Artwork
Blake
Blake is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin. It dates from 1796 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Charles B.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center in plate: St. Memin & Valdenuit No. 27 Pine St. N. York.; lower center mount in black ink by unknown hand: J. Blake.
About this work
Overview
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint‑Mémin’s print, titled “Blake,” presents a miniature profile portrait of its subject. Executed in black on wove paper, the image occupies a compact square of roughly 5.6 cm on each side, emphasizing intimate detail within a modest format.
Technique & Style
The work combines mezzotint and engraving, a hybrid process in which the artist first roughens a copper plate to hold ink for tonal areas, then incises lines to define contours. This dual approach yields a rich gradation of darks and fine linear definition, characteristic of Saint‑Mémin’s late‑eighteenth‑century practice.
History & Provenance
Created between 1796 and 1797, the print entered the Corcoran Collection, where it remains a documented example of the period’s portrait printmaking. Its attribution to Saint‑Mémin aligns with his known output of small, finely rendered likenesses produced for a European audience.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (French pronunciation: ; 1770–1852) was a French portrait painter and museum director.
