1852
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
La Pompe Notre-Dame, Paris (The Notre-Dame Pump) is a 1852 ink by Charles Meryon, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a busy riverside scene in Paris. In the foreground, there’s a large wooden pump with a thatched roof, surrounded by scaffolding and workers. Behind it, a tall tower rises, and further back, a mix of buildings—some with steep roofs—line the water’s edge. A small boat floats nearby, and smoke curls from chimneys. The pump is the main focus, but the artist also packed in details like the tiny figures and distant church spires. This was made using a method that scratches metal plates to create lines. Next, look up etching to see how artists like this made prints.
Charles Meryon (sometimes Méryon, 23 November 1821 – 14 February 1868) was a French artist who worked almost entirely in etching, as he had colour blindness.
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