Quarries Near Montmartre

1865

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century Landscape

Dominant colour

Quarries Near Montmartre is a 1865 by Nicolas-François Chifflart, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Nicolas-François Chifflart
When & what style?: 1865 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a rough, rocky hillside dotted with small figures and carts—old quarries outside Paris. Chifflart drew straight onto copper plates with a loose, sketchy hand. The lines look almost like pencil on paper, not the polished prints of his time. This was his way of playing with the medium, making each print feel personal and quick. If you like this raw, immediate style, look up impasto.

The story of this work

Overview

François-Nicolas Chifflart was an important member of the etching revival in 19th-century France. This print, from his 1865 series Improvisations on Copper , reveals the freedom and experimentation that Chifflart found in this medium. He drew directly on prepared copper plates, sketching as he would on a sheet of paper, to create both anecdotal studies and imaginative finished compositions. Executed on an intimate scale, the prints encouraged close looking and private contemplation.

Did you know?

The prints of series like François-Nicolas Chifflart’s Improvisations on Copper were often separated over time; complete sets like this one are rare today.

Read the full account in the museum source.