The Infant in the Gallery
1518
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
1518
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Infant in the Gallery is a 1518 ink by Jean de Gourmont I, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a small child crawling toward a row of tall columns. Behind the columns, there’s a fancy building with multiple levels, arches, and small statues on the roof. The ground has scattered tools and a few big stones, while the walls and floors are drawn with lots of fine lines. The tiny kid looks curious, maybe exploring a workspace or ruins. The artist used tiny, crisscrossed lines to make shadows and details pop—this is called cross-hatching. Next, check out how cross-hatching works in other prints.
