Jean Denis L'Empereur
1761
crayon
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
1761
crayon
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Jean Denis L'Empereur is a 1761 crayon by Pierre Gonord, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a black-and-white portrait of a man with big, curly hair tied back. He’s facing left, wearing a high-collar coat. The image is framed by a decorative oval border with a ribbon at the top. Below the portrait, there’s text in French naming the man and listing his titles. The artist used a method called *engraving* to create this image, which means they etched lines into a metal plate. This was a common way to make prints before photography. If you like this style, look up *engraving* to see how artists made detailed prints like this one.
