Composition with Antique Vases
1782
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1782
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Composition with Antique Vases is a 1782 ink by Jean Jacques II Lagrenée, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This drawing shows a pile of fancy old vases stacked together. Some have handles, others look like they’re holding up smaller pots. Tiny figures climb on them, and the whole scene looks like it’s floating in a dreamy, cloudy space. The artist used a special printing trick to make the brown lines look soft and smudgy. This wasn’t just a quick sketch—it took careful work to get those details just right. Want to see how this kind of printmaking works? Look up aquatint.
