Artwork
Child with a Dog
Child with a Dog is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Marcellin-Gilbert Desboutin. It dates from 1884 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:by later hand, lower left in graphite: 94; by later hand, lower center verso in graphite: CJ 94
- Markings
- Marked:recto: stamped in black at lower left: Alfred Beurdeley (Lugt 421); verso: none
About this work
Overview
Marcelin‑Gilbert Desboutin’s etching Child with a Dog, executed around 1884, is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C. The work is a small-scale print on laid paper, typical of the artist’s late‑19th‑century output, and exemplifies his interest in intimate, everyday scenes rendered with immediacy.
Subject & Meaning
The image portrays a barefoot child seated on uneven ground, clutching a dog in a close, protective embrace. The child’s untamed hair and loosely draped clothing convey a sense of spontaneity, while the dark, tangled tree behind them adds a hint of natural enclosure, suggesting a moment of quiet companionship amid an unstructured environment.
Technique & Style
Desboutin employed traditional intaglio etching, allowing ink to settle in the incised lines of a copper plate. The resulting marks are rendered with scratchy, expressive strokes that give texture to the foliage and ground, while the softer, broader areas convey the figures’ forms. This approach captures fleeting emotional gestures, a hallmark of the artist’s sketch‑like aesthetic.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1884, the print entered the National Gallery of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the 20th century, though the precise chain of ownership prior to its museum entry is not extensively documented. Its presence in the gallery underscores Desboutin’s role in the French printmaking revival of the late 1800s.
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