedicated to the Catholics of America. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1851 by J. Ames in the Clerk Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. |
| Subjects | Pius--IX,--Pope,--1792-1878. Popes--1850-1860. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,037 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-110717 |
More from the Historic Print Archive collection
Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.
