Artwork
Le malingre cryptogame (The Sickly Cryptogam)
Le malingre cryptogame (The Sickly Cryptogam) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Charles Meryon. It dates from 1860 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:[Charles Meryon monogram signature] lower right composition, in plate, artist's hand. Not dated. "c14301" lower right margin, graphite, unknown hand. "[illegible]" verso, lower center sheet, graphite, unknown hand.
- Markings
- Marked:(unidentified collector's stamp) lower right margin, red stamped ink, (Lugt 2074). "LRJ" verso, black stamped ink, (Lugt 1760b). "National Gallery of Art" verso, black stamped ink, (Lugt 1932d).
About this work
Overview
Created in 1860, Le malingre cryptogame is an etching on laid paper by French printmaker Charles Meryon. The work presents a solitary, tangled plant rendered in dark, wavering lines against an unadorned background. Its stark composition and the fragile appearance of the subject reflect Meryon’s preoccupation with decay and vulnerability.
Subject & Meaning
The image depicts a lone cryptogam, a delicate, non‑vascular plant, its thin stems twisting into a loose coil at the top. The plant’s skeletal form and the title’s reference to sickness suggest a meditation on frailty, echoing the artist’s broader interest in the transient and the decaying aspects of nature.
Technique & Style
Meryon employed traditional intaglio etching, incising the design into a metal plate before transferring it onto laid paper. The lines are intentionally rough yet controlled, giving the plant a wild, almost sketch‑like quality. The limited tonal range and the absence of background detail focus attention on the plant’s intricate, tangled structure.
History & Provenance
Meryon, who suffered from color‑blindness and mental illness, worked almost exclusively in printmaking, producing series of views that conveyed his singular vision of Paris and its environs. Le malingre cryptogame belongs to this body of work, illustrating his personal struggles through a visual language of fragility and decay.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
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.
