Daniel Mendoza
- Artist: Samuel William Fores
- Artist: Henry Kingsbury
- Artist: Charles Jean Robineau
- Date: 1789
- Medium: mezzotint
- Dimensions: Long Term Loan
- Portrays: Daniel Mendoza
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In front of you is a mezzotint portrait of Daniel Mendoza, an English pugilist who lived from 1764 to 1836. The print captures his face and upper torso with deep tonal contrasts that give a subtle, almost sculptural quality. The shading follows the lines of the head and shoulders, giving the figure a rounded, three‑dimensional feel.
The image was created in 1789 by painter‑engraver Henry Kingsbury based on an original by Charles Jean Robineau. It was published the following year by printseller Samuel William Fores, who produced many portrait prints for London audiences.
Mendoza is known to have sat for about a dozen portraits, of which this is one of only five still in existence. The mezzotint technique used here shows how 18‑th‑century printmakers could render the subtle play of light and shadow on the skin.
See it in person
Daniel Mendoza is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
!['Dan beating the Phillistines [Philistines]' (Tom Johnson (Thomas Jackling); Tom Johnson (Thomas Jackling); William ('Bill') Ward; Joseph ('Joe') Ward; John Jackson) by Samuel William Fores](https://data.audioguide.london/images/Dan_beating_the_Phillistines_Philistines_Tom_Johnson_Thomas_Jackling_Tom_Johnson_Thomas_Jackling_William_Bill_Ward_Joseph_Joe_Ward_John_Jackson_Samuel_William_Fores_92a93c43.jpg)
