Anderson
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1808
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1808
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Saint-Mémin’s 1808 print shows a man in a dark coat with a high collar. His face is lit from the left, the shadows soft and gradual. The white shirt stands out against the dark background. This is a mezzotint, a tricky printmaking method. It uses roughened metal plates to hold ink. The artist scrapes and polishes the plate to create light and dark. One small dot changes the whole image. Look up Saint-Mémin, Charles B. J. Févret de to see more of his work.
